Case Study: Alltel, Acxiom & A Marketing Database

It's Monday, and that means it's time for a direct marketing case study. This one comes to us jointly from Acxiom and Alltel Wireless. (Check out this link for a podcast on same topic, plus the opportunity to sign up for the full case study).

Customer Lifecycle Management

When Alltel Wireless engaged Acxiom to improve the precision, relevance and sophistication of its direct marketing communications, the company’s siloed sources of customer data and limited prospecting data were restricting their abilities to engage with customers and prospects. Acxiom worked closely with the Alltel Wireless team to deliver a set of solutions that anchored the entire campaign process. Acxiom combined its data products and customer intelligence with Alltel Wireless customer data and prospect list for targeted segmentation based on actual customer behavior and real household composites.

The Opportunity
Alltel Wireless wanted to increase customer acquisitions, improve retention and grow customer revenue with more targeted, relevant communications.

The Solution
Acxiom’s marketing database solution assisted in driving two top objectives:

• New customer growth
• Reduction in customer churn

The Results
265% increase in incremental customer postpaid additions tied to direct marketing efforts. “My Circle” campaign gross take rates exceeded 6% from existing customers. Direct customer communications have increased 285%.


Wow--pretty great results! Truly illustrates the power of a database.

Data Mining for the Wireless Industry

It's not often that you see this Direct Marketing Blog announce new products or services. It's not our 'thing' to try to sell anyone anything (well, at least not here on the blog). But, sometimes, I come across announcements of new marketing solutions that really intrigue me and I feel compelled to share.

And, that's what happened today.

Xtract, a Finland-based firm that provides social advertising intelligence solutions (and also a firm that I'd never even heard of--shame on me) released this announcement just yesterday:
Xtract Social Links™ Now Available in USA, Adds Demographic Prediction.

You know I'm a sucker for data mining! This service offers a new spin on analyzing customer transaction data. Essentially, Xtract's tool combs through wireless carrier network data, and provides insight into each subscribers' personal contacts/phone numbers/people they call often. From the article:

Xtract Social Links turns raw customer data into a vital marketing tool for mobile operators. By analyzing the social networks within large scale mobile communication networks it identifies the underlying social network structures within the subscriber base and the most influential people in the network, which Xtract calls Alpha Users. The result is a completely new layer of customer insight and a tangible tool for increasing the efficiency of targeted marketing and advertising.

The add-on modules combine social network with demographic and behavioral information, providing a Three Dimensional (3D) view of the customers for specific business applications including marketing activities by mobile operators as well as targeting for mobile advertising.

Wow! Any marketer for a wireless carrier should be thrilled to hear about this solution. With the tool, now not only can you analyze your customer-base, but you'll have an understanding of your customers' friends and business colleagues. Think about the opportunities--the opportunity to present targeted offers, the opportunity to expand your customer-base.

And, of course, this insight provides mobile marketers with a wealth of data that can be used to target their ads to the exact right groups of prospects.

The other interesting thing is that the tool can be used to analyze usage of pre-paid customers--formerly customers that the carriers really didn't know much about (since they didn't send them a monthly bill).

Neat!