Falling out of love with your address data solution?
There are plenty of address data solutions in the sea. You might need to let them off the hook if:
- Their data accuracy is suffering
- Too many false positives
- Spotty data availability (lack of international support? Beuller?)
- Off-the-mark geocoding (not truly rooftop-level accurate)
- Missing data enrichment (RDI, FIPS, unique ID, secondary addresses, etc.)
- They don’t flirt nicely (or at all) with your existing systems
- They don’t have an accurate address autocomplete solution
- Your relationship with them has become robotic and mundane (When you need help, you have to talk to a robot instead of a real person for support… ew.)
Some people are afraid to leave their address data management provider because they fear they'll never find anyone else who can meet their needs.
And let’s be real, some of them make it incredibly difficult to untwine your systems with theirs, which is, quite frankly, rude.
We’re here to tell you that more supportive people are out there (*cough* Smarty). We understand that you may have some baggage from your previous provider, but we’re here to patiently hold your hand and tell you that not all data providers will take advantage of you.
We don’t serve up half-baked products, claiming they’ll fill your needs and then gaslighting you when you have legitimate complaints. We also don’t hold you hostage once you’re connected.
Here’s an outline of the love we’ll give you to make sure that when you switch address data providers this Valentine’s Day, you’ll find your address mate for life instead of another phony who just wants you for your cash money.
A good address data solution:
- Is honest and transparent (providing truly accurate data)
- Accepts you as you are (integrates with your existing platforms easily)
- Is supportive (in all countries and territories, in good times and in bad)
- Spices up your relationship (like when they always plan new, fun things)
There is certainly much ado, and it’s not about nothing; let’s talk about what to look for in your next address intelligence partner.
Providing truly accurate data
When you complain to your coworkers about the troubles you’re experiencing with your current address provider, they may put the entire blame on you. With a smug shrug, they state, “Well, you get what you pay for.”
But did you?
False positives
You researched, compared costs and features, and found a company that claimed to offer accurate address data solutions for a fair, market-value price. You should get exactly what you paid for (and what it promised to deliver). However, there can be vast differences in the data companies provide and what is considered accurate.
When your address data solution provider tells you that you’re getting accurate address information, are they being transparent and totally honest with you? Are they actually paying attention to the quality of address data they provide? Maybe there’s a contrast between what accuracy means between the both of you. Perhaps, in their minds, “pretty close” is good enough.
You paid for accuracy, but many companies won’t tell you when their data intelligence(?) is guessing whether or not the address is valid based on how it’s structured on the provider’s side. Their system may be configured to provide customers with an address, “match,” no matter what, even if the match is in an entirely different ZIP Code or state. These companies are more concerned with providing a result than an accurate and helpful result.
At Smarty, accuracy means being exact and correct in our data. We minimize false positives by allowing our autocomplete solution to suggest only fully validated addresses. To avoid over-aggressive matching in our address verification solution, we block certain parts of an address from being altered during the address verification processes, limit overmatching of building and secondary numbers (also called range validation), and more.
Correct addresses are important, dare we say, vital to your operations. Your teams who work with address data are probably ripping out their hair each time a “valid” address is found, only to learn the address is actually the top of a molehill behind the supermarket.
False positives are impossible to avoid completely, but your provider should know how to minimize their impact on your location intelligence capabilities and have a procedure for when they occur.
Data gaps
Some providers rely only on data provided by the USPS, which, not surprisingly, doesn’t include international-level data. That’s like saying you’re emotionally stable, but you only like talking about race cars and your mom. Don’t get us wrong—moms rock—but what if you’re craving some real human connection and the ability to travel around the world?
You could just settle. Throw up your hands and give up altogether.
Or, you could look for a better provider who understands you need a comprehensive address data solution. One that’s available in 250 countries and territories includes all languages and has access to over 20 million non-USPS addresses. That might be just what you’re looking for—the perfect soul-mate address data management-wise.
Inaccurate geocoding
Now for glorious geocoding. You were told you’d get luxurious, delicious rooftop geocoding with precise latitude and longitude coordinates that connect directly to a building’s rooftop. But, when you get down to it, the geocoding is parcel-level (a piece of land rather than a building located on the land) at best. If you’re in an industry that relies on and only needs parcel-level geocoding, then that’s ok. (Here’s an article to help you identify the right level of geocoding if you aren’t sure).
But, for the rest of you…
Ecommerce, shipping, logistics, last-mile delivery, sales, or service industries (probably even more!) need to integrate address data solutions into a routing or mapping program, so you want rooftop geocoding to mean rooftop geocoding.
For insurance agencies that need to know exactly where a building is located on a land parcel for an accurate risk assessment, you want rooftop to mean rooftop.
For healthcare organizations that send invoices containing personally identifiable information (PII), “rooftop” must mean rooftop.
AND, most importantly, if you’re PAYING for rooftop-accurate geocodes, shouldn’t you get what you paid for?
A great address data solution provider does this. When they say they provide and charge customers for rooftop accuracy, their pin coordinates land directly on the rooftop.
Period. No excuses. The end.
Missing data enrichment
Residential delivery indicators (RDIs), FIPS Code data, persistent unique identifiers (PUIDs), secondary address indicators, and more can help your organization determine the deliverability of an address at any physical location.
Data enrichment sets provide all of this information and give you more market insight. They also provide you with even more address intelligence for greater insight into geographical locations and tax groups. Understanding your customers’ addresses and the information associated with them can help you address blind spots in your marketing approach.
The best address authorities include valuable data that’s easy to combine and blend with other data to make a plan for building your empire. You have a single source of truth for combining multiple databases of address information into one easy-to-access location.
Integrating with your existing platforms
You shouldn’t be in a relationship with an address partner who expects you to change for them. They should like you for who you are (and what systems you currently run).
Smarty is your dream date if you’re currently using any of these coding languages. Show your developers this list and see how they react. Don’t be surprised if an involuntary “Ah-OOO-Gah!” comes out of their mouth.
(Or, feel free to skip this section if it feels like a different language to you… this is for developer nerds’ eyes only. Just know this list will make them happy):
- .NET SDK (compatible with C#, F#, Visual Basic .NET, or any other .NET/CLI language!)
- Go SDK
- iOS SDK
- JavaScript SDK
- Java SDK (compatible with Android Development, Clojure, Groovy, Scala, Kotlin, or any other JVM language!)
- PHP SDK
- Python SDK
- Ruby SDK
- Rust SDK
Supporting you everywhere, all at once
If the support team connected to your address data management provider is just a bunch of AI bots being paid to talk to you, do you really feel supported? We don’t think so.
Smarty’s support team is incredibly responsive. 
They’re also highly educated and sit only feet from our developers (who are also highly helpful humans), so even if they don’t know the answer off the top of their heads, they can connect you (almost instantaneously) to the person who does.
We like our customers, like a good address data management provider should, so we provide (at no extra cost) a wildly popular and loved support team. They care about you, and they actually want to help you.
“Excellent customer service! 10/10! I would let them date my sister.”
Mike W., HIPAA Software Architect
Our support team will talk to you in whatever way feels best about whatever worldwide location data you have questions about. You can contact them via chat, phone, or email.
Keeping address data solutions spicy
Maybe your provider has let your relationship grow stale. They no longer look for innovative ways to knock your socks off or simplify your life. They don’t communicate well or provide new and exciting products for you to grow together in a partnership. That’s a shame.
At Smarty, we offer a variety of products to help you get the most accurate address database, with new releases and updates that keep things running smoothly every year:
International Address Verification
International Address Autocomplete
In addition to providing address data solutions, Smarty is the address authority that also dedicates time and energy to making your life better with these sweet integrations and plugins:
If you give us a chance, we will never stop trying to give you the best customer experience. We won’t become complacent in this relationship. We’re dedicated to being the innovative partner you’ve always dreamed about, reliable, with a listening ear, and answering your needs before you realize you have them.
So, if you’re like 64% of Americans who have given their long-term relationship the ol’ heave-ho, imagine what your life could be like with someone new.
You deserve to be with an address data solutions provider that’s accurate, committed to your success, and always there to lend a helping hand. When you dump that old address data management company, we’ll be here, ready to embark on a new partnership.
And, you’ll be sparkling from that breakup glow-up.
