building relationships with users as a strategic concept experience from two nsos: albania and...

Building Relationships with Users as a Strategic Concept

Experience from two NSOs: Albania and Finland

Presentation at the High-Level Forum on Strategic Planning in Statistics for Central Asian countries in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

17-19.5.2006

Petteri Baer, Regional Adviser, UNECESession 3, 18.5.2006

18.5.2006 Petteri Baer, UNECE Statistical Division 2

The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics – Basis for High Quality services

• Principle 1:– Relevance– Impartiality– Obligation to Disseminate

• Principle 2: Professional Independence• Principle 3: Transparency• Principle 4: Right to React• Principle 5: Data Collection


The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics – Basis for High Quality services

• Principle 6: Statistical Confidentiality• Principle 7: Laws and Rules about Official

Statistics• Principle 8: Co-ordination of National

System• Principle 9: Use of International Standards• Principle 10: Participation in International

Statistical Cooperation


The benefits of providing both non-chargeable basic services and chargeable

surplus services• Provide besides the non-chargeable

basic services interesting, useful and attractive services that a growing number of customers willingly will make use of the chargeable surplus services– In this way both financial compensation

for developed services and contact information about the paying customers and their need structures will be accumulated just as a normal part of delivery and invoicing practices


Customer structure of Statistics Finland* Incomes from chargeable services in 2004

State

Enterprises

Municipalities

Others

42%

26%

19%

13%


Services subject to charge in Statistics FinlandSales by product group in 2004

546

39

194

1,558

1,192

3,235

1,604

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000

Special compilations

Publications

Interview surveys

Electronic products and services

Register services

Diskette products

Other income

EUR 1,000


Dissemination of statistical information on the internet provides new service possibilities

• Electronic information services, for instance press releases, can be delivered to potential customers’ e-mail as bonus services. In order to receive these services the customer will gladly inform the NSO about the delivery address, spheres of her/his interest etc.– And again - the NSO will receive

detailed contact information for improving its services - just as a normal part of the delivery processes


Developments in INSTAT under the influence of a Development project in 2004-2005 (1)

• In the beginning of the project– Distribution of 300 copies of all INSTAT’s

publications free of charge• Mainly to the public administration• User persons not identified

– Annual Calendar of publication dates– Web site, ~ 1 500 monthly visitors– Some customers receive info by e-mail– A Service Guide and one service person– No Customer Database

• The Law on Official Statistics provides possibilities to disseminate both on a chargeable and a non-chargeable basis


Developments in INSTAT under the influence of the Development project in 2004-2005 (2)

• In Autumn 2004– A person to be in charge of dissemination

questions nominated– A questionnaire made on

• customer satisfaction and• identification of customer persons

– Campaign materials for first chargeable dissemination campaign (“Albania in Figures” 2004) prepared

– First discussions on • putting up a Customer Database and • INSTAT’s participation in trade fairs gain

speed...


The information market: Rapid growth• The information market is one of

the sectors usually showing rapid and almost continuous growth figures in the last 20 years

• Summer 2002: more than 200 000 internet hosts in the world

• The information market is a sector of great possibilities

• What is our response to these new structures of our environment?

Internet Hosts in the World (millions)

0

50

100

150

200

250

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year


We can notice...• …a strong growth in the

turnover of commercial dealers, brokers and consulting corporations in the information business

whereas

• National Statistical Institutes often find themselves in administrative clashes concerning cuts of budget funding


In Statistics Finland an understanding of the need for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) emerged already in the mid 1990’ies

• Both old and new challenges emphasised the need and importance of CRM

• CRM not only as a technical tool… BUT• as a sophisticated system of CRM where customers

and potential customers can be dealt with according to – their own customer behaviour– the NSO’s definition of customer levels and policies– the self expressed wishes of the customers



• Creation of an MS Access -based Customer Database begins

• First Customer Satisfaction survey made, 53 replies received, analysed

• A Working group on Marketing questions established

• The Working group produces a detailed plan for dissemination activities in 2006-2007

• The use of the Business Register as a source of potential customers begins



• The need to disseminate statistical information is now clearly understood by the dissemination staff but perhaps not yet so much by other staff members

• The need for internal training in 2006!

• First orders on “Albania in Figures” received

• based on a campaign to 375 enterprises• 75 orders from 30 enterprises obtained

• Systematic use of the newly created Customer Database gives a good base for reports on dissemination activities


Why segment customers?Shouldn’t we serve everybody equally? (1)

• Different customer segments have different need structures of statistical information.

• Everybody benefits from developing the services and the service ability according to these need structures! – Media– Government bodies– Local administration bodies– Corporations and enterprises– Research institutions – Educational institutions– NGOs– Others


Why segment customers?Shouldn’t we serve everybody equally? (2)

• Let’s develop a dialogue on need structures and service form wishes,first with a limited number of pilot customers– Be proactive– Visit different customer organisations– Invite them for discussions and presentations– Establish focus groups– Make deep interviews– Develop new service concepts according to what you find out

• Listen, Listen and Listen• Let’s make improvements in our interaction skills and

corporate / institutional service culture!


Dialogue with customer and analysisof customer behaviour

More information about present and forthcoming needs of the customer

More efficient marketingand service profile to customer

The value of the customer relationship grows for both parties

Willingness of both partiesto invest both time and moneyand money in building thecustomer relationship

Growth of customer loyalty and consolidation of thecustomer relationship

More activities responding toreal customer needs

More efficient customer contacting and a decline of contact built in vain

A LEARNING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP


Customer analysis

Customerinteraction plan

Service providing andcustomer information

Key and Partnership CustomersKey and Partnership Customers

Statistics FinlandStatistics Finland

From product marketingto marketing activities based on

customer interaction plansCustomer’s needs

The NSO’s possibilities and goal settings



• 11 Customer groups identified in the Marketing and Dissemination Strategy of INSTAT

– Big enterprises– Small and medium enterprises– Banks and insurance companies– Foreign companies (abroad)– Chambers of commerce and other business oriented

organisations– Media– Educational institutions– Research institutions– Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)– Regional agencies, Municipalities, Local agencies– State (Public Administration), Ministries, Central Institutions



• Tasks to be done in 2006-2007, mentioned in the Marketing and Dissemination Strategy– INSTAT will organise special

customer responsibility groups• One customer responsibility group for

every segment of customers listed above

– Customer days for different groups in the course of 2006-2007

– Development of service concepts for different groups


Systematic customer contact building has given good results in Statistics Finland

• More than 100 000 individual internet users monthly • 15 000 principal customers, 24 400 customers,

29 000 contact persons accumulated in the Customer Database

• 1% customers bring 60% of the income• ~ 50 customers have been nominated in 2004 to be

strategic or key customers of Statistics Finland• Customers have several ways of being in contact• Many customers are in contact with the NSO in a number of different

roles


Through the chargeable services Statistics Finland has a broad contact network

• The Customer Database Applix contains

– 15 000 principal customers– 24 400 customers– 29 000 customer persons

• On all these there is – contact information– purchase history information– segmentation information


Marketing

Customers

Mana-gement

Adminis-tration

Sales

Product development

Developmentprojects

Customerintelligence

Project intelligence

Contactintelligence

Lead intelligence

Informationretrievals Quote

intelligence

Campaignintelligence

Customer Database

Customerservice

Functions Information providers Information users

Projectgroups


Responsibilityfor c-database

Resp. for cus-tomer portfolio

Resp. for customer

Responsibilities of customer carein Statistics Finland

1. Central government2. Local government3. Corporations and enterprises4. Research Institutions 5. Educational Institutions6. Others

Strategic customers - 15 organisationsKey customers - 33 organisations

Centralised: customer process customer database


Customer-oriented services and products by means of CRM

• The goal of CRM (Customer Relations Management) is to:• Understand the needs of different user groups• Segment customers into groups with similar need

structures• Set goals for meeting customer requirements

– advance the use of statistics– develop profitable activities and public services– encourage new product development ideas and innovations– create new co-operation modes or partnerships with

customers and stakeholders• …and to do this work systematically


Main steps in organising CRM-work

...to

organise

customer

segment

teams and

nominate

the people

in charge of

relations

with

customers

to list strategic and key customers

to analyse needs of strategic and key customers

to set goals for taking care of the customer relationships

to develop ways of measuring the results of interaction with customers

to define main customer groups


How to find out customers’ needs?

• Previous purchases of statistical information • Focus groups• Personal contacts (seminars, visits etc.)• Interviews• Comparing similar customers• Business Intelligence• Media• Annual reports of customers • ==> Learning to understand core ideas of the value

production of customers and the needs of statisticalinformation connected with it



• The Marketing and Dissemination Strategy identifies the main beneficiaries of INSTAT’s developing activities (1)

– The general public - better knowledge of the developments in society and of information sources

– The different identified customer groups - better opportunities to fin statistical information

– The public administration - better basis for planning activities and decision making, better efficiency in the use of resources

– The business sector - up-to-date and reliable information

– The international community - better access to information on Albania



• The Marketing and Dissemination Strategy identifies the main beneficiaries of INSTAT’s developing activities (2)

• …and last but not least– INSTAT itself

• enhanced publicity• enhanced confidence in statistics• enhanced importance in the Albanian society• better understanding of respondents• better ability to develop the quality of the statistical

information it provides


As the world is going more and more electronic -Build up and participate in information portals!

• It may be wise for NSOs to establish different internet portals for different main categories of users of statistical information

• And also to participate with a reasonably differentiated contents structure in professional portals established by other organisations than ourselves

• Too often we are content with just a simple link to our general homepage!


Conclusion

• You cannot learn to swim if you don’t go

into the water!• Thank you

for your attention!• [email protected]


Notes and comments• • • •

• • • •

building relationships with users as a strategic concept experience from two nsos: albania and...

Documents

chargeable services

attractive services

developed services

bonus services

petteri baer

chargeable surplus services

official statistics

services diskette products