One 2 One delivers industry leading Customer Relationship Management with Business Objects

The cellular phone market has grown incredibly fast over the past decade and the introduction of new networks and services looks set to further fuel that growth. With high rates of churn and the constant introduction of new services, cell phone companies have to work hard to create a personal relationship with each of their customers.

One 2 One is using BUSINESS OBJECTS and BUSINESS OBJECTS SET ANALYZER to support a range of customer services and operational requirements, from fraud management and supply chain evaluation to customer relationship management and the creation of products and services to deliver customers` mobile communication needs.

The strategy of targeted, personalised customer marketing has underpinned One 2 One since its launch in 1993. The company`s data warehouse, the BUSINESS OBJECTS e-business intelligence tool and SET ANALYZER segmentation tool, play a fundamental role in One 2 One`s development of new products and services, driving forward customer relationship marketing supporting improvements across the supply chain. SET ANALYZER from BUSINESS OBJECTS is helping One 2 One to create targeted, accurately defined customer segments, supporting powerful promotional campaigns.

As Adrian Daniel, One 2 One Client Team Leader, explains, "Our ultimate goal is to achieve the closed loop Customer Relationship Model, where information from the data warehouse drives operations and then feeds back into the data warehouse for further analysis. We are getting closer to achieving that goal".

Launched in September 1993, One 2 One was the first GSM 1800 all digital network in the world. Currently One 2 One has more capacity per customer than any other UK network, handling more than 160 million calls per week over the network. The One 2 One network now covers 98% of the population of Great Britain and supports roaming abroad with over 156 networks in 79 countries across nine continents.

Market Challenge and Opportunity The UK already has a high penetration of cellular phone usage, which is set to increase further as we move into the world of Internet phones and third generation (3G) mobile networks. Over the next few years the mobile phone is expected to move beyond its already ubiquitous role in delivering mobile voice communication to support data transfer and acting as a mobile wallet, providing the ability to search, book and pay for goods through the mobile phone.

The competition in this market is fierce. Mobile operators are constantly developing new products, services and packages. For example, the introduction of pre-paid vouchers has been extremely successful, with over 50 percent of One 2 One`s customers now opting for pre-paid phone agreements. Customers are very savvy, prepared to shop around for providers and happy to move between providers regularly to get the best deals.

Tailored Marketing Solutions The ability to react fast to new opportunities and to competitor product launches is essential. Information from the data warehouse is used throughout One 2 One to drive forward its business strategy.

Daniel explains, "The data warehouse has expanded significantly over he past six years to hold a wide range of data. This includes information from customer care systems, telephone switches, pre-paid vouchers and external geo-demographic data."

"BUSINESS OBJECTS is used to access, analyse and report on all data. It has enabled One 2 One to empower our users to enable them to take their own decisions and drive forward business strategy across finance, marketing and customer services. In the future, we plan to push information to the users by publishing BUSINESS OBJECTS reports on the web."

The information underpins virtually every part of the business, from fraud to revenue assurance and flexibility of analysis and reporting is key. Daniel explains, "In addition to constant development of our new products and services, One 2 One also has to react rapidly to our competitors` initiatives. BUSINESS OBJECTS plays a fundamental role in delivering the information that enables us to keep pace with the current marketplace."

One 2 One`s marketing department used BUSINESS OBJECTS to determine prioritisation of network roll-out during the company`s development of UK wide coverage. Having identified a typical One 2 One customer type, the company used BUSINESS OBJECTS to analyse the geo-demographic data and determine the most profitable potential areas of the country for One 2 One. The network was rolled-out on that basis, with new cells being opened first in the most profitable potential areas. "We were able to immediately focus on our key potential business," he says.

Set analyser provides customer segmentation

One 2 One has recently broadened its use of Business Objects technology with the introduction of SET ANALYSER which enables users to easily perform set-based analysis of data.

"The way SET ANALYSER lets you break down complicated business questions is key," says Daniel. "Users can create segments themselves and change and refine as necessary to create a workable customer group."

SET ANALYSER is being used to identify customers to include in a specific promotion and then to monitor the success of the promotions. "SET ANALYSER enables One 2 One to refine our customer segmentations," he says. "It ensures we can get the right population groups and then run BUSINESS OBJECTS queries on that group, enabling us to refine the product or promotional offering."

For example, One 2 One was recently able to produce a customer segment that included all customers who had opted for pre-paid phones but had only bought one voucher and made a few calls. "We mailed them to let them know that the vouchers no longer expire and we will use SET ANALYSER to track the success of that promotion based on an increase in calls made over time," he says.

Refined Customer Promotions

One of the most powerful features of the technology is its ability to support `off the wall` analysis. One of One 2 One`s most successful promotions was targeted at customers who had set up their system to support roaming while abroad and had not yet made use of it. Caroline Moyle, Analyst programmer at One 2 One, explains, "We used SET ANALYSER to create a customer set based on customers who had made a call that could have been at an airport. We made the assumption that whilst they were not making calls, they were abroad. That level of segmentation achieved by SET ANALYSER was crucial, we could not have made that mailing without it and it was extremely successful, generating the highest response we`ve ever had to a mailer."

SET ANALYSER is also being used by the finance department in its bid to track and understand customer churn patterns. Using SET ANALYSER, One 2 One can take a group customer that joined in a specific month, remove those who leave at the end of their one year contract and concentrated analysis on the rest to see why they are leaving or staying. Daniel says, "Churn is a fact of life in the mobile market. But it is important for the company to spread customer churn across the year otherwise the company incurs a lot of cost."

He adds, "SET ANALYSER makes the process drawing out customer groups so simple. By applying filters we can cut the total five million customer population down to a very small group, enabling us to answer specific questions about that segment."

For example, One 2 One can use SET ANALYSER to find all customers in one specific price band and payment method that spent over a specific amount on calls in a certain time period. Once this information is available, the analyst can run appropriate BUSINESS OBJECTS queries.

The company is now beginning to explore SET ANALYSER`s sampling capabilities, particularly for Customer Relationship Management. "To create a customer group to receive a promotion we define different appropriate factors. Using SET ANALYSER it is possible to weight those factors according to importance which will enable One 2 One to further refine our campaign process," he says.

Changing market conditions

Undoubtedly usage patterns of mobile phones will change dramatically over the next few years as the user population embraces Internet access and potentially, the mobile phone as a payment device, with goods billed through the mobile phone operator. As Daniel says, such changes will only increase the level of detailed customer information required to retain a competitive position and meet rapidly changing customer demands.

"The company is rapidly moving towards a one-to-one customer focus where we are contacting customers based on their usage rates and existing tariff to ensure they are on the most appropriate price band. Such strategies are all driven by information held in the data warehouse and supported by SET ANALYSER and BUSINESS OBJECTS to segment customers and define appropriate promotional options." He continues, "To close the loop, SET ANALYSER is then used to assess the success of campaigns based on increased call rates."

Over time the information held within the warehouse will increase in complexity. One 2 One intend to hold all details of customer interactions, from access web portal to telephone enquiries about upgrade options. "To deliver consistent service we must have record of all customer interaction with One 2 One," he says. "The whole nature of management information will change but our infrastructure built on the data warehouse, BUSINESS OBJECTS and SET ANALYSER, will continue to support the business.