ProList Earns ISO 9000:2001 Certification!

...We always knew we were good - Now it's been certified!

ProList reached an important milestone in December, earning ISO 9000:2001 certification. ISO is an international standard of quality and processes that verifies that organizations are consistently measuring and improving their business processes. The ProList team has spent over a year reviewing our processes and creating the documentation required to reach this high standard. Few mailhouses can meet this standard, so we are all very excited to have ISO certification.  

What does this means to our customers? It doesn't mean we're perfect - we've still got humans working here (a good thing, in our opinion) - but it does mean that we have a consistent and well-documented control process in place, and that we are continually working to improve our services. Constant improvement isn't just one of the historical values of ProList, it is also a requirement for us to maintain this certification. In fact, asking our clients for feedback (and acting on it) is an important part of the process. Never be shy about asking us if we can do something better to meet your needs - if we can, we will!

We hope you'll join us in congratulating all of the staff at ProList for this achievement, and we hope our service to you will be even better as we move forward!  

Improving Your Address Quality

...In an infinite number of easy steps!

There's nothing difficult about maintaining excellent address quality - simply enter the address correctly the first time, and update it accurately whenever someone moves. Well, it's easy for the first address at least...somewhere around the 500th it starts to get harder. Mix in a few years, a couple of different folks handling the list, and it's no longer so easy. But don't despair...the US Postal Service wants to help you improve your address quality...or else! New move update and ZIP+4 rules will make address quality more important than ever in securing the lowest possible postage rates. And of course we're here to help!  

There really is nothing complex about assuring address quality. It involves creating a process that does a lot of little things correctly on a regular basis. The Postal Service suggests appointing a "Data Custodian" to oversee your list or lists (we prefer the title "Data Czar".) The "Data Custodian" can be an individual in your organization or an outside resource like ProList. Either way, the DC is responsible for making sure all of your addresses are correct and current. These are two distinct and important qualities that are essential to maintaining a good list - accuracy and currency. The address has to be correct, and the person needs to be at that accurate address. The address can perfectly describe and identify a building, but if your prospect has moved out, that address is no longer current or of great value.

In the coming issues of ProNews, we will deal with both of these issues - how to get addresses accurate and how to keep them up to date using both common sense processes and high-tech data tools.

Starting Out Right