All first names and surnames are put through a 15-point syntax test to flag bad names. Some of the tests include:

• Stop List-Looks for profanities and common nonsensical alpha key strings (e.g. asdf)
• Minimum length tests
• Presence of only alpha and formatting characters (hyphens, apostrophes, etc.)
• Vowel/consonant requirements

All US records are subjected to full postal address standardization, validating the address and putting it in a standard format that ensure maximum deliverability and the highest match rates for deduplication and data append. Postal addresses can be validated and standardized using CASS or DPV processing:

• Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-The CASS process includes Address Standardization of pre/post directionals and abbreviations, ZIP Correction, ZIP+4 Appending, Carrier-Route Coding, Delivery Point Coding, Error Message Code, and CASS Report. CASS is used to determine if an address is within a deliverable range of addresses. It does not verify the existence of a particular street address or accompanying apartment or suite number.
• Delivery Point Validation (DPV)-DPV enables you to verify that an actual address exists down to secondary address information such as an apartment or suite number. DPV also flags those records missing secondary address information.
• National Change of Address (NCOA). Records more than three months old but less than 4 years old can also be subjected to national change of address (NCOA) processing to obtain a current postal address for the ZoomPanel prospect or panelist. NCOA comprises a secure dataset of approximately 160 million change-of-addresses going back up to 48 months that enable mailers to update mailing lists with new addresses from individuals, families and businesses that have moved.

E-mail addresses are subjected to a 20-point syntactical check. These tests include minimum length, illegal character, valid TLD, and much more. Limited e-mail address correction is also performed to correct for common keying errors and truncated records.

E-mail autoresponder service is also available, supporting both plain text and HTML messaging through multi-part MIME. After loading, Ifficient supports both real-time autoresponders as well as batch e-mail reminders/follow-ups. Bounce processing ensures that bounces are identified and expunged before final delivery of cleansed.

For undeliverable e-mail addresses, optional electronic change of address (ECOA) processing will be performed to append a new, valid address.

Phone numbers are standardized in a common 10 digit format. Likely area code will be appended if missing. The area code (NPA) and pre-fix (NXX) combination (first 6 digits of phone number) are then matched against a telecommunications database containing all valid NPA/NXX combinations in the North American Numbering Plan.

An optional premium service is available to validate that the supplied 10 digit phone number belongs to the registrant.

Do you market or sell a product with legal restrictions on the age of customers? If so, Ifficient's Age Validation check is for you. Ifficient appends age/date of birth by matching a lead's name, postal address, and telephone number against a multi-sourced database comprised of more than 200 million US residents.

Leads can be matched against previously delivered records, or against the client's house file, to perform:

• De-duplication. Individual-level duplicates will be identified, and deduplicated according to client-defined business rules. For example, these rules might prioritize sources with the lowest cost, or perform a fractional allocation. The number of net names supplied by each source will be noted. The source of each record will be noted in the output file. Records identified in multiple source files will be flagged.
• Householding, to link individuals residing at the same address. Householding is often used to ensure that only a single member of a household is used in market research. Creation of Ôsuper records' that combine data elements from multiple records from the same individual or household. For example, if one record has a valid postal address, and the other does not, the valid postal address would be retained and included in the super record.