Global Address Validation: Enhancing Customer Experience and Delivery Efficiency

Irrespective of being big or small, businesses are not limited by political boundaries. Sarees woven in Indian villages make their way to New York and gourmet sauces formulated in San Francisco are found on Australian dinner tables. 

The challenge with shipping these orders isn’t as much about logistics as it is about making sure the orders are delivered to the right place at the right time. That’s where global address validation becomes important. Address Validation not only improves the customer’s delivery experience but also makes a significant impact on the relationship brands have with their customers. Let’s dive in!

What is Global Address Validation?

Address validation refers to the process of verifying an address to ensure deliverability.  Global address verification goes a step further by taking into account address formats that differ from country to country and standardizing the same. 

When a customer types in an address, the details are compared against addresses saved in third-party databases. Any errors or inconsistencies that arise are instantly flagged so that they may be corrected. Today, there are many address verification tools that can automate this comparison. 

In addition to ensuring that an address is accurate, address verification tools can also enrich addresses with missing information or update outdated information. For example, it can update street names and add pin codes to the address. Lastly, global address validation solutions also scan the address against the existing database for duplicates. 

How does Global Address Validation Influence Customer Experiences?

Timely delivery is one of the key factors influencing customer satisfaction. A survey found that 69% of customers are not likely to shop with a retailer if their order is delivered late. Address validation helps avoid this and plays an important role in influencing other aspects of the customer’s overall experience.

Fewer Order Processing Errors

Validating addresses before they are added to the database streamlines data entry. It ensures that orders are processed with accurate shipping information. This keeps databases clean. It also enables cost-efficient shipping operations by minimizing the chances of orders being returned and having to be re-shipped. 

Higher Delivery Success Rates

Having verified addresses for each order goes a long way toward ensuring that orders reach customers on time. Last-mile delivery agents can use the information to design optimal routes and give customers a reliable estimate of the expected delivery time. The risk of delivering an order to the wrong address is drastically reduced. 

For example, let’s a customer made a typographical error and entered the apartment number as 54 instead of 45. The address exists and is deliverable but someone else lives there. Address verification tools can highlight this mismatch and give the customer a chance to rectify the error thereby ensuring delivery to the right address. 

Better Communication

In addition to ensuring timely delivery of orders, having the right street address also ensures that businesses can connect easily with their customers. Let’s say a brand is opening a new store – the marketing collateral announcing the new store is assured to reach customers with verified addresses on file. This helps brands stay engaged with their customers and improves brand recognition. 

Better Segmentation and Personalization

Address verification solutions allow businesses to pinpoint delivery points and thus support personalized services. It helps businesses correctly segment customers based on their location for geographically targeted campaigns. 

For example, an e-commerce website can display products or services that are popular in the customer's area. This type of localized approach increases the likelihood of engagement since the message will be more relevant. 

KYC Compliance 

In addition to financial losses, failing to comply with KYC and AML regulations also results in a loss of reputation. Having up-to-date, verified addresses is critical for businesses to comply with KYC policies. This not only reduces the risk of non-compliance penalties but also keeps customer data protected from fraudsters. In turn, this improves the level of trust customers have in the brand.

Implementing Global Address Validation to Improve Customer Experience

There are 2 points where global address validation solutions must be implemented. Firstly, all street addresses must be verified at the time of data entry. This keeps bad data out of the database. In addition to verifying incoming address data, all address data existing in the company database must also be regularly validated to weed out outdated information. 

For example, a customer may have moved to a different house and not updated their address. Regular address validation can help flag such records to keep the database clean. Continuously monitoring customer addresses on file is key to maximizing the benefits of validation. 

Choosing the Right Global Address Validation Solution

There are a number of automated address validation solutions available today. Hence, choosing the right solution can be the difference between effective and ineffective address validation. 

Firstly, the tool chosen should validate addresses worldwide and not be limited to specific regions. Some of the other factors that should be considered when choosing a global address validation solution are accuracy, access to reliable reference databases, compliance with international data regulations and global support.

 It should also be easy to integrate with your existing systems during processes such as account creation, CRM updates and checkout. The availability of features such as geo-coding is advantageous. Geocoding refers to the process of converting street addresses to longitudinal and latitudinal points. 

Summing it up

Address validation may seem optional but it shouldn’t be considered as such. This is an essential process for businesses in all sectors catering to a global audience. This ensures that orders are shipped to the right address and delivered on time. In addition, it enables businesses to personalize their interactions with customers with tailored messaging. 

These factors together contribute to delivering a seamless, positive experience for all customers. With better customer experiences come stronger brand loyalty and good word of mouth publicity. 

According to a survey, 72% of customers are likely to share positive brand experiences. There is no substitute as effective as customer advocacy. To experience these benefits, invest in address validation solutions for your business.