How to Avoid Recipient Name Problems with Saturation Mailings

Mailer’s Tip Tuesday!

On occasion, not-for-profit organizations that do recurring saturation mailings may receive complaints such as these after using (renting, technically) what is called Occupant-Resident saturation names/addresses:

Complaint Example 1: “You misspelled my name! You need to fix this!”
Complaint Example 2: “There’s no one here by that name! And I’ve lived here before I was even born!”
Complaint Example 3: “My poor husband passed away 5 years ago, and people like you are still sending me mail in his name!”

Of course, we, the mailing vendor, get these calls, and we always offer to help with what we call “corporate communications” in such instances. If you are such an organization receiving such complaints, you should know that some facts that might give you a mild (but not complete) sense of relief:

Response to Complaint Example 1: “We deeply apologize, and we’ll do our best not to have this happen again”. The inside scoop: no list is going to be perfect, so we keep a documented list of names for such people who have high sensitivity. The other solution we offer is to suppress their name and address from all future mailings.

Response to Complaint Example 2: “We deeply apologize and will look into this.” The inside scoop: aside from human error, we have found a variety of reasons why this happens, and, surprisingly, the most common explanation is that, yes, someone actually did live there by that name, once upon a time. You may elect (if Cornerstone Services, Inc. does your mailings for you) to have us change the name to “Current Resident” or even just remove the address from future mailings (the latter is our preference).

Response to Complaint Example 3: “We are so sorry for your loss, and we will fix this right away”. The inside scoop: this name and address should be removed from all future mailings. The actual answer — that is correct most of the time — is that the spouse has failed to remove his/her beloved-but-deceased person’s name from either a utility bill, real property ownership, etc.; when a surviving spouse refuses to complete the name removal of all such significant name sources, inevitably, this name will again reappear on an Occupant-Resident data list. Therefore, the only way to appease a local homeowner is simply to remove the address altogether from future solicitations or notifications.

Here are three (3) means by which you may still send an occupant-resident saturation mailing and avoid the name complaint issues:

1. Change all proper names to “Current Resident” or “Postal Customer” and be done with it — this is a generic but acceptable way of using a mass mailing naming convention.

2. Slightly upgrade “Current Resident” to be “[Town Name] Current Resident” because some addresses are PO Boxes as well as businesses; you may also use “[Town Name] Current Boxholder” or “[Town Name] Business Owner”. Such alternative renaming appellations, while not formally endorsed by the USPS, nonetheless still make it clear to the mail carrier your mailing’s intent: this letter or flat goes to whoever lives at this address or picks up the mail

3. Change all proper names to this: “[Your Organization’s Name] Friend and Neighbor” or “Friend of the [Organization Name]”. Now, to be clear, the USPS doesn’t care for this and would really prefer that you use “Current Resident”. Yet, if you have a small, everyone-knows-who-you-are organization, feel free to try this out. Here are some examples: “Friend of the Smalltown Library” or “Mytown’s Ambulance Corps Friend and Neighbor”. The key, of course, is to make the letter appear as inviting as possible so that the recipient will open it up and consider what you’re trying to say.

We are Cornerstone Services, Inc., and encourage you, or someone you love, to reach out to us with any mailing problems. Email our direct mail hotline at info@crst.net or call today at (845) 255-5722. You’re not alone – help is at hand!

Visit Us:
🌐 CRST.NET

🌐 CRSWEB.COM

📧 info@crst.net | ☎️ (845) 255-5722

Photo credit: St. Francis Xavier Church, Mount Washington, Kentucky

#MailersTipTuesday #directmail #directmailmarketing #DirectMailTips #MailingAnalytics #MarketingHacks #MailCampaign #EnvelopeTips #MailTracking #crstnet #crstweb #NonprofitMailing #OccupantMailing #MailingBestPractices #USPSMailingTips #SaturationMailing #AddressAccuracy #DataHygiene #MailingLists #NameSuppression #DonorCommunications #FundraisingMail #CommunityMailings #BulkMailStrategy #DirectMarketingSolutions #MailingSupport #CustomerEngagement #MailDesign #TargetedMail #HudsonValleyMarketing