A quick explanation of what NCOA stands for is the national change of address directory the USPS keeps on record. Every time you move and update your address with the local facility they update their systems and mail get forwarded to the new address and new mail gets started to the correct location, the new location, where it is supposed to.

For companies with large mailing lists not taking advantage of the software available to make sure the most important aspect of your business is not being neglected, shame on you. Below are the 5 best reasons to use NOCA Link software to improve your business.

1. About 40 million addresses a year are changed in the national change of address database. If you have a large mailing list it is nearly impossible for many of your desired recipients to not be on this list. After 4 years that number is 160 million and you can do the math. If you want your correspondence to be properly received you better get the software.

2. If people have moved without providing a change of address the majority of mail will not be forwarded. This means that all the mail that gets bounced back to your business needs to be entered into the database as undelivered mail and cross checked with your NCOA software to make sure you are using the best address.

3. If you are partially correct or close enough the NCOA can fill in the most likely information to get your mail to your customers or potential customers. It can also provide the details on the returned mail as to why this correspondence was returned so you'll know how to adjust it.

4. This NCOA list also applies to businesses, not just individuals. These may be some of your larger clients and it would be foolish to not take extra precaution to make sure they are getting whatever it is, letter, catalog etc that you intend for them to receive.

5. With the economy at its most difficult point in years saving money or more accurately, not wasting money, has to be a priority. When checking your records against the NCOA software you will cut down on wasted mailings, improve the hit rate of the recipients and in turn receive more profit or service requests from your distribution.

Above are 5 great reasons to make sure you are doing all the due diligence you can to improve your company's bottom line. Mailing through the post office can be the cheapest and most effective way to get correspondence out to your customers and clients. By using NCOA link software and other great software such as SAP software and Intelligent Mail Barcode software you are giving yourself the best chance for success. By neglecting these resources available to you, you are losing the ability to judge the success of your mailing and doing yourself a disservice. Make sure to stay one step ahead of your competition by checking the accuracy of your most valuable commodity, your mailing list. Good luck with your future marketing efforts.