1. Building Relationships with Users as a Strategic Concept Part three: Introduction of a customer database to a NSO
Presentation at the Strategic Management Seminar
on Dissemination and Communication of Official Statistics Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina 29.6 –
Petteri Baer, Regional Adviser, UNECE
Courtesy to Minna Purja, Statistics Finland

2. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Why a CRM-System? (1)
History:
Need for centralising customer data to one location
Dozens of separate registers at Statistics Finland with no connections between them =>No means for centralised updating of data
Efficiency of marketing campaigns impaired because of erroneous contact information
Way to systematise customer service and marketing
Means to improve Statistics Finland’s inter-unit co-operation
Target group selection, reporting, analyses, customer feedback, project management
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

3. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Why a CRM-System? (2)
History:
Need for a modern invoicing and customer management system
Intime-invoicing system was in use
Possible to develop and work in interaction with the existing systems
Little knowledge of the customer’s previous activities with Statistics Finland’s other units => The customer forms a new customer relationship when contacting Statistics Finland’s different units
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

4. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Expected benefits
Improved customer satisfaction
Way to strengthen customer relationships
A systematic, uniform and clear customer process
Clear monitoring and planning through the system
Efficiency and better productivity
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

5. Development process (1)
CRM-project started in the year 1996
Interviews with management and staff, creating overview of needs and expectations, definition of need structures
Frame of reference, workplan
Excursions to companies having a CRM system
Meetings with CRM system suppliers
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

6. Development process (2)
Decision on purchasing the Applix software in 1999
Start of database building
Initial data converted from the invoicing system Intime, crosschecked with Statistics Finland’s Business Register
System customized for SF’s environment
System instalment and testing
32 pilot users tested the pros and cons of different software
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

7. System launch and introduction process
Launched in the year 2000
Information meetings for staff members introducing CRM and the benefits of the new tool
Telephone and -support
Personal guidance at user’s workstations
Written instructions for use
Training events organised in computer classes
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

8. Obstacles on the path of the introduction of the new system
The system is a tool for the whole of Statistics Finland, not just for individual units => Active user groups could be larger
External customer registers are not automatically updated into the system (both benefit and obstacle)
Technical problems
Users do not care enough about the maintenance of the customer information
Users do not have enough time for learning to use the system and for using it continuously
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

9. Functions of the Applix CRM System (1)
Project management and invoicing
Project -> Offer -> Agreement -> Invoice
Easy to follow every stage of the project
Campaign management and target group selection
Selected customers can be searched by means of customer database variables for targeting marketing campaigns
Helps to divide campaigns into different stages and makes monitoring of each stage easier
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

10. Functions of the Applix CRM System (2)
Reporting
Large amount of different reports
Reports can be formed easily by Statistics Finland
Several individual important functions
Sales diary
Queries
User lists
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

11. Three-dimensional account concept
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

12. Three dimensional account concept, Contents of information
Account (principal customer)
Principal branch, account category, VAT-number…etc.
Gathers customer information together
Customer
Address information, purchase history, projects, offers, agreements, segment …etc.
Contact person
Name, title, role, phone, mobile, fax, , sales diary entries, purchase history…etc.
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

13. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

14. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

15. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

16. Connections and updates of the CRM-system
Intime
STOJ
Intime publication purchase history
1/ per day
Operational Guidance and Planning System
1/ per day
Blue book
Saleslead register of potential customer
2 / per year
AdeEko
Financial Administration System
Account category 1 / per month
Customer category 1 / per day
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

17. Gained benefits by the introduction of a developed CRM System
Centralised system
Helps to co-ordinate joint activities
Easier to avoid double entries
More focused direct marketing by means of versatile target group selection
Monitoring of customer processes considerably easier - possible to systematise activities
Knowledge about previous actions with the customer helps plan future actions
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

18. Number and share of users of the CRM System
In Statistics Finland the amount of staff amounts to approximately persons
The CRM System has at the moment 250 users, around 100 of whom are active users
The object of further work is to integrate more daily routines into the system
Invoicing and project management functions are used particularly actively
This provides abundant information on customer relations
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

19. Development made possible by the CRM-System
Compilation of uniform practices and programmes for selected customer groups
More effective sales activities - e.g. cross selling between different products and different units
Profitability and efficiency can be attained by more accurate targeting of activities and campaigns
Continuous development of the system by collecting information on different user and user group’s needs
Integration into new and existing administrative systems
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

20. Segmentation of customers
A more detailed segmentation of the customer database is underway in
Executed with SQL-programming by means of different database variables e.g. business bookkeeping accounts, branches and partial name searches.
Also manual updating needed
By segmenting our customer database we are successful in archievement of deeper and more meaningful understanding of how customers interact with the NSO
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

21. Number of customers according to Segments, End of 2005
Central Government
Local Government Bodies
Educational Institutes
Research Institutes
Enterprises
Libraries
Organisations
Foreign customers
Others
Without segment value, so far
681
2 258
2 344
520
13 466
657
1 464
802 35
1 433
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

22. The CRM-System is useful because
The entire organisation benefits from the information the system provides
Helps to analyse the customer structures and developments
Direct- and telemarketing campaigns are more effective
Helps to monitor the success (or non-success) of different relation building activities taken
Provides a good basis for customer surveys and customer relations
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division

23. Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division
Conclusion
You cannot learn to swim if you don’t go into the water!
Thank you for your attention!
Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division