How Can Postcode Software Benefit Your Business

If you have a place of residence, you will have a postcode and this alphanumeric number will be used in a lot of ways. Initially, postcodes were introduced by the Royal Mail and were used to sort out the mail more effectively by using automated systems. These days, postcodes are used in almost everything from determining insurance premiums to programming satellite navigation systems. While a postcode might look like a simple set of letters and numbers, it is the most accurate way to identify a place or a location.

In the UK, there are close to two million different postcodes. Of course, this is only postcodes as there are more addresses than postcodes. If you take into account the fact that there are several addresses on each street, you can consider that there are approximately 28 million addresses within the UK.

As a business, you are likely to collect addresses so that you can contact your customers with a direct mailing campaign or send them important information. In order to do so, you will have a database of addresses, including postcodes. This data base can be difficult to manage, especially if you have a lot of information within it. This is why postcode software can be very beneficial for your business.

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Most people think that postcode software is just the software which automatically fills out the rest of your address after you have filled out your house number and postcode. While this is very handy, there are many other ways that postcode software can benefit your business.

Here are a few of the ways that postcode software can benefit your business:
The Software Fills in the Blanks in Incomplete Addresses
Imagine you have an online shop and one of your customers is trying to order a gift to be shipped to a friend. He knows his friend’s house number, street and town but he doesn’t know the postcode. If you have postcode software, he will be able to fill in the parts of the address that he does know and then the system will automatically come up with a list of matching postcodes to choose from.

The smoother your online checkout process is, the easier it will be for customers to buy your products online. If the process of filling in their personal information is complicated or frustrating, they are likely to click away from the website and head somewhere else.

The Software is Frequently Updated
Sometimes postcodes can change, such as when a new housing estate is developed, a new building is built or a new business park is created. If there are no free postcodes to allocate, sometimes new ones are added. When this happens, your address database can quickly become out of date.

The postcode software is delivered as SaaS, so every month it will be automatically updated and you will not need to install a CD of updates every month. By using postcode software, you will automatically receive the updated information from Royal Mail every month, at no extra cost to you.

The Software Makes Your Mail Shots More Accurate
Many businesses will sent out a “mail shot” or a direct mail campaign which could include coupons, an important announcement, sign up forms, promotional materials or many other different types of correspondence. Millions of these mail shots are sent out every year, generating business for various companies. However, what if the addresses that you are sending your mail to are not accurate?

If your address data is not accurate, you will be sending mail shots to the wrong addresses. You will be missing out on the customers who do want to receive your marketing materials and might be sending mail out to others that really don’t want to receive it.

Postcode software, such as the software offered by Data8, ensures that all data that you are using in your marketing campaign is completely up to date and accurate.

These are just a few ways that postcode software can benefit your business and make your operations more efficient.

Jann Webb is a writer who uses postcode software in her business to organise her mailing lists. She writes a blog containing advice and practical tips for business owners.

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