Reverse Cash Flow Now!

I stumbled onto this post at Retired Pay World about dumb things companies do with sign-up forms, especially not taking advantage of ZIP (postal) code lookups. I’m sure his frustrations are felt by many people, even on some of the big name corporate sites.

Here’s my geeky take on this, with some additions:

• In the US, ZIP+4 is a wonderful idea for getting mail where it needs to go faster. But, not everyone knows their +4 code. Including me. If you ask for it, make sure it’s not a required field! USPS can probably figure it out.
• If you’re smart enough to ask for a country and postal code, be smart enough to fill in the City and State/Province info too. You’ll save your customers time, keep your data clean, and get the order faster.
• The important part is having data that the delivery service thinks is correct. Give them as much accurate info as you can & let them refine it for their needs. In my area, any one of three (or more) cities could be correct, but only one is technically correct.
• If you aren’t willing or able to use country and ZIP/Postal lookups, at least add the top two or three countries you expect customers to come from at the top of the alphabetical list! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve chosen Uganda by mistake.
• If your web guy/gal/team can’t (or won’t) help you, find someone who will! Leave a comment and I’ll point you in the right direction.

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