Our services & products

What our services and products consist of, how they are integrated and in what way they can be used

In order to facilitate the description of our services and products, we have clustered them in six functional areas. The illustration – our bubble chart – maps these functional groups and also shows how they interrelate.

We will first describe our:
a. Workflow and enterprise integration system
b. Workflow monitoring and interaction system

This will allow you to develop an understanding of how our services are connected and monitored, how it is possible to purchase only part of our services and what the consequences are.

We will then describe our functional service groups:
a. Feed management services
b. Data cleansing and matching services
c. Marketing database services
d. E–mail marketing services
e. Business intelligence services

Our in-house Lead Management services – LeadIT - will be touched on, but can be replaced by another chosen LMA.

Workflow and enterprise integration system

The Multi-M/IT infrastructure has been developed in a Service Oriented Architecture in which a large number of applications exchange data through various methods, such as web services, B2B integration and various pipelines that we have established over the years. The integration of these systems and the data flow is governed through a messaging system. This means that systems are loosely coupled. Individual records are pushed through the workflow on the basis of their metadata and on the basis of the business rules that govern the process. At each stage of the workflow, messages are generated so that the central system “knows” whether a certain stage in the process has been reached. Loose coupling implies that services will continue to function and will not hang while waiting for a reply from other systems. It is through the business rules that events are created if some messages appear or fail to appear.

Example of a business rule: If, after extract from marketing database, there is no message that says “loaded in LMA”, then send message to administrator. The integration system deployed at Multi-M/IT requires in-depth workflow and integration knowledge. Multi-M/IT has invested several man-years to get this system adapted to the GM CRM workflow as it exists today. We have however taken a step farther as illustrated in the next example.

Example of workflow in place: When a prospect requests a test drive on a Multi-M/IT owned web form, the lead is picked up by the workflow system that turns the record and its metadata into XML, and then automatically pushes it through the cleansing and standardization services. Consequently the lead is pushed to the matching service that decides if it concerns a new record that needs to be inserted in the database or if there is the need for an update because we know the individual already. After the change in the central marketing database, the lead is automatically extracted and sent to the LMA. If that LMA is LeadIT, a notification e-mail is sent to the retailer at the same time. The system then tracks the retailer behavior so it can remind the retailer if there is no timely follow-up on the lead. As soon as the follow-up is actually there, the retailer feedback is automatically pushed through the cleansing services once again, so that the marketing database is updated with that information as well, truly closing the loop.

If a different LMA is selected, our infrastructure can push leads through to that application, but feedback synchronisation will be out of scope and will need separate investigation.

Full circle: web form, cleansing, central database, retailer, feedback, cleansing, central database. Records that pass automatic cleansing reach the retailer after 20 minutes on average, if LeadIT is the selected LMA.

Feed management services

Multi-M/IT manages more than 170 feeds into our various European and LAAM marketing databases. These feeds come in different formats, from different platforms, one-by-one or as a file. All kinds of permutations exist.

In an ideal world our data suppliers would also run messaging systems that signal us when our workflow system can pick up a record. This is very rarely the case. This is why we have developed a set of services that helps us handling all these different feeds. Our services cater for three main groups of data:

(1) Single (or multiple) record updates through SOAP enabled web services, allowing integration for our clients on a well-known and accepted industry standard

(2) Flat files through our Universal File translator, which allows for the quick manipulation and transformation of all supported file formats to be entered into our systems

(3) One-off third party files

Single records
Nowadays many data suppliers are familiar with the .net environment and the concept of web services. Multi-M/IT has developed a so-called Generic Gateway. This Gateway is in essence a web service that will load data in a DataCapture database that is in turn connected to our workflow and integration system. If data is originating from Multi-M/IT applications or from the larger business partners, this environment is typically used.

Flat files
Flat files are still a frequently used means of transferring data. Fixed width, CSV, even MS Excel sheets are commonly used. Exchange takes place through our secure Multi-M/IT Extranet, through ftp-sites, and even through CD/DVD or – if the subject allows - e-mail.

Multi-M/IT has developed an application called the Universal File Translator that allows us to set parameters in such a way that if a file description is known, as is the case in recurring feeds, the file is split into records that can be accepted and turned into XML by our workflow and integration system.

One-off third-party files
If we receive one-off files of any type that cannot be automatically processed, the files are handed over to our Data Quality Team, who investigates the file and manipulates it in such a way that it can be handled by the Universal File Translator.

In the Feed Set-up Document, each feed is properly documented and agreed on by all parties involved. This makes processes transparent, avoids misunderstandings and therefore limits errors occurring in data transfer.

Data cleansing and matching services

When data has entered our workflow through the feed management services it has to be cleansed, standardized and matched. Cleansing and standardizing are mandatory for many reasons, the main ones being:

• The avoidance of duplicates, reducing cost and privacy risks
• Facilitating the process: the marketing database will refuse data that compromise referential integrity (e.g. makes and models)
• Enabling metrics and analysis. E.g. as soon as one would accept a “Ford Astra” in the database, the “Astra” counts would be incorrect.

Multi-M/IT uses a variety of tools, among which are Trillium and Uniserv, to parse and correct address data. In many cases it has been necessary to purchase reference data ourselves and then build country-specific matching algorithms.
But again it is not about streets and zip codes alone. In many countries we also use name cleansing and will attempt to assign gender on the basis of first names. We also have a process in place that reduces the necessity for manual review where the cleansing of business names is involved.

Our data cleansing services also maintain an application that we refer to as Table Maintenance or Master Data Management. This application ensures that all applications make use of the same reference data. Imagine having reference tables for models on your web site, in your marketing database, in your data capture application, in your cleansing environment, in your lead distribution and that in many countries. Imagine, then, a new car model being launched. Multi-M/IT would have to make changes in hundreds of locations. The Table Maintenance application enables to enter a new model, after which the new model is propagated to all relevant applications and forms.

All the above facilitates matching, but matching is science in itself. There are many business rules that govern matching. E.g. Sometimes you would like to match on individual (gender and first/last names known), sometimes you would want to match on household (sales match in metrics or household opt-out). And then there will be a variety of data available to match on (name, address, zip code, VIN, URN, e-mail address or a combination of these). The Multi-M/IT matching service caters for all of these situations. It is business rule driven and can use phonetic matching methods that can be set per language and even country. Even within a file it can work as follows: “If X and Y are available, match on X and Y; if Y and Z are available match on Y and Z, etc”.

Marketing database services

Multi-M/IT uses a product based on Oracle that has been particularly tuned over the years to specific GM needs. The database is very strict in maintaining referential integrity. A few useful bits of information:

• It is based on Unicode
• Interaction through web services is possible
• The interface is in English
• It has been used for 8 years and has evolved significantly
• It can handle prospects, clients, companies
• It can handle complex relationships between companies, individuals and cars
• It can handle roles such as drivers, owners, ex-owners, user-choosers
• It can handle retailer hierarchies: customer preference, servicing retailer, retailing retailer, allocated retailer, DMS associated retailer
• It can handle retailer structures like main retailer and sub-retailer/satellite
• It can handle opt-out and opt-in per channel
• It maintains car history and communication history
• Automation of recurring extracts (e.g. satisfaction surveys) is possible
• Our largest live database holds about 11 million consumer records and 75 million communication records

It is the core of the service set and is fully integrated with our cleansing, lead management, business intelligence and e-marketing services. There are of course campaign management and contact management applications in place. Mailing tables are in place to facilitate creating extracts.

Lead management services

We understand the selection of an Lead management Application (LMA) often falls under a separate workstream and would therefore like to emphasize that our BPO CRM infrastructure can work with any LMA our clients selects. Should our LMA, LeadIT, be chosen as the preferred LMA, there are a number of benefits to highlight.

LeadIT is a web-based application that provides lead management specifically for the automotive industry. It facilitates the distribution of leads to retailers consolidated from multiple sources PLUS the recording of retailer feedback regarding each lead. Since LeadIT is a flexible on-line application no software installation or update downloads are required.

LeadIT offers great flexibility: enabling fields per country, per campaign, all elements (incl. messages, reports, and labels) are localizable, business rules can be defined per NSC, and specific modules can be enabled per brand. The application dynamically generates screens in the desired language; in bi-lingual countries a language switch is provided; multi-brand users can switch brand at the click of a button.
Other relevant characteristics are:

• An extensive reporting suite offers management information and assists its users in measuring their performance.
• Sales conversion functionality allows for sales matching against leads.
• The information contained in LeadIT is continuously synchronized with a markets’ CRM database, bringing reports to near real-time.
• Real-time data hygiene for all data loaded to LeadIT leading to higher quality scrubbed leads.
• LeadIT has an established deployment process which is repeatable and rapid – on average 2 months – which currently has led to nearly 3000 retailers – 10.000+ users - in 14 countries, with immediate roll-out plans to an additional 5 market-brand combinations.
• LeadIT allows for Call Centre lead pre-qualification and retailer follow-up and/or reallocation of leads.
• Last, but certainly not least, we can also offer the leads to endorsed DMS’s allowing the lead information to be pushed into retailer systems.

E-mail marketing services

E-mail campaigns are becoming more and more important and Multi-M/IT has heavily invested in becoming best in class in this area. Multi-M/IT works with several suppliers and has fully integrated its email marketing services in its overall suite of services. We work in such a way that allows for event-based e-mail marketing that is fully personalized. E-mails can be automatically changed on the basis of the customer data available. Any response first goes through cleansing before the marketing database is updated.

We maintain good contacts with the ISP’s, do intensive testing, know all about spam filters, managing bounces, e-mail validity checks, etc. The services come with its own suite of extensive reports that gives the client real-time insight into his/her campaigns.

It is difficult to briefly, yet adequately emphasize the difference between a one-off blast e-mail with personalization in name and model only and a multi-stage e-marketing campaign with content and timings driven by the consumer. But we live and breathe the difference.

Business intelligence service

Multi-M/IT has a department dedicated to business intelligence. This department produces:

• Reports, giving information on the status of processes, number of records loaded, age of records, percentage complete, etc.
• Metrics, giving an overview of how campaigns have performed in terms of response, conversion, ROI
• Analyses, for example profiling, clustering, multivariate analysis, predictive modeling, etc.

Most of the work is done on the DataMart, which is an extract of the marketing database and that is kept up-to-date on a daily basis. This DataMart is also accessible for our clients through an on-line Query tool that facilitates extensive querying of your data.