CASE STUDY: Targeting power.(Case study)

Capscan OnDemand has enabled Electricity 4 Business to build a database that improves service to existing business clients and marketing to prospective ones

Penetrating a target market of over 1.4 million UK SME customers requires a robust sales strategy. Electricity 4 Business, the UK business electricity supplier to SMEs, supports its sales efforts with field teams, telemarketing agents, a website and a network of 140 agents and brokers.

It has integrated Salesforce.com into its back office billing system, the EDW Energy Retail Suite. Prospect data is captured and entered into Salesforce. com, joining 380,000 records in the database. The hosted CRM system integrates directly with Electricity 4 Business's Internet- based point-of-sale (POS) system used by field agents and its corporate website. Leads from the site are then sent straight to the telemarketing team. Fast, efficient and accurate capture of prospect or customer data is paramount to ensuring efficient customer service.

Electricity 4 Business sales and marketing director Graham Paul says: "We rely heavily on accurate business address data to assist our sales and marketing strategies. Our field agents use postcode sectors - the first three or four characters of a postcode - for grouping sales leads into 'field territories', making postcode accuracy critical to an efficient targeted campaign.

"Without a way to validate the data coming in, duplicates could enter the system with a risk of targeting the same business twice - whether this is through the telemarketing teams or direct mail - potentially damaging our image."

The company used QAS software before installing Salesforce.com, but found it did not integrate with the new system. It wanted a more fluid way to validate address data while it was being entered without having to access another application. It also required the ability to enhance data as it is validated, to add value to the database and assist targeting, especially for field teams.

"We selected Capscan OnDemand for Salesforce.com because it was the only solution that met our stringent specifications. It was designed specifically for use within Salesforce.com, so we knew installation would be simple and quick," says Paul.

Because Capscan OnDemand for Salesforce.com is priced based on the volume of data validated, it is more cost-efficient than investing in a full enterprise application designed for more frequent use, as well as requiring licenses for each of the 120 users of Salesforce.com.

Electricity 4 Business also bought access to extra business datasets, including standard industrial classification (SIC) codes, telephone and fax numbers. SIC codes are used to identify and categorise types of industry and business in the UK and Europe - an essential reference tool.

New records are entered into the POS system or website and then flagged up for entry into Salesforce.com and address validation using Capscan OnDemand at the same time. Paul estimates that a total of around 5,000 new business addresses are being validated a month as they are entered by users from all channels.

"Capscan OnDemand has met all our requirements and more. We are confident that bills reach our customers safely and money is not being wasted on duplicate direct mail or targeting the same prospect twice. With accurate postcode data, we also receive discounts on our mailing. It all contributes to being able to offer our customers a low cost product," says Paul.

The ability to append and expand records with commercial data has considerably increased the effectiveness of Electricity 4 Business' marketing and sales activity. "Sometimes, when we buy lead data, or a field agent captures it using the POS system, it is not as complete as we would like. We use the commercial data sets to enhance the prospect records to perform customer profiling," says Paul.

He concludes: "Capscan OnDemand has enabled us to build a quality database that not only ensures the bills get to our customers at the right place, but strongly backs up our sales strategies, ensuring they are more effective. We work on a basis of cost avoidance - we know that each new address we enter into Salesforce.com is complete, accurate and valid, so not only is there less risk of wasted mail costs and brand damage, but we have the ability to add value to the data we hold."

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