Last year, around 35.9 million Americans changed their addresses. Thus, businesses that used to have their contact details now have outdated information. Their attempts to deliver orders, send direct mail, or use business address validation for identity verification may fail.

To avoid such trouble, businesses have to verify address data regularly. Repetitive checks must be carried out at least every 90 days. Verification allows companies to update customer databases and have reliable contact information for different uses. Address data is essential to send goods, exchange communications, and verify the identity of customers across industries.

Who can benefit from address validation software online most? E-commerce, healthcare, utilities, financial services, and marketing teams. Find out about business address validation in these fields below.

Business Address Validation: How Does It Happen?

There are two broad approaches to mailing address verification: manual and automated. In manual business address validation services, you need to type in a single address or upload an address batch to run verification. Each time you want to check address data, you will have to manage the verification process manually. Automated address validation software online is connected to your databases and can verify address data without your help. It automatically accesses the necessary records, validates them, and updates the address information in your system.

To verify an address, both kinds of tools first parse it. They break it into segments and check whether all the necessary elements are present. Parsing enables address validation software online to clean and format records. After that, the validation services match the records with the USPS database to correct addresses. The United States Postal Service owns the latest information on address changes, so it’s the most reliable data source. 

Even though manual and automated address validation services work similarly, they have different capabilities. Hence, businesses should pick address validation software online very carefully and consider several things.

3 Things That Matter Most in Address Validation Software Online for Businesses

Mailing vendors offer tons of address validation services. Yet, not all of them are suitable for corporate use. While choosing address validation software online, make sure it can process the necessary scope of address data and meets other requirements:

Automation capabilities

Businesses that leverage address validation for delivery and know the importance of customer verification handle thousands of addresses daily. Without automation, verification will strain their resources and take too much time and money. That’s why companies need to make sure business address validation software provides the necessary level of automation. Ideally, it should automate all the processes, from address autocomplete to regular re-validation.

Flexibility to process different loads of documents

Businesses like financial institutions or healthcare organizations send multiple kinds of documents on different occasions. They may need both to run batch address verification and check a single address for a one-time delivery. Similarly, it may be necessary to verify one customer or check multiple customer identities at a time. Therefore, the software must be flexible enough to handle varying loads of business address validation requests.

Simple integration

When business address validation is automated and large-scale, verification solutions should be easy to integrate. A high level of automation means that address checks will become a part of complex marketing and operational workflows. In other words, you will need to connect address validation software with third-party services and internal systems. Hence, it’s better to opt for the software that offers address verification API. Then, you will be able to add it on top of the currently used tech solutions.

Discover Tools & Best Practices for Postal Address Verification

Five Industries That Can’t Do Without Address Validation Software and API

Although any business can capitalize on address validation software online, it’s a must-have in some cases. Here are the primary industries that cannot do without address validation:

#1. E-commerce Businesses

Online retailers are among the first to recognize the importance of customer verification. They run AVS checks based on billing address verification to confirm credit card ownership at the checkout and minimize fraud. E-commerce businesses also use address data for order delivery. They verify customer addresses to be sure that the goods reach the right destination at the right time.

By connecting address verification API to their online stores, retailers get ready-to-use and reliable validation. Address validation software online checks the information provided by customers for identity verification and shipment. The tools like Inkit’s Verify also provide point-of-entry address autocomplete capabilities. Apart from validation, buyers get address suggestions as they type, which considerably speeds up the checkout and improves the accuracy of address data.

Learn What Is an AVS Check and How Can It Help Streamline the Checkout Process?

#2. Financial Institutions

Financial services use business address validation for customer checks, document delivery, and compliance. They collect all necessary details about customers, including addresses, to run KYC checks for risk assessment. This allows financial services to protect themselves from illegal activities and provide services only to reliable customers.

Address validation API also allows financial organizations to enhance the quality of customer communications. Thanks to business address validation, the accuracy of delivery improves, and offline communications become more secure. This helps to increase customer satisfaction and stay regulatory compliant.

#3. Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare providers handle personal health records that require ultimate security. Therefore, each time they deliver something offline, they must ensure only the entitled person opens the mail.

Business address validation software makes offline communications accurate and reliable. Such tools verify the contact information provided by patients matching it with official databases to correct addresses. When addresses are verified, communications are almost guaranteed to reach the expected recipients.

If you combine business address validation with automated delivery, verified patients will also automatically receive communications. You can do it using Inkit’s Verify and Send. These two products complement each other to validate addresses and send messages based on triggers automatically. For example, patients may receive bills, insurance documents, medical records, and other communications.

#4. Marketing Agencies

Despite the transition to online, marketing teams still use a lot of offline communications. They run direct mail campaigns and deliver postcards to grasp customers’ attention and nudge them into conversion. Offline interactions are more powerful than online.

Address validation software enables marketers to make direct mail more cost-effective and personalized. They have accurate address information to reach specific destinations. Thanks to this, they target specific people with tailored communications and reduce the volume of undelivered mail. There is no need to invest in thousands of standard leaflets hoping that some will yield results.

Read How to Get Compliant with GDPR by Verifying Customers Using Address 

#5. Utility Services

Utility companies depend on the promptness of payments. When customers don’t pay their bills, utilities have to start exhausting debt collection. It spoils customer relationships and threatens business continuity.

Address verification in utilities allows for tackling such problems and optimizing the payment cycle. Since customers always get the offline bills on time, they are more likely to pay them. The risk of misdelivery is also minimized. Besides, data checks help to verify customer identity and prevent utility-related identity theft. 

Inkit for Business Address Validation

Inkit is a Reach Enablement Platform (REP) built for teams that recognize the value and importance of reaching and engaging with customers. Its Send product is available as an address verification API or web solution. You can integrate it with third-party services or layer it into existing tools for automated address validation.

Since Inkit’s Send supports address autocomplete, it’s a perfect option for e-commerce stores. You can also use it in financial organizations, healthcare, utilities, and other industries that depend on the importance of customer verification and deliver large volumes of offline communications. Moreover, Inkit integrates with hundreds of marketing and sales tools, which is essential for marketing and customer success teams.

Want to test Inkit in your company? Contact us for a demo.