PatternSoft

Data security not enforced by companies

3rd Jan 2008

With data security breaches at an all-time high in 2007, companies need to invest in secure processes and systems, to both protect their brand identity, and to keep the ICO at bay.

New figures indicate that 2007 has been the worst year on record for data breaches, with high-profile data losses becoming headline news.

Recent public sector loses have alerted the public to the apparently lax attitudes that organisations and companies have to securely managing their personal data. Whilst the increase is likely down in part to improved reporting of breaches, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned that their personal data is not secure, which may lead to a reduction in the availability and willingness of consumers to hand over personal details critical for continued marketing success.

PatternSoft, has long held data security to be a paramount aspect of successful marketing. With the cost of encryption, auditing and data management constantly falling, companies and organisations really have no excuse for poor data security processes. However, we do recognise that the "holistic" nature of solving data security issues often falls outside of the experience of marketing service providers, so recommend that concerned companies contact us now to see how our approach differs from other suppliers.

The effect of flyers and leaflets

20th Dec 2007

New research indicates that the impact of leaflets and flyers can influence up to 70% of purchasing decisions.

The research, from leading research company GfK, reveals not only the impact of flyers & leaflets, but also indicates the increased response to these traditional marketing methods with both female consumers, and those over the age of 50.

Additionally, the report indicates that the effectiveness of these marketing assets is reduced in younger age groups. However, a related report, released earlier in the year, suggests that nearly 90% of consumers do read direct mail, indicating it is still a highly effective marketing channel.

PatternSoft, suggests companies need to ensure they have an accurate view of their data, to quantify that the correct channels are being used to communicate with the right people. Contact us now to enquire about our customer insight, profiling and segmentation services.

Dead men can't talk

7th Nov 2007

UK businesses are still mailing deceased customers on a massive scale, as revealed in a recent report by the Bereavement Register.

Over the course of a year, the report shows that over 3 million marketing items were sent to deceased consumers, in North Wales alone.

Putting aside the obvious negative implications marketing to deceased loved-ones has on affected families, the cost alone suggests that companies need to ensure their marketing lists are properly screened for the recently bereaved. Brand damage, wasted mailings and the potential for ICO complaints still does not seem to be persuading companies to move towards regular suppression runs for deceased, gone-away and "do-not-mail" customers.

PatternSoft, is able to ensure customer data is accurate, up to date, and cost-effective, via our affordable data quality processes. Contact us now for further details of our suppression and screening services.

The price of unreliable data

12th Oct 2007

A recently released report shows the hidden cost of poor data quality, with UK business losing "millions" due to poor data management.

The report identifies that around 20% of business do not use any form of data management, implying that some companies are repeatedly mailing unreachable customers and addresses.

The report from MarketSafe, a leading provider of UK data, goes on to suggest that only 13% of companies recognise data quality as an important factor in gaining new business and managing existing customers. With prices for PAF address cleansing constituting only a small fraction of overall yearly marketing costs, PatternSoft believes that UK companies would benefit directly from a coherent data quality strategy.

Conversely, companies that choose not to manage their data quality run the risk of alienating customers, losing business and failing to achieve the response rates anticipated from direct mail activities.

At PatternSoft, we recognise the need for flexible, affordable data quality processes, and recommend that company's re-asses their data management processes to ensure they achieve the best return on their data. Contact us now for further details of our data management services.

PAF licence changes

18th Sep 2007

The Royal Mail releases details of new PAF licensing and terms of use.

As anticipated, RM have released details of new licensing and usage conditions for its PAF file, the file used by marketers to assure the data quality of their customer address databases.

In an attempt to re-balance the costings across businesses of varying sizes, RM have announced what they hope will be a more accessible pricing structure to assist smaller companies to build on existing data quality processes. However, with costs still relatively high compared to perceived importance of data quality in organisations, PatternSoft believes that the impact on "in-house" uptake will be relatively small.

The new pricing structures will be phased-in over a three year period, allowing current subscribers enough time to adjust their budgets and processes. PatternSoft concludes that, for smaller companies, the existing approach of outsourcing data quality processes will continue, with data brokers and large enterprises continuing to be the primary users of the PAF file.

Contact us now for further details of our quality-driven address management services.

Economic benefits of DM

6th Aug 2007

UK economy benifits from DM, to the tune of £43.7 billion, says DMA.

Direct mail made up the majority of the generated cash, but the newer digital techniques continue to follow close behind.

With data being at the heart of DM activities, PatternSoft recommends companies continue to ensure their data is up-to-date, accurate and building value for the business.

Contact us now for further details.

Postcode Statistics tool

16th Jul 2007

See the population, work, people and household stats for UK postcodes with our new postcode charts.

Ideal for getting an idea of the demographic breakdown of a given postcode, at either area, sector or district level, the new postcode tool shows details such as Travel to Work distances, Male to Female ratios, Age breakdown, and many more.

All information is derived from the census statistics for 2001, supplied by the Office of National Statistics.

Further, more detailed information from this dataset, including attribute appending and data profiling can be obtained from PatternSoft.

Green changes to Direct Mail

3rd Jun 2007

Government considers changing DM permissions to "opt-in", as opposed to the current "opt-out", represented by the DMA's MPS file.

In an effort to tackle the environmental impact of businesses, David Miliband, the environment secretary, has highlighted the volume of direct mail that ends up in national landfill sites. In a statement that seems to downplay the DMA's stance on driving down unsolicited mail and improving targeting, Mr Miliband suggests scraping the "opt-out" system and replacing with a much more restrictive "opt-in" model.

Further details are required before any real assessment of the changes can be made, but it's plausible a model similar to that used for email marketing may be envisioned.

In all cases, PatternSoft suggest companies maintain data quality throughout their customer relationship life-cycle, to assure compliance with current data protection rules on relevance, as well as to "future-proof" the cost of conforming to any up-coming legislation changes.

CBC changes for Bulk Mail

1st Jun 2007

The Royal Mail have announced changes to bulk mail CBC's for 2008.

Changes mean that companies must ensure that customer barcode's (CBC's) constructed using a default delivery point suffix (DPS) make-up no more than 20% of a bulk mailing batch.

Previously, it has been possible to use a default, non-identifying DPS code when constructing barcodes, and still pass the "correctness" test, but future mail processing will require access to the Royal Mail's PAF/PIF products, either through a value-added reseller, such as PatternSoft, or by using a purchased software package.

PatternSoft can add DPS codes to data processed through our data quality suite. In addition, we can create binary images of CBC's for use directly on address labels.

SMB Services Info Pack

3rd Apr 2007

Info pack available for SMB's, explaining the benefits of database marketing as solutions to everyday data problems. Download it now.

Download the info pack to find out more about how PatternSoft's services can help small and medium business to improve the quality of their customer data.

Find the Info Pack on the Resources page.

New MailSort capability

2nd Jan 2007

Service offering widened with introduction of MailSort™ mailing discounts.

Following a recent purchase of toolsets from HelpIT, PatternSoft is now able to apply postal discounts to your mail-drops. Significant savings can be achieved over normal mailing costs.

New Suppressions

29th Nov 2006

PatternSoft builds on service offering with disConnect™/reConnect™ suppressions.

Utilising what is now one of the leading suppression products on the market, we can now offer companies a complete suppression solution for direct mail activities. The disConnect™ product, supplied by Equifax, allows a single-point solution for identifying "gone aways", deceased and do-not-mail" addresses, compiled from a range of sources throughout the industry. When combined with reConnect™, it becomes possible to actually track a proportion of "gone aways", meaning you can "freshen up" old datasets with new addresses for your previously lost customers.

FotoEmotion campaign launched

15th Nov 2006

PatternSoft creates a prospect conversion strategy for FotoEmotion, an East Midlands photography studio.

Using high quality print materials, combined with a breakdown of regional customer hotspots, FotoEmotion have already witnessed an uplift in prospect leads!

The intrinsic expression of quality and accessibility within Fotoemotion's product demanded a marketing strategy that pressed this advantage home, and as such, a decision was made to target ideal, mid-to-high income customer groups using a focussed set of lifestyle indicators. To assist leaflet distribution, which was largely carried out by FotoEmotion employees and volunteers, several maps were created using the purchased data to show target hotspots within various localities within the region.

A degree of response measurement was built into the process to allow FotoEmotion to track those prospects that arrived via the mail drop, by incentivising disclosure of campaign codes.

All of which has already seen a substantial increase in prospect generation compared to previous months!

Prospecting options increased

18th Oct 2006

New data/prospect purchasing options are available, allowing highly-targeted B2B and B2C campaigns.

PatternSoft can now source and supply literally millions of rows of prospect data. For highly competitive prices, we can supply prospect data from leading suppliers, such as Equifax, Experian, D&B, Acxiom, DLG and The Financial Times. Simply contact us to let us know what you're after, and we'll let you know the options available to you.

New website launched

16th Oct 2006

New website theme launched, codename Ludo.

New web-site theme, using material collated from "open source" type projects such as Open Source Web Designs and The Stock Exchange. Credits for the (now well butchered) design belong to David Reeder at www.davereederdesign.com, and the truly inspired photo series is by Lusi at The Stock Exchange.