The Challenge
A key component of any corporation’s future success lies in keeping customers satisfied and having them return for products and services. Strong and relevant communication with customers is essential to retention. The communication must be well coordinated, must seek to derive the maximum benefit from each communiqué, and ensure that the level of correspondence is managed.
Our client required a platform – a master customer database manager – to maintain a steady channel of relevant communication with customers while ensuring that customers were not flooded with communications, as well as guaranteeing compliance with the Privacy Act.
The Solution
ILS developed a customer communications management database. It coordinates communication with customers and ensures that communication measurably improves customer retention.
To develop the application we first assessed the required database linkages to nine data sources and identified data import requirements.
To ensure customer privacy compliance and effectiveness of communication, we developed business rules, such as customer segmentation parameters, and a communication tracking mechanism. The parameters allow the application to categorize customers into different segments. For example, frequently returning customers are divided into four sub-segments, and lapsed customers are divided into an additional four sub-segments. The mechanism’s predictive analysis capability automates the segmentation of customers so the client spends minimal effort on this activity.
The application required the development of different forms of communication including, at a minimum, emails, letters and postcards. For each communiqué, we developed a set of communication triggers as well as a standard message from the client and a customizable message from the sales channel. The content of the customizable message is determined by the parameters of each customer segment.
A set of triggers initiate the communiqués and their appropriate messages. The triggers are both scalable and flexible because criteria for the triggers may change over time, and the number of triggers may be increased over time. The triggers also be expanded to be used by other departments.
The Benefits
The project resulted in a viable mechanism to coordinate the communication between our client and its customers for improved customer retention. In addition to coordinating communication with customers, the solution develops communication tools that combine information and messages from our client with customizable messages from dealerships. The customer communications management database also ensures complete compliance with the mandated Privacy Act.
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