Bulk mailing can reap major benefits for your company by bringing in new customers or leading to repeat business. However, companies spend significant amount of money, and sometimes cause frustration on the part of the recipient, by sending duplicate mailings. If a person’s name or address is listed slightly different in your system (usually due to abbreviations) it may be difficult to detect and delete the duplicates. Duplicate elimination software, often referred to as “merge purge software,” used to be expensive and difficult to navigate, but modern technology has enabled this software to be both affordable and easy to use. Many companies are investing in such programs, but how exactly do they work and how do you know that they are catching all of the duplicates?
How Merge Purge Works
On a basic level, merge purge operates by comparing two or more lists to identify duplicates, combining those files, and deleting unwanted records. The user (i.e. your company) can set parameters and describe how to compare information and what to do with duplicate information. Such programs also allow the user to create special lists while still maintaining the original list. For example, if your company launches a new campaign that targets only new customers, it can use the software to compare its newest list of customers with an older, existing list of customer names and “purge” the newer list of all of the existing customers so that you are left with a list of only new customers. This technology has opened all kinds of doors that is changing the way that businesses market.
An Inside Look at Duplication Elimination
Let’s look at an example of a duplicate entry that could be on your mailing list:
John Therman
1044 Ridge Valley
San Francisco, CA 54321
John T.
1044 Ridge Valley Way
Apt 4B
San Fran, CA 54321
Merge purge software is more than a simple name and address comparison. It can use a wide variety of matching criteria and logic, usually determined by the user, to combine files and delete the unwanted files. For example, the above example may be combined as follows:
John Therman
1044 Ridge Valley Way
Apt 4B
San Francisco, CA 54321
This output is the most standard format of a mailing address, and leaves your system with more accurate, complete information to prevent delivery failure. Merge purge software can also use additional data in the file – such as telephone number, gender, birthday, and/or social security number – to identify and eliminate duplicates, saving you time and money.
For top of the line, affordable data elimination products, consider Anchor Computer Software. Anchor is the most effective solution in the postal software industry.
