Address verification (also known as address validation) has always played a key role in the online world, both in helping to deliver better customer experiences and driving greater operational efficiencies. In this blog series, we look at how address verification can support your business. In this, the second blog of the series we look at the importance of providing a good user experience and compare two solutions.
Improving your users’ experience reduces friction and improves the perception of your brand. Address verification plays an important role in achieving this and according to a Forrester Consulting report, will be critical in the future.
Location intelligence, while important in engaging customers currently, will become critical to serving customers of the future.
Let’s take a closer look at the key areas that ensure exceptional user experience.
Address verification user experience – simple & flexible
When completing delivery information, payment details or verifying identity, simplicity is vital to ensure all your users can quickly and intuitively complete your online forms and progress seamlessly through their online journey. Keeping it simple, means reducing the time it takes to complete the process which in turn reduces drop-outs and increases your online conversion. So, you need to look for a solution that enables you to create simple and short forms for your users, increasing completion rates for you. At Loqate, we appreciate that one size does not fit all and so our solution enables you to create a form that is designed specifically for your users. Later on in this article, we look at two real-life examples of how well-known brands are using address verification to improve their online forms.
Address verification user experience – intuitive & predictive
Early forms of address verification were simple solutions, where the user typed in the postal code and hit search to review results. Today, solutions are more intuitive and auto-complete enables the user to start typing in the address and see suggestions immediately. Predictive search tools cater for the logical way users enter an address and for those who may not know the full postal code. For example, Sports Direct has implemented Loqate’s intuitive address verification to speed up the online purchase experience for their customers. No matter what validation software you use on your site, you should always give users the ability to override it if necessary.
Address verification user experience - data quality
There is nothing more frustrating for customers that completing multiple stages of their online experience to then find themselves stuck on the address verification stage because their address cannot be found, and they have to manually input. To minimise this, data quality is essential. Use a combination of official postal authorities and trusted third parties to regularly update your database. Plus, using IP addresses to prioritise your users’ suggestions based on their location gives you complete peace of mind that users have access to the most recent address data, including new housing developments. This not only enhances your users’ online experience but also the perception of your brand.
Let’s compare the data quality of two market leading address verification solutions:
We want to find Duddage Manor, Tewkesbury GL20 6DB
Loqate offers the correct location as one of the options with just the first word being typed.
Loqate autocomplete address form 
Google autocomplete address form 
Using the same criteria, Google only finds one address in Tewkesbury (not the one we want), offering multiple options outside the UK. None of the proposed addresses are correct.
Using best practice, Loqate guarantees data quality, providing a higher level of accuracy than its competitors.
Address verification user experience - multi-device compatibility
In Forrester’s Location Intelligence Drives Competitive Edge In The Digital Age study, 64% of businesses said location intelligence was important for executing and enhancing customers’ mobile engagement. It’s critical that your tool works smoothly on mobile devices, where form completion errors are even more problematic. Ensure you use a solution that works across all devices and platforms.
Address verification in practice
Let’s look at how two well-known UK brands have implemented Loqate, a market leading solution, to simplify and speed up the experience for their customers.
As we have already mentioned, Sports Direct use Loqate as their address verification solution, as well as the option to manually type in an address. Including a standard Loqate field advice prompt inside the address search box “Start typing address or postcode” also helps users understand what to do before they get started.
Barbour have included an additional piece of text beneath their field that provides additional instruction - “Start entering your postcode, street or your organisation name to see suggestions and select.”
Finding the best address verification solution saves you time, money and improves your data quality and user experience. As we discussed in part one of this blog series, data is king and in part three, we take a closer look at all the importance of data quality and recency.
Loqate is the world’s most trusted data specialist in location intelligence for businesses of all sizes and sectors. Find out more about Loqate address verification.
