Preparing an Address Database for Presort Services
Virtually every business, large or small, must maintain a list of important names and addresses. At the very least, this name list contains all your current clients. Most businesses expand the "rolodex" list to include vendors and associates, and possibly even potential clients or contacts.
In today's complicated business world, most companies have turned to business mailing services through computers for list management - where it is called "a database". This is the type of task for which computers were invented. Unfortunately, while they can make this task much simpler, computers change the rules by which a "rolodex" list must be maintained with data management.
ABS Data Processing works with many client provided databases. They are often poorly maintained and improperly setup. Before we can import your database we must make sure that it is, “Presort Ready.” The following suggestions can help you maintain a database that is usable and easily exported for mailings.
1) The more fields, the better. Rather than put "Mr. Larry O. Lumpy" in a field called NAME, a database is more useful if each portion has it's own field;
SAL FIRST MID LAST
"Mr." "Larry" "O" "Lumpy"
When you merge your address database or list into a letter, this kind of breakdown allows use of the first name independently, adding a personal touch. Every database, at the bare minimum, should have fields for; First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip. We highly recommend the inclusion of the following fields concerning bulk mailing; Street Address2, Middle Initial and Phone. They may come in handy for additional personalization of your mail piece.
2) Use Two Address Lines. While most addresses don’t require a second line for the address (usually the suite or apt # are placed on the 1st line) there could be exceptions. By including an Address2 field it will be there if you need it.
3) Be Consistent! If you put the primary street address in the Address1 field and the Apt. # in the Address2 field – DO IT THE SAME WAY EVERYTIME. The most common mistake in direct mail management and databases is the random placement of information.
4) Make fields large enough to hold the largest field of data, truncate later. Information can always be abbreviated during output, but if it was never entered it can't be used. Along these same lines, use as many fields as required. They can be removed later if desired.
5) Use Mixed Case for all non-address information. Most businesses enter all their data in upper case because it's faster for Data Entry. While this is true, then the data is not as useful. If a company wants to create a nice looking merged letter for mass mailing, "Dear LARRY," looks unprofessional.
Most software programs can easily change information into Upper Case, but that is not true of converting it back to mixed case. If you convert ABS Presort to all Upper Case it would appear as: ABS PRESORT. If you convert it to mixed case it would appear as Abs Presort and that would be incorrect.
6) Did we mention, be consistent!
7) Use Minimum Punctuation. Punctuation often causes unpredictable results in database programs. It is best to avoid unnecessary punctuation like the period after the middle initial. The USPS standard also discourages the use of punctuation in mailing addresses.
8) Brand Name Software with Established Formats. Using established file formats will make your resulting databases more compatible right from the start.
Proper database setup and data management can save time and effort when it comes time to output the data in reports and files. That time and effort translates to dollars, especially when the data must be cleaned up before the database can be used for a presorted mass mailing.
The experienced staff at ABS is always available to answer any questions you may have about databases, formats and file types. Please give us a call any time for assistance. A good database benefits everyone.
