8/12/2019 Acxiom Case Study - Microsoft

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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:

Improved integration of data from multiple sources, both internal and external

Expansion of the existing prospect base in order to grow the business through customer-

centric 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 idealtechnology 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.

Acxiom Case Study

Building a Customer-Centric

Marketable Universe

How Acxiom and Microsoft Australia worked together to build

more proactive customer relationships.

CASE STUDY

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

8/12/2019 Acxiom Case Study - Microsoft

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Acxiom 1300ACXIOM www.acxiom.com.au infoau@acxiom.com

2008 Acxiom Corporation. All rights reserved. Acxiom is a registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation. All oth er trademarks and service marks mentioned herein are property of their respective owners.

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 thenupdated 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 customerswith 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