Using Custom API's to Improve Address Verification in HubSpot Forms

The Challenge

Cassling, a leading medical imaging sales and service company that helps healthcare organizations create efficiencies, improve outcomes, and lower costs, is a family-owned company that keeps local communities at the heart of what they do. Cassling launches annual marketing initiatives to encourage and assist healthcare providers in honoring their employees. Their efforts include sending out posters, stickers, and educational resources for campaigns related to Ultrasound Awareness Month and National Rad Tech Week.

In 2020, Cassling experienced a common problem: while hundreds of healthcare providers across the United States requested kits, many did not receive them due to incorrect address information. As Cassling prepared for their 2021 campaigns, they needed a solution to ensure packages reach their intended recipients to create a better customer experience.

Cassling Sonography Squad Resources 2021_RAD_Tech_Week_collage2

The Solution

Cassling and Blue Frog discussed techniques to verify the accuracy of shipping addresses for the hundreds of submissions Cassling received each week while avoiding the need for tedious manual work. Blue Frog recommended an address verification API that layers on top of Cassling's HubSpot forms to seamlessly verify addresses with the United States Postal Service (USPS). When a user clicks "submit" on the form, the API:

Instantly checks the address
Appends the four-digit geographic mailing code to the ZIP code
Checks for and automatically corrects misspellings and other small details

If a mailing address is unverifiable, the form presents an error message and allows the user to easily make the necessary corrections. The API is called only after a user clicks submit, making the process both efficient and cost effective by limiting the total number of API calls needed.

Using serverless functions and an integration with Lob, an address verification solution with an API, we were able to create a custom form module in HubSpot to verify address information at the time a user submits a form. Once verified, the module submits all the data the user entered into the HubSpot form. If the address is wrong, error information displays and asks the user to correct the address. This solution allows us to verify or deny any address information while the user is on the page.

Brennan Nowers | Blue Frog Developer

The Results

By the end of its two 2021 initiatives, Cassling had verified over 1,725 mailing addresses with the USPS. This helped healthcare workers avoid mistakes when entering their information, eliminated the need for Cassling's team to cross-check hundreds of address details, and reduced unsuccessful deliveries and mail waste, providing a better customer experience. Throughout the process, Cassling was able to export the addresses with information from USPS added automatically into HubSpot properties, and at mailing time, they could simply send the Excel file to their printer and distributor for fulfillment.

Before Blue Frog implemented the address verification process into our workflow, many of our customers were not receiving their campaign resources due to a variety of reasons, from human errors to missing address information. With help from Blue Frog, we were able to seamlessly integrate software into our order forms, resulting in a more positive experience for our customers. This solution was an improvement not only for our customers but for our team as well. It eliminated the need to manually track down correct address information, incur additional shipping costs from resending packages, and more!

Morgan W. | Cassling Marketing Strategist

The Future

With the address verification solution in place, Cassling plans to continue utilizing the API and custom form module built in HubSpot for all future campaigns for years to come. Blue Frog's next step is to find a solution to automatically pull tracking numbers into HubSpot after shipment. This would allow Cassling to set up automations that notify their customers when their package is shipped and dynamically provide their unique tracking information.