Acxiom Case Study

Building a Customer-Centric Marketable Universe

How Acxiom and Microsoft Australia worked together to build more proactive customer relationships.

The Opportunity
Microsoft is a worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential. An organisation globally recognised for excellence in strategic marketing and the delivery of quality customer service, Microsoft aimed to further improve the standard and completeness of their customer information systems to lay the foundation for relationship programmes that will acquire, manage and retain customers. Achieving an integrated Single Customer View would require enterprise-wide access to meaningful interaction history and transaction data, regardless of Microsoft product or application. As manager of Microsoft Australias Data Management Organisation (DMO), Raymond Peer was charged with integrating data more effectively across the organisation, and with the improvement and enhancement of existing business data. Three primary requirements for achieving Microsofts business goals were identified:

As the small to medium sized business landscape changes more often than our key accounts, keeping this data current was critical to ensuring effective campaign and sales execution. Raymond Peer, Manager, Microsoft Australia Data Management Organisation

Improved integration of data from multiple sources, both internal and external Expansion of the existing prospect base in order to grow the business through customercentric marketing

Enhanced understanding of the size of Microsofts market and its position relative to that
market Microsofts data integration requirements were complex and multi-layered, and dependant upon the ability to clean data, identify duplicates and supplement or append additional business information. Due to the sensitive nature of customer data management it was vital for the Microsoft team to partner with an organisation that could not only provide the ideal technology solution, but would also support its business objectives.

The Solution
Microsofts DMO partnered with Acxiom to implement an outsourced solution that manages its CRM account data and provides a Single Customer View. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in data quality assessment, data management and service delivery, Acxiom designed and hosts a full-service customer information management solution. Tailor-made to support Microsofts account data management process, the solution is flexible enough to adapt quickly to evolving market environments, business needs and company growth. At the same time, Microsoft can ensure ongoing adherence to stringent industry data standards.

CASE STUDY

Microsofts internal team collaborated with Acxiom on an integrated Data Mastering Tool. This helps Microsoft to control the quality of customer information being captured within its sales and marketing source systems by validating the entry data against Acxiom data prior to system entry. The resulting data quality and information enrichment programme included:

Single Customer ViewProviding Microsoft with a unique identifier to link business

records across the multiple data sources that delivers an integrated customer view

Market SegmentationAbility to identify specific customer groups for customer-centric

target marketing

Market AnalysisA complete, current and accurate reflection of the Australian business
landscape and Microsofts place within that landscape

Data Quality ImprovementCleaning and de-duping existing Microsoft business

customer and contact lists

Data StandardisationWhile maintaining the validity and integrity of customer

information, new data is matched against Acxioms own data universes for cleansing, de-duplication and verification. Differences in the core account attribute data are then updated within Microsofts CRM system The Data Mastering Tool is being rolled out globally across all Microsoft subsidiaries. Acxiom continues to work with Microsoft in an ongoing relationship to assist the company to achieve its goals.

The Benefits
Microsoft has been able to significantly improve business efficiencies and enhance the quality of service to its customer base following the implementation of Acxioms solution:

Improving Sales PerformanceWith the foundation of a Single Customer View,

Microsoft has further enhanced its customer service strategies to reach more customers with the right message at the right time, which is directly reflected in improved sales results

Enhanced Customer RelationshipsA 3% decrease in returned mail and a 9%

decrease in CRM account duplication

Time to MarketAcxioms Customer Information Solution was delivered in only three

months

Operational EffectivenessWith automation in customer information validation, there is

reduced reliance on manual updates and data quality maintenance

Financial BenefitsNo capital expenditure or significant upfront investment has been

required for a measurable return on investment. There has been no need for specialist in-house skills and tools

Time SavingThe account validation process has been reduced from six weeks to less
than three days

GovernanceBest practice data management process to ensure integrity and

adherence to industry standards

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