NCOA is for Any Class of Mailing
by Aaron Shiah

A Change of Address update is essential any time you plan a direct mail campaign. If you have targeted a market by name and address you must update the addresses as they change. The USPS only requires NCOA for First Class automation or pre-sort mailings. This requirement was implemented only for delivery efficiency. The USPS is in business to deliver mail, and not in the direct mail advice business. Any successful direct marketer would tell you that NCOA is required every time you are targeting an audience with a mailing. A mailer must compensate for the fact that 10% of their list will be moving every year and become invalid. We can associate this to a hunter that aims at a moving target. He will always lead his shot to compensate for the movement. If the hunter does not lead his shot he will miss his target. If a direct marketer does not lead his target, by using NCOA, he will miss 10% of his targets. That means that 10% of the money and effort spent on the direct mail campaign will be wasted before the piece even leaves the mail house.

 NCOA facts to consider before mailing:

•17% of Americans change addresses annually.
•43 million people move annually.
•Americans move 11 times during their lifetime.
•One of every six families moves each year.
•The USPS processed 44 million address changes in 1998

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