Precision Marketing: Practice areas

Marketing Operations

As companies face increasingly intense competition for customers, every gain in marketing efficiency invariably translates into increased revenues and profitability. No wonder, then, that so many leading companies look to Fair Isaac to operate their customer data management infrastructures.

Today, we're processing direct marketing lists in less time than ever before while maintaining the superior quality that our marketing operations clients have relied on for more than 20 years. Our tools and processes are among the very best commercially available, and we are uniquely able to integrate advanced analytics, software and data technologies into mission-critical business solutions that offer superior returns on investment.

These technologies include MarketSmart Decision Management, a database solution uniquely optimized to enable flexible acquisition marketing and customer relationship management. The driver of this flexibility is SmartLink® service, which assigns persistent household and individual keys, enabling companies to be faster, more accurate, and more consistent in their data integration results. The consistent definition of a customer from acquisition to customer management and across different relationships and systems is essential in creating a persistent customer and prospect view, and in building an analytic framework to predict behavior.

We utilize a standardized process of configurable modules designed to quickly and reliably prepare source information and manage core processing of the data.  We also deploy a number of components to prepare the data for further analytic, reporting and marketing purposes. These include components for both cleansing of data and enhancing of data-in part, by utilizing our ScoreNet® network, which serves as an independent marketplace for access to external data. We pool data from over 90 competing commercial databases and data aggregators. 

Following are key steps that allow us to process lists with unparalleled speed, accuracy and flexibility, and with strict adherence to all security requirements:

Fair Isaac works directly with you and your data providers to validate that complete data is received, and that data transmittal and receipt functions occur in a secure environment. Each file is processed as it is received, using proprietary, standardized and configurable automation modules that enable files to be handled consistently and quickly. Fair Isaac is proficient at processing data from multiple sources that arrive in different file types and layout formats; we handle the standardizing and data integration for you.

Our next step is to improve the accuracy and deliverability of your prospect and customer records, and support CASS certification, address enhancement and integrity processing of your data. This one-pass process includes name and address standardization, identification of undeliverable addresses, NCOALink, LACS and delivery point verification. Data elements are parsed so that fragmented or otherwise unclear name and address information can be corrected, ultimately reducing your mailing costs.

Newly acquired and regularly updated databases obtained by Fair Isaac can enhance your lists to better inform your marketing and risk decisions and expand your prospect universe. Data append services are available for demographic information, SMACS, phone numbers (append and verification) and email addresses. Fair Isaac also maintains standard suppression files including DMA pander, Death Master and the Prison file.

This phase involves identifying individuals and households for overlap or duplicate listing (via SmartLink), applying suppressions, identifying exclusions and assigning market cells, treatments and offers based on attributes according to your targeting strategy. Our direct marketing and industry consultants work closely with you to define control groups and optimal segmentation splits for maximum response impact, while considering the value of being able to track and analyze results for future campaign improvements.

Final data sets are output for fulfillment in tape format or, for even greater time and cost savings, via secure electronic connections with your vendors. Our operational reports include process and data audits available electronically with a GUI interface to facilitate quick decisions. We work closely with you to provide reports that meet your specific business needs, saving you valuable project management time throughout all phases of the process.

We can take your marketing programs to the next level by applying our unique brand of advanced data mining, data analysis and modeling expertise. Vast quantities of data from disparate sources can be assembled and transformed into formats that are highly efficient for applying predictive models, decision strategies and rules. This helps you further refine target segmentation strategies to boost your response rates, improve profitability, reduce risk and enable flexible, ad-hoc reporting.

Our ever-evolving methodologies in marketing operations have proven successful throughout our two decades in the data management industry. The primary driver to our success is our customer service approach to project management, system implementation and project execution. Our service orientation, coupled with our strong analytic and technical skills, have propelled numerous companies to growing success.