Margin test

As many organizations look to turn data into actionable insight, a high degree of inaccurate information is limiting data insight and negatively impacting the bottom line. This is according to a new Experian Data Quality released today. On average, U.S. organizations believe 32 percent of their data is inaccurate, a 28 percent increase over last year’s figure of 25 percent. This high degree of inaccurate information causes 91 percent of respondents to believe revenue is affected by inaccurate data in terms of wasted resources, lost productivity, or wasted marketing and communications spend. This high level of inaccurate data comes despite the fact that organizations are investing in data quality. Eighty-eight percent of global companies have a data quality solution in place today and if we look ahead to the next 12 months, we see that 84 percent of companies plan to make some sort of data quality solution a priority for their business to implement for the first time or to improve upon. However, this investment is often segmented across various departments across the organization and most lack a centralized, complete data management strategy. Today we see that just one in four organizations has a sophisticated approach to data management. That lack of sophistication is driving up levels of inaccuracy and hurting the bottom line. “The cost of poor data quality is hitting home in boardrooms across the globe; most businesses, however, are perplexed because they actually are investing in data quality tools,” said Thomas Schutz, senior vice president and general manager for Experian Data Quality. “While data quality technology is certainly a requirement, many businesses have neglected to focus on staff and organizational structure. Very few organizations have appointed a centralized manager for data quality and most lack sophistication in their data management methods. Organizations need to do more than buy a new piece of software; they need to make data quality an organizational priority and put the right team in place to manage that complex effort.” The study also found that: Ninety-seven percent of U.S. companies feel driven to turn data into insight Ninety percent of U.S. companies have some sort of data quality solution in place today More companies who have enjoyed a significant increase in profits in the last 12 months manage their data quality centrally On average, U.S. respondents feel 27 percent of their revenue is wasted due to inaccurate and incomplete customer or prospect data To obtain a copy of The data quality benchmark report from Experian Data Quality, click here.

2014 was an eventful year: Republicans regained control of both the House and Senate in sweeping fashion, the European economy constricted dramatically, Russian economic sanctions brought the country to the brink of default, and China surpassed the United States as the world’s largest economy. And those are just a few of the year’s macro highlights. Yet despite this tumultuous time, the United States continued to demonstrate positive economic trends. As we look ahead, precarious global events and international uncertainties continue to raise some alarms, but domestic economic fundamentals appear strong enough to withstand external shock. In general, the U.S. economic recovery is on track to evolve into a full-fledged expansion. Business and Consumer Credit Conditions at Recovery Highs The American economy closed the 2014 books on a very different note than it started. Tough conditions last January and February had analysts, business owners and consumers questioning the economic progress of late 2013. Fortunately – with the subsiding of last year’s unusually harsh winter weather – employment, revenue, consumer spending and credit conditions all rebounded exceptionally. These events were particularly positive for small businesses in America, as witnessed by the following trends. Small business credit After years of difficulty obtaining credit, the small business credit spigot is reopening – outstanding credit balances grew by nearly 5 percent and are up 1.9 percent from a year ago. In the third quarter, small business credit conditions improved significantly, according to the Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index. Nearly 12 percent fewer businesses filed for bankruptcy, and the share of credit balances being paid late fell to 8.8 percent – the lowest level ever tracked. The net share of small businesses that plan on raising employee compensation over the next three to six months is at a recovery high, and Moody’s Analytics expects the United States to reach full employment by the end of 2016. Consumer credit trends Positive consumer spending and credit trends are therefore beginning to emerge; the national average VantageScore rose two points over 2013. Some consumer highlights: Bankcards on the rise: Overall, the nation’s credit scores are up and bankcard and retail card lending is growing, according to Experian’s State of Credit report. Specifically, the number of bankcards per consumer rose 4.2 percent from 2013, and the number of retail cards rose 6.7 percent, according to Experian. Consumer comfort zone for loans is back: Consumers are increasingly becoming comfortable taking out loans to purchase big-ticket items. Use of home-equity lines of credit grew amid a resurging housing market in 2014, and delinquency rates remained steady. New loan originations throughout the year totaled $120 billion—up 27 percent from the previous year. This growth trend is expected to continue through this spring and summer’s buying season. Auto loans and higher education benefit from recovery: Car and student loans are also seeing a rise. Open auto loan balances reached an all-time high, with the majority of loans/balances in the super prime credit range. And in an analysis of student loan trends since the 2008 recession up through 2014, Experian found that student loans increased by 84 percent, surpassing home equity loans/lines of credit, credit card and automotive debt. Cross-Channel Marketing Remains Strong With the explosion of smartphones and digital tablets, marketers are seizing opportunities to reach key audiences in new ways, further strengthening America’s economy. Last year, 80 percent of marketers planned to run cross-channel marketing campaigns, and more than half planned to integrate their marketing campaigns across four or more different channels, according to Experian Marketing Services’ Digital Marketer Report. This fuels the economy by increasing the likelihood that consumers will make a purchase, as marketers can tailor offers to consumers’ specific needs. At the same time, it creates a strong need for data solutions to help marketers efficiently target their efforts. Ninety-three percent of companies have some sort of data-quality solution in place, Experian Data Quality found, but very few are calculating the return on this investment. Looking ahead, these businesses will need to calculate the return on their investments to document the economic value to their business – and we believe the outlook is strong for cross-channel marketing to continue to infuse energy into the American economy. Credit Uncertainties: Improved Housing and Consumer Spending Critical Many of 2014’s big uncertainties were resolved after the first few months of the year. Initial stagnation turned out to be the result of inclement weather, and the delay of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate for small businesses allowed companies more time to prepare for greater employee health costs. But domestic uncertainties remain. Given their deep roots in the U.S. economy, consumer spending and the housing market will need to continue to pick up to successfully accelerate growth throughout 2015. Small businesses depend heavily on consumer spending to operate, and while household finances are trending at recovery highs amid stronger hiring and lower unemployment, compensation and hours worked actually fell last fall. At the same time, the housing market recovery is still not broad-based, leaving the construction industry in flux and certain regions lagging in growth. In New England, the market has remained stagnant, and in Florida and Illinois, where the housing crash was disproportionately detrimental, key industries such as construction are among the worst in the country. Meanwhile, in the Mountain and Western regions, population and job growth in lucrative fields have driven a housing boom and healthy credit economy. Future Outlook Despite pockets of stagnation and global challenges, the U.S. economy is poised to see a full-fledged expansion in 2015. As the labor market tightens, employers will raise compensation, freeing up discretionary consumer spending that will prove critical to sustained economic growth. All told, expect upward trends in the economy to continue as 2015 swings into high gear. Lloyd Parker is Group President, Credit Services for Experian North America. He leads the sales and service teams for Experian’s Credit Services & Decision Analytics businesses.

Have you heard of #CreditChat? #CreditChat is an online discussion that happens on Twitter and YouTube every Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. It's an educational and fun hour when we discuss credit and money issues with consumers, personal finance writers, academics, and financial organizations. We discuss a different financial topic each week; including credit scores, financial goal planning, saving money, reducing and eliminating debt, earning more money, and retirement. We also talk about fun topics like "How to Throw a Dinner Party on a Budget" and "How to Eat Healthy (Without Breaking the Bank)." We've been hosting these chats for two years – and we're excited to host our 100th chat this coming Wednesday. This week, we will talk about credit reports with Rod Griffin, our director of Public Education. Rod will be answering credit questions in a live Google+ hangout. If you've never attended our weekly chat, we'd love for you to join us. You can follow or join the Twitter conversation here – or watch the live streaming YouTube video.

Partnership with Experian Marketing Services will help Bare Necessities offer its customers a more seamless and rewarding experience across touch-points, including call-center support and email communications Bare Necessities, the largest online specialty retailer of women’s and men’s branded and designer intimate apparel and lingerie, entered into an agreement with Experian Marketing Services, a recognized leader in data-driven marketing, that will help the retailer better understand and engage with its customers. Using the Experian Marketing Suite, Bare Necessities has the ability to plan, manage, execute and optimize all of its customer interactions in real time across any channel, all from within a single system. “Customers choose Bare Necessities because we offer them a better way to buy bras,” said Noah Wrubel, cofounder and chief executive officer, Bare Necessities. “The Experian Marketing Suite will help us take that customer experience to the next level, a more personal level, and meet our customers’ expectations each and every time, regardless of the channel.” Experian Marketing Services’ awarding-winning platform integrates customer data from any source and channel into an always-fresh central repository so that responses and behaviors can be recorded in real time and immediately leveraged for more effective targeting, triggering and personalization of marketing campaigns. Comprised of three core capabilities, the Experian Marketing Suite is designed to help marketers identify their customers (Identity Manger), understand their customers (Intelligence Manager) and engage with their customers across channels (Interactions Manager). For example, the Interactions Manager is powering Bare Necessities’ granular segmentation strategy, giving the company the ability to target and deliver customer communications, such as email and direct mail, based on a customer’s unique body type, the products and brands he or she loves and how he or she likes to shop. Wrubel continued, “Bare Necessities customers don’t need to worry about awkward dressing rooms and overly anxious sales people when they are shopping for intimate apparel; they can just visit our site, call our bra-fit experts or chat with us online. One of the things that we’re most excited about in working with Experian is that we can give our bra-fit experts and customer-service staff access to the Interactions Manager within the Experian Marketing Suite. This capability allows us to have better conversations with our customers from the very beginning and remove any anxiety from the experience altogether.” Backed by the industry’s highest-rated client-services team, the Experian Marketing Suite is built with the scale and flexibility to support digital programs of any size and sophistication. Experian Marketing Services’ 30 years of data and marketing technology leadership have helped to position the Experian’s Marketing Suite as the world’s most flexible and comprehensive marketing solution with more than 10,000 of the world’s leading brands, in more than 30 countries, using the platform. For more information about Experian Marketing Suite, visit: http://bit.ly/1z0TpJr.

Just how loyal are consumers to a particular make or model of vehicle? A new Experian Automotive study answers this question by highlighting the loyalty behavior of consumers who got rid of their previous vehicle to purchase a new one. The analysis showed that, overall, Ford owners had the highest percentage of loyalty when returning to market, with 60.8 percent purchasing another Ford vehicle. Rounding out the top five makes with the highest percentages of loyal consumers were Toyota, Subaru, Kia and Lexus, with 59.1 percent, 57.7 percent, 57.2 percent and 55.9 percent returning to buy another vehicle of the same make. “Vehicle loyalty is an important industry metric because it tells automakers how successful their vehicles are with the general public,” said Brad Smith, Director of Automotive Market Statistics for Experian Automotive. “When analyzing loyalty, Experian Automotive uses disposal methodology, meaning we track when a consumer replaces a vehicle that he or she originally purchased new with another new vehicle. This approach creates a more direct correlation between a purchased and owned vehicle to provide automakers and dealers with insights that can become actionable with regard to production volumes, design changes or sales incentives.” The analysis also looked at the loyalty rates of some of the most popular vehicle segments on the road, including entry-level CUVs, full-sized pickups and small economy cars. The models with the most loyal consumers in each category include the Honda CR-V, the Ford F-150 and the Toyota Corolla, with 41.6 percent, 45.0 percent and 30.4 percent of their drivers returning to buy another vehicle of the same make and model. For more information about Experian insights into the automotive market, please visit ExperianAutomotive.com.