If you don’t have the right data, or if you do but you don’t use it properly, you won’t be able to engage with your customers in a meaningful way, writes Mike Prager, Technical Director at Tripartum
If you think of it in terms of networking meetings, the need for accurate personalisation becomes clearer. At your first event, you talk to someone and ask them a lot of questions about themselves. When you see them again at the next meeting, you use that information to engage with them more meaningfully and create a stronger bond.
However, if you’ve misremembered the first conversation and use the wrong information as the basis of your discussion – or have forgotten all about the initial encounter and treat the person like it’s the first time you’ve met – they’re not going to be impressed.
It is the same with the data that you use. The more relevant and accurate the information, the better you’ll engage with your customers. But get it wrong, and you’ll lose trust and loyalty…
When personalisation goes wrong
Most housing associations use data that is imported from many different sources. It isn’t just the tenancy information and detailed service charges they deal with, but other variables such as payment methods, benefits information, and preferred method of communication.
This data is is often procured through a variety of sources – e.g. housing management systems, spreadsheets, SurveyMonkey results, and more.
“You may think you can trust the data from your business systems, but it can be inaccurate by the time it is used in communications with customers”
This is where the demons come in. When you’re taking data from a variety of source systems and merging them into a document, things can go wrong. You may think you can trust the data from your business systems, but it can be inaccurate by the time it is used in communications with customers.
Accuracy can reduce as data moves around the system – decimal points can end up in the wrong place, figures can be added up incorrectly, or the wrong figures can be used. With no checks in place, the first time you know something is wrong is when the customer calls to try and sort things out. It costs time and money to field those calls and correct errors – not to mention the damage it does in terms of brand trust.
Capture those critters
Every year, we prevent thousands of documents going out of the door with the wrong information.
In our experience, associations either don’t notice the number of errors until they end up as call centre queries or don’t realise there is something they can do to prevent it. But there is.
One of the major benefits of working with us is that our platform can be configured to prevent the wrong information reaching your customers by rejecting data that doesn’t pass certain validations.
It could be an issue as simple as not having enough digits in a customer account number or the sum total of the service charge demand being wrong. We trap these documents and give you the ability to correct them before they’re sent, ensuring only the right information is distributed.
Reducing queries
Our aim is to simplify the information received by your customers and decrease the number of data errors. Indeed, we have picked up errors for many clients we work with and in one case prevented thousands of incorrect bills being produced. Imagine the impact if all those customers called to sort things out.
One of our key advantages is that we see ourselves as the gatekeeper before your communications reach the customer. Our checks reject data that doesn’t stack up and gives you the opportunity to correct it before it goes out the door.
Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you get rid of those data demons.
Tripartum is a Housing Digital Stakeholder that aims to make customer communications come alive by bringing together a unique blend of consulting, design, and tech expertise.
Image credit: Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock
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