Sub-Zero
In order to maintain close brand relations, luxury kitchen appliance maker Sub-Zero needs to know — exactly — where customers are.
“On average, we handle about 2,000 addresses every day… Many are customers that we match to existing records.” – Jason Van Pee, Database Administrator, Sub-Zero
Reduce duplication and increase customer intimacy
BCC Architect
Clean data that saves Sub-Zero time and money and improves their high-standard customer relationship management
The ultimate aim of customer relationship management (CRM) systems is to make a company come across less like a corporation and more like a friend. Whether an interaction is in person, online or on the phone, a high-end brand like Sub-Zero will instantly recognize who you are, remember the products you own, and know your support issues: past and present.
COLD STORAGE WITH A WARM RECEPTION
Sub-Zero Group strives to extend this friendly brand interaction throughout the customer’s relationship with the product. The challenge comes with maintaining CRM data quality under a steady stream of homeowner touch points at many stages of the ownership cycle and through many different communication channels. Sub-Zero Group’s solution for recognizing customers in these varied situations is rooted in effective address management.
THE PROBLEM OF CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION
Maintaining reliable customer data from just a single point-of-access is difficult without a method to detect errors. Sub-Zero Group needed a unique identifier, a way to match a household with its account. Telephone numbers no longer work as a unique identifier, the rise of cell phones took care of that. Email accounts have the same issue. The most effective method is the postal address, except that addresses can be written and recited in many different variations.
PUTTING ALL ADDRESSES IN CORRECT FORM
Sub-Zero Group’s solution: to supplement their CRM software with an address verification application from BCC Software called BCC Architect. Just as spell check corrects common misspellings in real time, the BCC Software address verification process checks every variation of cardinal numbers, directions and abbreviations, and automatically changes it into the USPS® preferred format.
BCC Architect easily runs as a behind the-scenes procedure, delivered through COM and .NET architecture. The integrated address verification routines inform customer service representatives the moment an address doesn’t match a valid USPS delivery point. If there is a mistake, operators can ask the customer to confirm the address.
ADDING UP THE VALUE OF DATA QUALITY
Jason Van Pee, Database Administrator, reports that, “Architect definitely saves Sub-Zero time and money.” For companies sending out full color catalogs that are undeliverable or returned, the costs add up, perhaps $1 per print, up to another $1.50 in bulk mail postage and return fees — especially considering the typical undeliverable rate of 10 to 25%.
The elimination of duplicate CRM entries provides tangible value, even if it’s a little more difficult to quantify. “It definitely cleans our data,” says Van Pee. A friend wouldn’t send two party invitations to a couple, nor does Sub-Zero want two catalogs to go to spouses in the same household. In the end, Sub-Zero Group strives to provide the personal touch expected of luxury appliances — and BCC Software solutions help close the gap between impersonal forms and top-notch service.
