Why Did My Direct Mail Get Returned?

When you receive a mail piece in the mail, you may wonder why it was returned. There are several reasons for this, including insufficient address, bad address, or undeliverable addressed. But some situations can help you determine whether a piece of mail should be discarded. Here are a few reasons why direct mail gets returned. They could mean that you need to change your mailing address, or you might have moved.

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Insufficient address

If your direct mail is getting returned due to illegible or incomplete addresses, you need to correct them immediately. The USPS considers incomplete addresses an error, and it will not deliver the mail to the recipient. Also, you need to provide a directional label, if necessary, such as “NE” for North East. If you don’t provide a directional label, you will have to include a return address on your mailings.
Changing or updating your contact database is a crucial first step toward ensuring that your mail is delivered and read by your audience. USPS offers several address resolution tools, including NCOALink, which has more than 160 million records of change-of-address requests. This tool will allow you to change your mailing lists and forms to reflect the most accurate contact information. Once you have updated your contact details, you will notice a reduction in the number of insufficient address mailings.

Bad address

The primary cause of postal mail being returned is an invalid address. This can be due to missing or incorrect apartment numbers, street names, or other details. To avoid this, data cleaning is highly recommended. Data cleaning can also update forwarding addresses and add missing apartment numbers. Direct mail that does not have an address for return is considered a dead letter. The most common reasons for postal mail to be returned include the following.
Incomplete or incorrect address: A poorly-written or unreadable address is another common cause of direct mail getting returned. Mail that is sent to an insufficient address will be marked “return to sender.” This can cost you a considerable amount of money since it’s essentially a waste of paper. In some cases, an address can be in the wrong state or city, or it may even be a deceased person’s address. In such a case, a return code of 10-17 can be used to identify the bad address.

Undeliverable as addressed

Despite the best efforts, some direct mail pieces are returned due to reasons other than address. In addition to the address, secondary information such as apartment or unit number or street directional indicator can reduce the likelihood of returned mail. Listed below are some best practices to help reduce the risk of returned mail. Listed below are some tips to avoid sending direct mail to individuals who are considered undeliverable as addressed. We hope this article has been useful in reducing the risk of returned mail.
Mail delivered to an address that is endorsed as undeliverable is not forwarded. Mail returned as undeliverable is not forwarded. Incorrect or missing addresses are the most common reasons for undeliverable mail. The USPS has guidelines for the return address. If it is missing, incorrect, or incomplete, mail returned as undeliverable is returned to the sender. If you have a business that receives a high percentage of undelivered mail, you should know how to deal with this problem.

Fear of throwing away direct mail

Many businesses are plagued by the fear that they will never sell again because they fear that their customers will just toss them in the trash. This fear is unfounded. According to a survey, about 32% of Americans will never open mail unless it is addressed to them. In addition, only 4% will pay attention to the color and design of the envelope. This suggests that many marketers underestimate the importance of direct mail in attracting customers.