5 Reasons Why Businesses Should Not Avoid Using Verification Systems

Keeping things simple is all fine and good. But when inaccurate information is the cause of considerable strife, then something clearly must be done. Such is the case when businesses take customers at their word, rely on the information provided, and don’t bother with verifications systems. Here are five reasons why businesses should not avoid using verification systems.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Sure, the customer submitted some information. Or it came from a third party. Either way, it has not been confirmed. Maybe the person who entered the information wasn’t clear about it when they supplied it? Perhaps they were under the influence at the time? Who knows! There is no telling whether the information is right unless it is subjected to verification to confirm it.

As a business, wouldn’t you rather know that your customer information is accurate? Or as accurate as you can get it? If your customers are rightly seen as the lifeblood of the business, then it stands to reason that you should want verified customer information. Otherwise, you don’t really have them as a customer unless they reach out to you in the future.

Furthermore, if the customer information is verified as incorrect and they cannot be re-contacted successfully, at least, their account can be flagged to re-confirm their details when they do get in touch.

Wasted Deliveries to the Wrong Place

If you are sending packages or operating a delivery service to send products to the customer’s door, getting the address right is where the rubber meets the road. Otherwise, you’re spinning your wheels for zero net gain. Who wants that as a businessperson? By using an address verification tool from Lob, incorrect entries for a customer’s address can be isolated before the order is assembled, the delivery staff assigned, and so on. Lob’s address verification tool includes the ability to integrate it into an existing software solution or a website. The address includes geolocation data too, so there’s a second way to confirm exactly where the customer says their address is on the street map.

Open the Business Up to Fraudulent Transactions

Fraudulent transactions through e-commerce sites are on the rise. This applies both to huge businesses and tiny ones too. They have been rising for the last few years as more people take to the internet to order goods and visit their local retail store less often. However, the last two years with various lockdowns have encouraged more people to embrace the internet. This has unfortunately led to a greater instance of fraudulent transactions too.

Companies that fail to verify information end up with too many fake customer profiles, and goods sent out to bogus addresses. The verification of card payments to ensure the card details look correct are formatted correctly, and that the card isn’t stolen should be automatic by now too.

Also, look for unusual transactions that don’t fit a past pattern from the same customer. Systems can be set to flag up larger than average new customer orders or ones where they’re paying with a new card and requesting delivery to a different address too. These could be tell-tale signs of a fraudulent order in progress.

Two-Factor Verification Protects Against Improper Access

Two-factor verification systems allow companies to confirm that the person placing the order is who they say they are. They’re not foolproof – two-factor verification apps are seen as far safer than SMS messages with a PIN code to enter – they do confirm more information at the point of placing the order. For smartphone owners, they will need to be in possession of their phone to confirm the correct code.

It is still possible for someone to steal an unlocked device, place an order and be able to confirm the code. However, using two-factor verification prevents people without access to the device from successfully impersonating another customer. That’s worth it just to avoid that potentiality as a business owner.

Missing Out on Higher Returns on Direct Mail Marketing

Another downside of using unverified address information is that direct mail marketing campaigns will perform poorly compared to how well they might otherwise have done so. When too many mailers don’t get a response, it can wrongly be assumed that the direct mail campaign was ineffective. However, this could be an erroneous conclusion when the reason for the poor results was that too many addresses were incomplete or incorrect.

In the worst case, companies may decide to abandon direct mail in favor of other marketing approaches that will deliver inferior results. It’s always better for companies to make decisions based on accurate information, otherwise, they’ll respond improperly to the wrong conclusions.

Data verification in the digital information age is vital. Otherwise, companies will lose money and time by failing to properly confirm their validity first. Given that online business is expanding every year, digital information needs to be carefully scrutinized to ensure it doesn’t lead companies down the wrong path.

Read This Also: Why Email Address Verification is Important