Global DM campaigns rely on understanding how different countries’ postal data works. Emma Gooderham, managing director of WorldAddresses presents some key points to consider
The trend for global trade combined with growing government encouragement for export activity is encouraging organisations to consider international expansion. Achieving timely and accurate international postal data management, however, is far more complex than simply supporting multiple languages. Rushing headlong into an international business model without considering issues such as different postal address formats, preferred postal methods or character sets, could cause huge problems – from the poor customer service associated with none or late delivery, to the additional costs of redelivering goods.
1. Address formats
The first point to consider is that addresses are not always formatted in a uniform manner in one country, let alone across the globe. America for instance, has more than one type of address: ‘rural routes’ and ‘highway routes’ are different types of fields used in the US address, which can alter the format and length of the address considerably. Any organisation looking to crack the US market has to consider what the best format is, and then assess how best to manage conflicting address types within a single customer database.
One option available to organisations is to exploit the international standard for postal addresses, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) (the United Nation’s addressing department) Standard S42 format. Organisations looking to trade with countries that have approved address templates can be confident their customer database is correct for mailing.
2. Multiple languages
It is crucial that any organisation looking to go global considers cultural and lingual idiosyncrasies. For example, if a business is looking to expand into Switzerland, then French, Italian and German languages and conventions need to be understood and accommodated in a single country’s database.
Opting for an address look-up software provider that has already taken these matters into consideration on your behalf can save time and effort. Technology is now available that allows distinctive marks, such as umlauts, to be referenced within address look-up software. This means the user can enter, manage, sort and process abbreviations (such as ‘St’ for street) and place names that differ from those used in an official capacity, known as exonyms.
3. Flexible databases
Organisations must recognise that few countries take the same approach to delivering post as the Royal Mail. In rural Sweden for example, numbers that could be mistaken for post codes, actually equate to physical directions to the desired delivery address. Furthermore, the South African postal system means that in rural areas, mail is usually addressed to the local Post Office, before the postal worker uses their local knowledge to deliver it by hand.
Critically, the organisation’s address database should be flexible. Technology exists that allows for the organisation to choose each field specifically for their database, meaning only the most pertinent of address lines are used. If lots of the addresses require a house number, road name, town and postcode, these fields can be included. Similarly, if there are addresses that require a series of directions, a field specifically dedicated to a description of the directions can be included within the database.
4. Address look-up facilities
Language, format and mail delivery model considerations can be expensive to remedy internally. There are several data sets that carry a hefty price tag, and not every business will be able to part with the necessary expenditure for access to this data. Add to this the internal development required to input that data into a system, and suddenly budgets for international expansion are swallowed.
Engaging in a relationship with a software provider can contribute to considerable cost savings. Rather than having to source the necessary capital expenditure upfront, and deal with a potential spike in annual fees, many software providers charge per successful address look-up completed.
5. Professional advice
Even if the business does have the budget required to purchase the raw data sets, buying the address data for inhouse use is not always necessarily an option. Indeed, national data protection legislation often dictates that there is a sufficient relationship in place before the country parts with their address data.
Businesses can instead opt to leave the hassle to the specialist service provider, who have the necessary relationships in place to access the raw data sets. If companies are to confidently embark upon global expansion, they must seek expertise into the vagaries of international postal systems. Once this has been done and the necessary tools are exploited, rapid global success can
be achieved.
