Faultless postal addresses are of key importance when conducting efficient marketing. They are an absolute necessity for reducing postage and advertising costs and receiving more favourable postage rates. Correct addresses are also necessary for improving the results of address comparisons and interactive address searches.

Prosource, an approved postal address management service supplier (PAMSS) of the South African Post Office has formed a strategic alliance with digital map developers, MapIT. This has allowed Prosource to integrate MapIT's electronic mapping datasets into its flagship software application, Address Clean Genius, allowing Prosource to verify an address right down to street level.

As a subsidiary of Johnnic Communications, MapIT's maps are fast becoming the de facto standard in digital mapping for South Africa. Prosource recognises the importance of having the most reliable industry datasets and to this end, the use of MapIT's datasets, coupled with the strategic alliance, will allow Prosource to clean addresses down to the lowest level possible.

With an array of highly researched software solutions, Prosource's Address Genius Suite offers address management requirements such as data input, formatting, verification, maintenance and enhancement. With the linchpin in targeted marketing being the accuracy of the address, companies can now optimise marketing spend and increase competitiveness by fixing incorrect or incomplete address data.

Once a company's address database has been cleaned to the lowest level possible, the data can be further enhanced by the process of geocoding (the process of applying of latitudinal and longitudinal co-ordinates to an address). Geocoded data, used in conjunction with a market analysis tool such as MapIT's MarketScope, enables the enhancement of marketing precision and decision making.

"MapIT's business analysis tool, MarketScope, coupled with Prosource's Address Genius Suite software, creates a best-of-breed CRM tool. The fusion of our businesses maximises the best that e-mapping has to offer and underpins what we have been striving to perfect for years - that of attaining excellence in location accuracy of addresses," states Prosource MD, Stephen van Rooyen.

Address validation coupled with mapsets

MD of MapIT, Ray Wilkinson, is pleased with the association with Prosource, "With the aid of MapIT's electronic mapsets, Prosource will be able to offer their clients an invaluable business tool to ensure accurate 1:1 targeting and segmentation before campaign mailings are done, thus allowing campaigns to deliver higher rates of return. Digital mapping adds integrity, validity and usefulness to address information and we see marketing operators, return mail centres, debtors departments, payroll managers, debt collectors and call centres deriving tremendous value from Prosource's Address Genius suite of products."

The Address Genius Suite includes:

* Address Lookup Genius - the easy way to search for address information as well as check and confirm addresses one-on-one to street and post office level.

* Address Inspector Genius - allowing you to import and repair a batch of faulty records one-on-one using the built-in address data search and validation tools.

* Address Clean Genius - an application allowing for the automatic cleaning of addresses to street and post office level.

"Businesses around South Africa are now using our address cleaning products, powered by MapIT's datasets, to help improve the quality of their addresses and help them increase profitability through more accurate data. Eliminating faulty addresses at the outset alleviates a tremendous burden on a company's back office and generates savings, all having an enormous impact on the bottom line," concludes van Rooyen.

For more information contact MapIT, 012 345 8015, admin@map-it.co.za or Prosource, 011 791 5000, sales@prosource.co.za