All Things Data

Foundation for Sucessful Data Analysis

In these challenging economic times there is a greater need for data analysis to understand what is going on and to determine what to do about it.

There are a plethora of data mining and business intelligence tools on the market today.  Even Microsoft’s SQL Server has business intelligence multi-dimensional data cubing and data mining algorithms built-in as part of its capabilities.

Still, while there are lots of great analysis tools available, it is a fundamental step that you need to first have your data properly organized to gain the benefit of these tools.

For example, if you are analyzing transactional data for multi-entity organizations, the first step is to identify and link all of the separate, but related entities and individuals that are part of the same organization in order to get the complete analysis of an organization.  Also, the data needs to be organized in an efficient manner, so that the analysis tools can work in an efficient manner as well.

Further, a continuously updated data framework is going to enable analysis on an on-going basis and not just a moment in time snapshot.  Without first organizing and coordinating the data, you either will be unable to perform the necessary analysis or your analysis will be incomplete and inaccurate regardless of the analysis tool.

BI: Beyond the Cloud

Business intelligence tools have been all the rage for some time now.  Cloud computing is one of the current rages in the IT world.  Software as a service is attractive to companies because there are less up-front costs, pay as you go billing, quicker deployments, and no infrastructure to manage.  And Business Intelligence is critical in order to make decisions based on the best available information.  So naturally, providing business intelligence solutions in the cloud is a logical progression of combining these trends.  An article that I just read, BI in the Cloud? Yes, and on the Ground, Too, goes on to discuss this trend. 

We are also seeing this trend.  More and more of our clients need business intelligence solutions so that they can make the best possible decisions in this current economic environment.  Further, with limited IT staffs, limited budgets, and limited time to make things happen, more and more of our clients want us to host their business intelligence solutions so that the deployment can take place quickly with limited involvement from their already stretched thin internal IT resources.

Additionally, we are also seeing a trend that even goes beyond hosting business intelligence applications.  Many of our clients do not even want to learn and interact with the business intelligence tool.  They do not have the time and desire as they are working to make things happen on a day to day basis.  If we give them a tool, it may just sit there.  Instead, they just want answers to their questions.  Simply, they provide us their data and then we set-up the data framework and reporting tools in our facilities.  Then, they ask questions and we provide the answers.  The more answers that are provided usually lead to follow-up questions and further answers.  Sometimes, the clients ask us to also help in asking the questions based on our understanding of their data and our experience in working with data and other clients.  Many times, we find the clients that are the most successful in using their data for business advantage are those that utilize a completely outsourced business intelligence solution that goes beyond just hosting it for them.

MDM Drivers

Bob Bloom, President of Business Development Solutions, recently attended the MDM (Master Data Management) New York 2009 Conference.

I spoke with Bob in order to get an understanding of some of the main points of the Conference.

The conference had a focus on Financial Services and Healthcare.  However, the presentations, discussions and case studies had relevance for all organizations working to succeed in today’s economic environment.

The most talked about topic at the conference was Data Governance.  Managing and controlling data throughout the organization are critical elements in successfully managing today’s organizations.  Attendees were briefed on how leading organizations are conducting formally managing their data, understanding where data is, keeping it accurate and understanding what the data means.  Data Governance is an essential foundation for MDM, Business Intelligence, and Data Access by the users in an organization.

Concerning the drivers for implementing MDM, Compliance was a major driver for these organizations.  This is understandable since the conference had a focus on financial services and healthcare.  These organizations are highly regulated industries and will only continue to see more regulation in the foreseeable future.  However, it is important for all organizations to consider the Compliance and Risk Management issues they face and how their data is a key element in this.

Other big drivers discussed for MDM implementations were Cost Savings and Revenue Creation.  Better information and making that better information more accessible with complete views of your customer data can significantly help an organization both save and make money.  Even if you are not optimistic about your sales growth in this current economic environment, better information can help you maintain your customer base as much as possible.  As we are seeing with our customers, Retention Marketing is critical in these economic times.  Harnessing and effectively using your data assets becomes vital in planning and carrying out the retention effort.

Technology and Telecommunications Data

As we continue our series in speaking with organizations that provide external compiled marketing data and related services, I had the opportunity to speak with Randy Ilas, Vice President, Product Development & Marketing, for Harte-Hanks Market Intelligence (“HHMI”).  Harte-Hanks Market Intelligence is a leading provider of database products and services to the technology and telecommunications industries in North America, Europe, and Latin America.  I was interested in speaking with Randy because Harte-Hanks provides a level of in-depth and actionable data that we do not normally see from other external data providers.  Further, as data integration/data management specialists, I also wanted to gain some insight on the power of integrating Harte-Hanks’ data with internal resources. 

Allthingsdata.com:    What are some of the considerations when deciding on whether an organization should use internal resources for lead generation versus outsourcing?

Randy Ilas:  In thinking about the complexity of an organization’s sales cycle, what does an organization want that sales force to do?  A sales force should be focused on moving individual interactions with their customers through the sales funnel.  Tasks like lead discovery and qualification take away time from a sales representative’s ability to work on closing deals.  Therefore, it’s typically best to separate these functions.  Once you have made the decision to separate lead generation efforts from your sales force, then you need to decide whether this function should be done internally or should be outsourced.  Unless you have an on-going effort, your organization won’t have the expertise, training, and best practices regarding lead generation required to be successful.  You will need to devote a substantial amount of time to developing and implementing the lead generation program.  This will include script development, email development, training, and lead delivery.  All of these components can be easily outsourced allowing your management to focus on closing the leads that have been delivered. 

Allthingsdata.com:  What are some of the considerations from choosing one external provider versus another?

Randy Ilas:  Organizations should evaluate the outsourcing company’s track record and approach.  Additionally, the outsourcing company should understand the market that you are targeting.  In addition to having general expertise in lead generation, the outsourcing company should be able to bring new insight to your market by understanding your target market.

Allthingsdata.com:  How does HHMI differ from the typical outsourced lead generation firm?

Randy Ilas:  Harte-Hanks Market Intelligence provides high quality lead generation services.  We are focused exclusively on the technology sector giving our agents an unparalleled level of expertise at reaching your target market. Our agents won't be inquiring about credit services in the morning, for example, and transitioning to technology in the afternoon.  We also have superior market intelligence.  Best in class lead generation requires best in class data.  Calling lists of organizations that have initiatives and/or express interest in advance can vastly improve program performance. For example, using our Ci Pipeline initiatives to fuel your prospecting calls can improve performance by as much as 50% over a typical segmented cold call program.  We believe that our technology market specialization coupled with our superior data, makes Harte-Hanks Market Intelligence the best choice for lead  generation services.

Allthingsdata.com:  What is your process once you begin working with a client?

Randy Ilas:  We can help a company by both fueling their process and helping them refine their process.  On the marketing side, we can help with segmenting and targeting.  We can round out your view on your customers and prospects.  We can provide insights such as the size of a target’s technology infrastructure, what a company is most likely to buy, and other details.  We can then apply this data to expand the client’s view.  In addition, we can help identify non-targets.  We can help identify who the client should not be spending money on.  We find that most companies lack the ability to identify non-targets.

On the sales side, we can provide fuel by helping companies find new opportunities.  We can identify companies that are planning on spending in the areas that our clients serve.  We can provide our clients with a consistent set of information for their reps to follow-up.  We can provide such things as the target company’s contact information, their budget, and timeline.  A seller needs to make choices on how they follow-up on opportunities.  By standardizing lead information, the seller can prioritize opportunities.  Further, since all of the sales reps are working off of the same quality of leads, a sales manager now has consistent information in order to evaluate its sales force and make adjustments to the sales process.

Allthingsdata.com:  Besides the technology and telecommunication industries, who else uses your services?

Randy Ilas:  We have several retail and staffing clients as well as government, legal and educational organizations that primarily use our products and services for research and market analysis.  We also see potential for other industries such as retail, finance, and equipment leasing to use are our offerings for lead generation.

Allthingsdata.com:  Besides lead generation, how else are companies using HHMI’s services?

Randy Ilas:  Whether you are launching a new product or just want to know where you stand in the market place, it is important to understand the market opportunity. Companies use our information for market assessments, market penetration, and market sizing.  While analyst firms such as Gartner and Forrester can provide a broad understanding of a market, we can break the market down by segment.  Based on our long history of collecting market intelligence, we have developed sophisticated models that allow us to predict which businesses are most likely to have a need for or intent to purchase a specific technology.  This allows our clients to focus on the segment of the market that is most likely to benefit from their particular solution, thereby lowering costs and increasing their sales and marketing ROI.

Sales territory assessment is another use.  What should the size of a sales territory be?  If a sales territory is struggling, it may be that the market it too small.  If a market is large, even if you are doing well, you may be underperforming if you do not have enough resource in that territory.

Lead scoring and routing is another use.  A client may have leads from their website, tradeshows, and other sources.  We can help the client decide whether the opportunity should go to sales, the channel, continue to be nurtured, and in some cases it may be better not to spend resources on follow-up.

Editor’s Note:  For a further discussion on Market Potential and Client profiling, please review HHMI’s Ci Match and Append Service.

Allthingsdata.com:  As data integration/data management specialists, I am going to ask a few questions on data integration.  How can your clients benefit from matching HHMI data with the client’s data?

Randy Ilas:  Integrating our data with the client’s data helps complete the client’s view.  After the integration, the seller knows the size of the opportunity and has the background to frame the engagement.  The seller is prepped in order to begin the conversation with the client and does not have to spend as much time on gathering information.  Further, we are able to not only provide the “C” level contacts, but also additional contacts that can help the rep find entry points into the opportunity.

Editor’s Note:  For additional discussion on integrating HHMI’s data with a client’s CRM/SFA data, please review their Ci Whole Market services.

Allthingsdata.com:  In this age of multi-channel marketing, how important is data integration to managing campaigns?

Randy Ilas:  Data integration is critical in order to properly fuel campaign efforts.  It is important to match up the responses from the web, by phone, in-person, and other avenues back to the campaigns in order to know which campaigns are working.  Further, it is equally important to be able to clearly state internally what is working so that you can gain approval to keep successful campaigns going.  Further, things are also changing, so you need to be able to track how the campaign results are changing in order to make adjustments.

Data integration is equally important to help identify campaigns that need to be fixed.  The more you can fine tune the campaign, the better.  I see a lot of shot and blast campaigns that are just churning activity.  However, the churn is not meaningful.  Reps would rather have fewer, but better leads.  Data integration enables you to properly track the results, good or bad, so the proper decisions and adjustments can be made.

Allthingsdata.com:  In addition to integrating your data with the client’s CRM/SFA data, do you see any benefit in also integrating the data with the client’s other internal data sources?

Randy Ilas:  Although we do not always see it that much, integrating our data with past credit, past campaigns, and other internal sources, along with the CRM/SFA integration, helps generate the most successful campaigns.

Allthingsdata.com:  Any other final thoughts?

Randy Ilas:  Despite the economy, we are still seeing lots of opportunity and lots of money available for purchases.  Although it’s harder, we are still finding millions of dollars in opportunities.  Harte-Hanks can help organize the sales process and help you eliminate the inefficiency to help you be successful.  And, we can do all this in a matter of days versus the several months or even years it would take to go it alone.

Data Governance Manager

Data Governance has become a high priority for many organizations.  While the initiatives for Data Governance will vary by organization, the two most common reasons that we see for implementing Data Governance with our clients are:

• To gain more complete and accurate reporting and analysis

• To improve sales and marketing actions with customers and prospects

If your organization is going to improve its Data Governance efforts, you are going to need someone who can manage the people, processes, and technology that are involved in Data Governance.  The following is a Position Summary of a Job Description that we have put together for the Data Governance Manager:

Position Summary:

The Data Governance Manager is responsible for the implementation and oversight of the Company’s data management goals, standards, practices, process, and technologies.  This includes the Company’s Data Management System.

The Data Management System includes the Company’s Data Integration System which consolidates and coordinates the Company’s data assets, any Data Framework applications needed to implement analysis, internal data sources and external data sources.  Other data management tools, such as Business Intelligence applications, may also be part of the system.

The Manager shall have the business experience to understand how data can be utilized within the Company, along with the ability to communicate with Company executives and staff to understand their data and information needs; provide guidance and direction on usage of the Data Management System; and develop analysis reports and key findings to Company staff.

The Manager will have sufficient technical knowledge of data management and databases to help with the development and ongoing administration and management of the Data Management System.

This is a cross functional position requiring coordination with various company departments.  The position mission is to be empowered by direction from Executive Management as to the importance of effective data management and its use to enable the accomplishment of the Company’s strategic and tactical goals.

Business-To-Institutional (B2i) Data

I had the pleasure of interviewing John Hood, President, and Kirk Chritton, Director of Marketing, of MCH.  MCH is a leading compiler of business-to-institution (B2i) databases and mailing lists.

I wanted to interview John and Kirk for a couple of reasons.  First, institutions are an important market segment for many of our clients.  Yet, we do not necessarily speak about B2i marketing being any different than B2B marketing.  Therefore, I wanted to hear about how B2i marketing and data differ from B2B.  Also, there is a trend for external B2B data to be integrated with internal data sources and I wanted to gain their perspective on how B2i external data and data integration fit together.

The following are my questions and MCH’s responses.  In many cases, MCH had a lot of information on the topic and therefore I have included links to their website so that you can gain a more in-depth response on the topic:

Allthingsdata.com:    How is B2i sales and marketing different than B2B?

MCH:  There are many differences between B2i organizations and B2B companies.  Here are just a couple of the differences.  B2i organizations are Not-For-Profit where B2B is For-Profit.  B2i organizations do not pay taxes while B2B organizations do.  The B2i organization’s primary purpose is to serve patrons while B2B’s primary mission is to sell customers.  Therefore, the B2i marketer must develop marketing campaigns that appeal to the motivations of the B2i decision makers and these motivations are usually very different than the B2B decision makers.  Editor’s Note:  For a more detailed view on this subject, please refer to MCH’s White Paper: Beyond B2B—A New View Of The Institutional Market.

Allthingsdata.com:  How does B2i compiled data differ from general B2B data?

MCH:  Another important difference between B2i and B2B marketing is where the decisions are made.  In B2B, typically purchase decisions are made at high level managerial positions.  In B2i, line level service providers can make purchase decisions.  Consequently, it is important to be able to know the contact names of the line level service providers.  Since B2i compilers are focused on a smaller universe than general B2B providers, they are able to provide the contact names for the line level service providers.  Further, other data criteria that can be critical to a marketer’s success, such as differentiating between a school and school district, can be made by the B2i compiler specialist since they are focused on a specific market.

        MCH has a variety of ways that we are able to gather this specificity of data.  For example, we will call a hospital four times a year to conduct telephone surveys and verify information. We also have other methods and the methods that we use are specific to each market.  A general B2B compiler has a “one size fits all approach” and therefore the compilation of hospitals is done in the same manner that they compile for auto mechanics.

Allthingsdata.com:  We have some clients who are utilizing free compiled data from the government.  How does a fee-based compiled list compare to a free government list?

MCH:  Even in a market where there is a government list that can be downloaded for free, the government’s list is just a starting point.  For example, let’s take schools.  First, the government list has issues in the compilation of private schools and private schools can be over 20% of the market.  Even the public school list is two years old and therefore does not include new schools.  Many times a school district may be organized in a certain way for legal purposes, but in reality, it is organized in a different way for purchasing.  However, the government list will provide the legal organization while the compiler can provide the information in the way that the schools actually do business.  Further, the government does not provide contact names which are essential for B2i marketing.  MCH sometimes may use a government list as a starting point and then we build on it to provide the necessary information for a B2i marketer to be successful.

Allthingsdata.com:  Besides businesses that provide products and services that are specific to Institutions, what kind of businesses should consider B2i markets?

MCH:  Most businesses are already in the game selling to Institutions, they just may not be doing it well.  For example, most B2B companies are using SIC Codes from a general data provider, yet SIC Codes do not do a good job of identifying Institutions.  Consequently, the typical B2B marketer is under exploiting the opportunity in B2i.  Many B2B marketers may not realize that the B2i market is one-third of the economy.  Most B2B marketers assume that B2i decision makers act just like B2B decision makers.  However, B2i decision makers are different.  They have different motivations.  Further, many B2i organizations are large and complex and make purchasing decisions in a collaborative way. 

Allthingsdata.com:  When choosing a B2i data provider, what should someone look for?

MCH:  If the data provider is talking about things like SIC Codes, sales revenue, number of employees, and other data elements that are typically provided for B2B marketers, then they really do not understand the B2i market.  For example, if you market to hospitals, then the number of beds may be the critical data element to understand the market opportunity.  For churches, congregation size is more important than number of employees especially since most of the workers for a church are volunteers.  Understanding enrollment and demographics are critical when marketing to schools.  Institutional data providers should provide specific data elements based on the market.

Allthingsdata.com:  How do you suggest a B2B marketer go about taking advantage of the Federal Stimulus?

MCH:  About half of the Federal Stimulus is inter-government transfers such as money going to institutions like police departments and public schools.  There are also regional variations.  In some cases, the stimulus money is to help keep existing services going, while in other states that are in better budgetary situations, the stimulus money can be used for new projects.  MCH provides BudgetAware Bulletins to help you track the opportunities.  Marketers are going to need to track the stimulus closely in order to take advantage of the opportunity. We have also launched stimulusmarketing.com to assist marketers in their efforts.

Allthingdata.com:  How often and when should B2i marketing take place?

MCH:  It depends on what you market.  If you sell a product that is relatively inexpensive, let’s say a $100 seminar, you can market at anytime.  Most institutions have some discretionary budgets that can be used for smaller purchases.  However, for larger items, such as a school bus, there is a longer lead time.  Usually the decision gets made far in advance of the purchase; however, the purchase usually is made by the close of the fiscal year.  Further, it’s very important to know when an organization’s fiscal year closes.  Institutions typically want to spend all of the money in their budgets, otherwise they will risk losing funding in the future.  Therefore, the period right before the close of the fiscal year represents an opportunity to sell discretionary items to those that need to spend their budget before the close.

Allthingsdata.com:  Why are SIC Codes inadequate for B2i marketing?

MCH:  SIC Codes do not include many important industries.  For example, there is not any SIC Code for Diagnostic Centers.  Schools and School Districts are in the same SIC Code, yet Schools teach and School Districts administer which are two very different functions.  Churches may be spread out in many SIC Codes and therefore you can end up either having incomplete lists by not targeting all of the SIC Codes that contain Churches or you end up marketing to organizations who are in the same SIC Codes as Churches but are not Churches.  However, since many B2B marketers use SIC Codes, MCH has created a reference that compares the vertically-compiled B2i lists to the SIC-driven B2B databases used by many business marketers.

Allthingsdata.com:  How does data quality impact B2i marketing?

MCH:  When you are using a list that is organized by such things as SIC Codes and employee size, there may be many issues with the data that impact effective B2i marketing.  As previously discussed, industries like Churches and Nursing Homes may be spread out over several SIC Codes.  MCH has specific categories just for Churches, Nursing Homes, and other Institutional segments.  Even if you have a successful campaign using a B2B list for a B2i marketing initiative, it will be hard to duplicate your efforts since the B2B list is problematic for analytics.  Also, it is important to understand job titles.  For example, an Acquisition Librarian is not the one who makes the decisions on what books to buy.  Instead, this is the responsibility of the Collection Development Librarian.  Editor’s Note: MCH’s whitepaper, How Data Quality Issues Impact B2B Marketers and Modelers, provides a more complete discussion of this topic.

Allthingsdata.com:  How effective is email marketing for B2i marketers?

MCH:  Email marketing can be very effective.  Since you are emailing professionals at work, if you are sending messages with relevant content and offers, the Institutional decision makers can be appreciative and receptive to receiving useful information that will help them perform their missions.

Allthingsdata.com:  Besides mailing/emailing for specific campaigns, how else can B2i data help an organization?

MCH:  Our data is being used in every way imaginable.  It used in CRM systems, modeling, validation, homeland security, emergency planning, mapping, and many other uses.

Allthingsdata.com:  Many of our clients need to organize their data by organization hierarchy. How can B2i data help with this organization?

MCH:  Our clients use our data to understand which schools are part of a school district, which hospitals are part of a hospital system, what the branches are in a library network, what child care facilities are part of a child care chain, and many other examples.  Further, this is an area that we continue to enhance.

Allthingsdata.com:  There is a trend for B2B external data providers to also provide data integration/data management software and services so that the B2B data can become integrated with the client’s internal data sources and not just be used separately for campaigns.  How does this trend impact B2i?

MCH:  The trend is also relevant in B2i.  In B2B, there are roughly 15 million businesses.  However, in B2i, there are significantly less organizations.  Therefore, many times B2i data is used to supplement and enhance B2B data.  Consequently, it is an important trend to integrate B2i data with B2B data along with other internal data sources.

Allthingsdata.com:  Are there any final thoughts that you would like to provide our readers?

MCH:  MCH is proud to state that we have not had any layoffs in this economic climate.  In fact, we have had a record June as many organizations are seeing the value in targeting Institutions, especially with the Federal Stimulus initiatives.

Allthingsdata.com:  Once again, I want to thank John and Kirk for their time and their insight on B2i data.   As Institutions are a large and growing part of our economy, especially with the Federal Stimulus, the use of B2i data has become even more important for our clients.  We have seen a trend to use Master Data Management to integrate compiled B2i data with compiled B2B data and internal data sources in order to gain a complete view of customers and prospects in order to capitalize on the opportunity in the Institutional Market Segment. 

Compiled B-to-B Data and Master Data Management

I recently read a fascinating Whitepaper by Ruth Stevens and Bernice Grossman from the DMRS Group entitled, Online Sources Of B-to-B Data:  A Comparative Analysis.  The study looked at the volume and accuracy of data provided by ten participating suppliers of marketing information with online access.  In addition to getting various counts from the data providers, the study also accessed accuracy by verifying ten different individuals’ information from various industries and various executive levels against the data compilers’ files.  These 10 individuals had volunteered to be in the study and verified their information.

The study made the following observations:

• There was a wide variance among company counts and contacts from the different data providers 

• Email and fax addresses were the least likely data element to be available

• Data accuracy was correct in the vast majority of cases based upon the verification from the actual individual

• The biggest issue was coverage.  On any given record, anywhere from 2 to 7 out of the 10 compilers did not have any information on a given individual.  Further, the higher the executive level, the better the data coverage.

So how does the study of B-to-B data compilers relate to master data management (MDM)?

When using a compiled list, you are most likely going to receive multiple contacts from the same organization.  Further, these multiple contacts can also be located at multiple locations.  Additionally, there may also be some duplicate contacts within the compilers data.  Further, since no compiler has complete information (and certain compilers have better coverage in certain industries than others), you may also need to use multiple compilers in order to get the best possible coverage.  You are then going to want to match up the compilers’ information against your own customer and prospect files.  At minimum, you are going to need to match the files against your sales contacts.  If you are looking for a complete single view of your customer, then you are also going to want to match up the external files against other internal sources such as the accounting and customer service systems.

A master data management solution can coordinate these separate files and keep them linked.  Contacts from the compiled files can be matched as same contacts based on the MDM matching algorithms.  Related contacts and locations can also be associated.  Contacts and locations can even be organized based on a multi-level hierarchy. 

The following are some of the benefits for matching your compiled B-to-B data against your internal data sources:

• Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service - A single customer view can be developed to help a representative prioritize sales opportunities, up-sell, cross-sell, and better service a customer.  This view can include information from sales, accounting, customer service, the compiled data, and other sources.  Understanding the corporate hierarchy and other related relationships can help a representative identify new opportunities and referrals.  Lists can be generated for campaigns based on information from both internal and external data.

• Analysis – Queries can be performed across multiple data sources in order to use all of a company’s business intelligence in an integrated fashion.  Dashboard reports can be created off of this integration.  Further, the multiple representations of the same or related organization can be counted as “one” making reports more accurate and complete.  Utilizing the compiled data in coordination with internal sources can help executives understand market penetration and market potential.

• Data Management – Duplicate contacts can be identified and records with missing or inaccurate data elements can be populated from more accurate and complete data elements from the other sources. 

Data Quality, the Multimarket Challenge, and the MDM Solution

I recently read an interesting article by Carol Krol in B to B magazine entitled, Improving data quality is job 1.  According to the article, in this “weakened economy, having accurate data becomes even more important to ensure targeted marketing messages actually reach customers and prospects.”  Further, a Forrester Research report indicates that cleaning up data and improving integration with customer data is a top B2B Chief Marketing Officer priority.  With this background, I thought I take a look at data quality and how it relates to master data management.

The Multichannel Challenge

The article goes on to state that “one of the big challenges to maintaining data quality is the multichannel sales process, which often results in customer data residing in silos.”  The article provides an example where someone may sign-up for an event online but buy something directly from a salesperson. 

In order to have a complete and accurate single view of the customer, these separate data silos need to be brought together.  As the article states, “that is not always easy to do”.    A sales person might enter the data as “Key Bank”.  The official name of the company is “Key Corp.” and may have been entered this way online.  Without the proper integration, these two names might be represented as two separate companies.

The Master Data Management (“MDM”) Solution

A MDM solution provides the matching algorithms and linking process that enables two different representations of the same organization, such as “Key Corp.” and “Key Bank” to be identified as part of the same organization.  This can be done even if the two different representations are in two completely separate databases or separate data silos.  In addition to company names, a MDM system can link contact names (or even non-company/contact information such as product information).

A MDM solution can improve data quality in a number of ways:

1. Identifying same and related organization names
2. Identifying same contact names
3. Building corporate hierarchies
4. Building best of breed records by utilizing missing data elements from separate data sources 
5. Identifying duplicate records

Some of the benefits of increased data quality from a MDM solution are:

1. Providing a complete and accurate single customer view for more effective and efficient sales, marketing, and customer service
2. Increased opportunities for referrals, up-selling, and cross-selling by building organizational hierarchies
3. More effective and less expensive direct marketing costs with accurate contact information and decreased duplication
4. Better analysis utilizing coordinated business intelligence across multiple data silos
5. More complete, accurate, and faster building or consolidating of separate data sources into new or legacy database systems

Master Data Management Business Drivers

I recently came across a survey from Gartner ranking the primary business drivers of current MDM plans/initiatives. 

According to the survey, the current MDM business drivers ranked in order of highest priority are:

1. Cost Optimization & Efficiencies
2. Compliance & Risk Management
3. Revenue & Profit Growth

As Cost Optimization & Efficiencies is the number one business driver (43.5%), I thought we’d take a look at how MDM can help in this area.

Here are a few cost optimization & efficiencies that an organization can achieve with an MDM initiative:

• Allocation of Resources – Matching and linking data from multiple data source can help you understand the proper number of customers, prospects, market potential, market penetration, resources being used to sell and service customers, and other items.  This understanding can help an organization measure the current status of the business and analyze where the business is heading.  Thereafter, an organization can determine the proper number of sales reps, customer service reps, distribution centers, and other cost factors in order to reduce expenses without jeopardizing revenue.

• Employee efficiency – With information at their finger tips, customer service reps can view the complete and accurate authorized information about a customer across data silos in order to help preserve customers and potentially up-sell and cross-sell existing customers when the opportunity exists.  Similarly, sales reps can have a single view of their customer in order to prioritize who they should target.  Further, sales reps can be armed with the best available information to help up-sell and cross-sell their existing customers.  Other departments can also perform their jobs in a more efficient and effective manner with a single view of the customer.

• Multi-Channel Interactions – First, customers and prospects may initiate contact with your organization through multiple channels.  MDM is needed so that you can correlate these multiple touches in separate sources and identify them as being part of the same opportunity or issue.  Additionally, there may be multiple departments in your organization that are involved in selling or servicing a customer.  These multiple departments may be directly communicating with the customer or they may be only communicating internally.  Either way, it is important that everyone is on the same page by knowing all the relevant information from the separate silos in order to service the customer as effectively and efficiently as possible.

In addition to the examples above, Andrew White from Gartner offers some additional cost savings and efficiencies in his blog entry, Economic woes will drive need for MDM.

3 questions you should ask yourself when considering Customer Data Integration/Master Data Management

Master Data Management is one of the fastest growing information technology applications and therefore you might be asking yourself if this is something that you should be looking at for your organization.  Master Data Management can involve the integration of many data types.  However, for the purposes of this discussion, I am going to focus on a certain type of MDM, Customer Data Integration (“CDI”).

Here are 3 questions that you should ask yourself to see if you may benefit from CDI/MDM:

Is it a struggle for your organization to accurately and completely count the right number of prospects and customers?

Executives need to understand your organization’s complete and accurate number of customers and prospects.  Many times executives need to understand this information with some type of parameters, such as how many customers there are by region, product line, or some other criteria.  Sometimes even providing a list of who are your best customers, top 20 customers, etc. can be a challenge.  This is due to the various representations of the company name, multiple location and contact names for the same or related organization, data for the same or related organization being entered in multiple data sources without an indicator linking the different data sources, and other factors.

However, this information can help determine:

• How should costs and investments such as sales reps, services locations, distribution centers, marketing campaigns, and other resources are allocated.

• Who are your best customers and therefore should require a lot of attention and resource from your organization in order to preserve your key relationships in these uncertain economic times.

Is there information in multiple data sources that can help reps cross-sell, up-sell, and overall better manage accounts?

Sales reps need to be armed with information in order to reach their sales goals.  A sales rep needs to determine which customers they should target, when they should target them, and what should they be promoting.  Typically, the answers to these questions are found in multiple data sources.  Further, if there are multiple representations, locations, and contacts for the same or related organization, without a CDI/MDM integration, the rep maybe looking at incomplete data if the rep is just looking at a single entry in a database system. 

Here are some examples of items that a rep could see at their finger tips with a CDI/MDM solution:

• An integrated view from one or more financial systems can provide how much revenue, what products and services the customer has purchased, and when the contract is up for renewal.

• An integrated view from the customer service database can provide the client’s support issues.

• An integrated from other sources can provide other valuable information such as how many people at the client are using your service and where in the process is an item that is being shipped.

Are data quality issues increasing costs and impacting sales?

Just about every organization has data quality issues.  These issues could be duplicate records, incomplete or inaccurate data, data elements in inappropriate data fields, and a lack of understanding of how separate data records are associated.  Data quality issues can be different for each organization. 

A big data quality issue today is the need to centrally manage and market to all the relationships that an organization has developed with a client.  These relationships could be key decision makers or influencers or they could be potential key decision makers and influencers should the current key decision makers and influencers leave your client.  Many times, these contacts are not contained in the company’s centralized CRM or other sales and marketing database.  They may be in communication systems like Outlook or Lotus Notes, customer service systems, financial systems, user systems, or other data sources.  Further, if your representatives only have these contacts in their handheld devices, once your rep leaves, the relationship may also leave.  Additionally, you need to build these relationships over time.  Otherwise, if you wait to make outreach to current or potential decision makers and influencers, it may be too late to build a relationship once the key decision maker has left.

A CDI/MDM solution can help you identify and resolve the data quality issues that are increasing your costs and decreasing your sales and marketing effectiveness.