4 ways addresses can enhance your customer experience

From finding that new coffee shop, to discovering the best way to get from point A to point B, to ensuring that your letter makes it to the right destination, we use addresses everyday. Their formatting is simple enough that we can understand them without really thinking about them.

However, beneath this simplistic surface, addresses contain a wealth of data that organizations small and large can use to improve their operations and their customers’ experience.

1. Save time by reducing friction

While it’s tempting to create forms that get all of your audience’s information as quickly as possible, the more questions you ask, the less likely your users are to fill out your form.

If you ask your users for their billing or shipping address, use software that will suggest addresses as users enter their information. This will reduce the amount of time it takes to fill out your form and the total number of fields your form has — as these solutions can parse address data behind the scenes.

Additionally, form features like auto-complete and dropdown fields have the added benefit of standardizing your data.

2. Bring your communications offline

A user’s experience with your brand doesn’t end with the click of a button. If you want to grow your customer’s lifetime value, make sure you’ve got a strong offline presence.

All industries can benefit from engaging their audiences offline. The majority of Americans enjoy receiving direct mail; for some, it’s their preferred channel.

Pro Tip

Collect address and other customer details from any device with Jotform’s online customer service forms.

3. Tailor your customers’ experience to match your needs

You can use the Residential Delivery Indicator (RDI) of an address to identify whether the address is classified as residential or commercial, which impacts delivery time lines and restrictions. You can also reduce the number of rejected applications from your Know Your Customer solution.

Identify any problems with the data you’ve collected, and adjust your onboarding in a way that makes your users your strongest compliance champions.

4. Deliver on time

Natural disasters, construction, moving — these events, just to name a few, can prevent a valid address from receiving mail. Nearly 5 percent of mail is sent to undeliverable addresses. Undeliverable mail doubles (or triples) your postage costs and sets the stage for a poor customer experience.

How do you make sure your address information is up to date and correct? Address metadata tells you if an address is active. And if your user base moves frequently, you can adjust your engagement campaigns to verify their information.

Consumers overwhelmingly place the onus for on-time delivery on the company they purchase from, even if the late delivery is due to a courier issue or a faulty address. Worse yet, delayed deliveries can negatively impact your brand, giving customers a reason not to make repeat purchases.

Avoid these missteps by referencing address metadata to ensure your direct mail gets where it needs to go and that you can deliver on time, every time.