Issues that could have a major impact on how telecommunications, cable and energy companies conduct business will soon be decided, as all 50 state legislatures go into session. It’s not every year that this happens, since some state legislatures only meet biannually.Two Big Issues to Watch: Breach Notification & Employment Screenings1) Breach NotificationNow that 46 states have a breach notification law on the books, lawmakers are looking at whether those standards should be expanded. So far, at least 12 state legislatures are considering proposals.At the heart of all breach notification laws is a set of conditions, or “triggers,” that have to occur before a company is required to send out a breach notification to consumers. For most states, the requirement is based on some level of harm for consumers as a result of the breach. Some states have begun to look at those triggers and conclude that all types of breach, no matter the risk, should be report to consumers. Additionally, included in some pieces of legislation is a requirement to report all breaches, no matter the size, to the state attorney general. The concern of many in the private sector is that attorney general notification opens up new liabilities for companies, as many states will post a list of breaches on a government website, even if there is no harm to a consumer.States are also examining the types of information that should be provided to consumers as a result of a breach. For example, should consumers be notified of information such as the time, location and type of information exposed during a breached. The challenge is that all of this information would be made public, possibly creating additional risk.2) Employment ScreeningsWith a weakened economy, state legislators are looking for ways to help the unemployed find new work. As a result, lawmakers are looking into placing new restrictions on the ability of employers to conduct credit checks on prospective employees. The intention driving the discussion is to help consumers who might be negatively affected by poor credit history out of concern that the information will result in an individual’s ability to be hired.Currently, only four states have statutes that regulate an employer’s use credit history data. This year, at least fourteen states are considering their own restrictions.Why Check a Job Applicant’s Credit?Misconceptions about the content of credit reports used for employment purposes have encouraged the proposals. The result, however, of such legislation would be to remove a valuable tool from employers to evaluate and compare different candidates under consideration for a job.Since employers are held responsible for the actions of their employees, it’s only natural they take steps to protect themselves. Such measures are already regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Some legislatures may also soon expand those restrictions. The result of using credit is not fewer employees being hired, but hiring the best candidates for the job.What’s Next? Stay TunedAs most state legislatures are composed of part-time lawmakers, many will be in session only through April, but these trends will likely impact discussions at the national level. For instance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already held hearings to examine employers’ use of credit checks. And Congress is contemplating a national breach law.We’ll be monitoring future regulatory developments, so check back frequently or subscribe to keep up on these issues and others affecting your industry.

In a previous post (“The Benefits of Bundling”), I discussed some of the advantages that can be derived from bundling services, including: • Enhanced customer loyalty • Simplified customer experience • Time and money savings • The ability to penetrate new markets • Easier and less risky upselling path for larger share of wallet Easier said than done While the benefits may be many, making bundling work for you is no simple task. Formulating a plan to maximize upside and mitigate risk starts with a deep understanding of your customer’s ability to pay a bundled services bill. I recommend the following: Leverage your current relationship (or your partner’s relationship) with the customer to understand past payment behavior. A long history of on-time payments is obviously a good sign, but it’s not the only attribute to consider. Look at the customer’s credit score to get an idea of creditworthiness. By setting certain thresholds, you can amass a list of customers that would likely respond positively to a bundled offer and also be able to pay for it. Incorporate broader data sets to improve business intelligence and obtain a more accurate assessment of each customer’s creditworthiness. Overlaying certain attributes on top of a base credit score can help you make more effective decisions about which customers to approach with a bundled offer. In fact, even a questionable credit group might receive a positive lift by applying the right attributers (see below). Alternatively you might be able to uncover the few members of an otherwise undesirable group that have the right attributes but that might otherwise have slipped under the radar. Ultimately your goal is to determine the point at which a customer is most profitable to you versus the point at which paying the bundled bill becomes a problem. But that’s not the end of the story. Just because a customer can pay for a bundled offer doesn’t mean he or she will. Once you’ve determined the right customers to approach, your next task is to determine how to create the most appropriate mix of services to bundle, a topic that will be covered in an upcoming post. In the meantime, if there are specific topics in the realm of bundling you would like to see addressed, please be sure to comment on this post.

This paraphrased lament from Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner may loosely reflect the predicament facing many communications companies today: afloat on vast sea of customer information, yet, lacking resources or expertise, unable to draw from it much new or actionable intelligence. Not that data mining is ever a small or insignificant task. It isn’t. Even when resources are plentiful, obstacles can loom large—especially across numerous lines of business, where risk can multiply exponentially. Siloed data, disparate customer records and other challenges also make the work difficult, as do: The dynamic nature of consumer information Inconsistent data quality and match logic throughout the enterprise The inability to reliably link active and inactive accounts failing to identify existing customer relationships at the point of application The missing link Experian has seen many communications companies overcome these issues through database linking—that is, connecting, integrating and packaging customer information from several sources into a more cohesive and accessible structure. Linking reduces risk by identifying overlap of consumers with multiple accounts across several lines of business. It also reveals duplicate records, as well as active accounts that may be current in one line of business, but delinquent or inactive in another. The benefits The broader perspective gained through database linking can drive new efficiencies and profitability in many vital areas of your business, from fraud prevention to skip tracing and collections. Should the need arise, newly linked information can also be used to locate elusive customers or former employees for legal purposes. What you can do right now Even if resources are currently limited you can still begin discovery—the process of identifying precisely what data you have, where it resides within the enterprise, how it’s being used, and by whom. This information, perhaps combined with guidance from an experienced external service, can provide a solid foundation from which to begin leveraging (and if indicated, supplementing) existing customer data. We know communications clients who have identified millions of dollars in uncollected bad debt that was linked directly to current, active customers, using a couple of “next generation” data tools. Like the old Mariner, your in-house data has a big story to tell. Question is, are you equipped to hear it? If you like this topic, click here to read the post entitled “Leveraging Internal Data to Create a Holistic View of Your Customers.