In today’s world, it seems as though there is a statistic that we can apply to just about anything. Whether it’s viewership of the Super Bowl, popularity of breakfast cereal or the number of red M&Ms that come in a pack, I bet the data is out there. In fact, there is so much data in the world that Emery Simon of the Business Software Alliance once said that if data were placed on DVDs, it would create a stack tall enough to reach the moon. But let’s take a step back. If you break it down to its bare bones, all data is, is a bunch of numbers. Until you can understand what those numbers mean, data by itself isn’t that helpful. Delivering data insights in order for our clients to make better decisions is at the core of everything we do at Experian. We are continuously looking for ways to use our data for good. This is especially critical for the automotive industry, including dealerships, manufacturers, lenders and consumers alike. For example, with data and insights, manufacturers and dealerships can better understand what vehicles consumers are purchasing, as well as where certain vehicle segments are most popular. This information can help them decide which vehicles models are performing or where to move inventory. For automotive lenders, gaining insight into the shifts in consumer payment behavior, enables them to take the appropriate action when making decisions on loan terms and interest rates. By leveraging this information, lenders are able to minimize their own risk and improve profitability. On the consumer side, a vehicle is often the second largest purchase they will make. It’s important, especially when purchasing a used vehicle, to get as much information as possible to make the best decision. Vehicle history reports contain hundreds of data points from a variety of sources that provide insight into whether a vehicle has been in an accident, has frame damage, and odometer fraud, among other things. Consumers are able to take these insights to assist in the car buying process to ensure the vehicle is safe and meets their own standards. Leveraging the information available to make better decisions across the board will help the industry and consumers cruise down the highway of success. And that’s how we roll … Subscribe to this blog by email to learn more about our data and analytics.

Experian is all about turning insights into action… using data for good. Our commitment is to work with our clients, consumers, non-profits and other parties to help ensure that we, as a company and within society, continue to properly leverage big data for good. As part of that effort, each week we bring you Experian Insights – a round-up of news and resources highlighting how data is used for positive business, consumer and societal actions in many ways and across multiple sectors. Experian Insights in the News The One Thing That Could Instantly Make Your Credit Score Better – Time If both rent and utilities were part of credit scores as many as 54 million people (who are essentially invisible today) would be able to participate in mainstream finance. [Tweet] Five Minutes with Matt Seeley, EMS Group President – The Hub We're working with numerous clients to help guide their organization's data management strategy, putting insights into action to create improved and more meaningful customer interactions. [Tweet] Small Business Insights Drive Action for the Good of the Economy – Experian Blog Small businesses rounded out 2014 performing at a very high level, especially in terms of credit health. [Tweet] Agencies Navigate the Identity-Based Security Ecosystem – GCN Identity systems have become the top priority for organizations looking to safeguard government data from attackers. [Tweet] Experian's Newest CMO Aims to Focus on Consumers – AdAge.com Kristen Simmons will lead strategic direction, development and execution of marketing for Experian consumer services in North America. [Tweet] How Millions of Consumers Could Get Credit for Paying Their Utilities on Time – Experian Blog Study analyzed the financial benefits for consumers by adding positive, monthly utility or rental payments to credit reports. [Tweet] Jump-Starting Car Sales from the Service Lane – Automotive News Automotive News reports how VehicleXchange works with Experian to help car dealers find credit-worthy customers. [Tweet] 5 Tools for Improved Identity Management – GCN  Government agencies will have to rely on improving existing technology solutions to help manage their ongoing security threats. [Tweet] Acting on Insights to Create Value for Marketers and Their Customers – Experian Blog Learn how successful businesses are drawing meaningful insights from data to impact almost every aspect of business operations. [Tweet] Subscribe to this blog by email to learn more about our data and analytics.  

Experian is all about turning insights into action… using data for good. Our commitment is to work with our clients, consumers, non-profits and other parties to help ensure that we, as a company and within society, continue to properly leverage big data for good. As part of that effort, each week we bring you Experian Insights – a round-up of news and resources highlighting how data is used for positive business, consumer and societal actions in many ways and across multiple sectors. Experian Insights in the News The One Thing That Could Instantly Make Your Credit Score Better – Time If both rent and utilities were part of credit scores as many as 54 million people (who are essentially invisible today) would be able to participate in mainstream finance. [Tweet] Five Minutes with Matt Seeley, EMS Group President – The Hub We're working with numerous clients to help guide their organization's data management strategy, putting insights into action to create improved and more meaningful customer interactions. [Tweet] Small Business Insights Drive Action for the Good of the Economy – Experian Blog Small businesses rounded out 2014 performing at a very high level, especially in terms of credit health. [Tweet] Agencies Navigate the Identity-Based Security Ecosystem – GCN Identity systems have become the top priority for organizations looking to safeguard government data from attackers. [Tweet] Experian's Newest CMO Aims to Focus on Consumers – AdAge.com Kristen Simmons will lead strategic direction, development and execution of marketing for Experian consumer services in North America. [Tweet] How Millions of Consumers Could Get Credit for Paying Their Utilities on Time – Experian Blog Study analyzed the financial benefits for consumers by adding positive, monthly utility or rental payments to credit reports. [Tweet] Jump-Starting Car Sales from the Service Lane – Automotive News Automotive News reports how VehicleXchange works with Experian to help car dealers find credit-worthy customers. [Tweet] 5 Tools for Improved Identity Management – GCN  Government agencies will have to rely on improving existing technology solutions to help manage their ongoing security threats. [Tweet] Acting on Insights to Create Value for Marketers and Their Customers – Experian Blog Learn how successful businesses are drawing meaningful insights from data to impact almost every aspect of business operations. [Tweet]    

It seems like every conversation I have regarding how the U.S. economy is doing, I always think about small businesses. After all, small businesses are what drive our economy forward. They are the center of commerce for our country, and create the most jobs for our growing workforce. Quite honestly, without them, who knows where our country would stand today. With that said, how are small businesses really doing? Well, according to the Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index, small businesses rounded out 2014 performing at a very high level, especially in terms of credit health. Small businesses improved their payment and credit management behavior across the board, increasing their average risk score, reducing the number of days they paid bills past due and lowering delinquency rates. The end of 2014 also saw a decrease in the number of businesses that filed for bankruptcy. Simply put, small businesses fared well at the end of last year. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? For lenders and suppliers, the continued improvement in payment and credit management performance by small businesses is a welcomed sign. It enables them to feel more confident when extending credit. Understanding these trends give lenders the insight needed to make more informed decisions on loan terms, interest rates and credit limits. On the other side of the spectrum, small businesses have positioned themselves to gain access to a wider availability of credit than several years ago. Staying on top of their payment performance will be critical, as it can open up the credit spigot for years to come. Gaining insight into how lenders and suppliers perceive a small business’s risk, enables owners to understand the areas they need to improve on. At Experian, we’re committed to helping lenders, suppliers and small businesses alike, understand these data points, and turn them into actionable insights to help them move their businesses forward and grow. Enabling our clients to use this data for good and create new opportunities is at the core of everything we do. At the end of the day, the continued improvement in small business credit health is a positive for all parties involved. It enables lenders to feel more confident that they will receive payment on loans they’ve extended, and small businesses will have access to capital that helps them grow and succeed. And when small businesses succeed, it has a very positive affect on our economy.

Experian’s goal is to help consumers understand and actively engage in their credit life because it plays such an important role in building a secure financial future. Today marked another milestone in this quest. In a positive step for consumers and the U.S. consumer credit industry, Experian (along with the other two nationwide credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion), announced the National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP) – a program that will further enhance our ability to collect complete and accurate consumer information, and provide consumers more transparency and a better experience when interacting with credit bureaus about their credit reports. The plan was launched after cooperative discussions and an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. First, let me touch on what we are doing at Experian specifically. I’m a firm believer that in order to fulfill our goal of being the champion for consumers, we must continuously enhance our own internal processes and adjust our business to the changing needs of consumers and the market. I applaud the industry for coming together to form the NCAP, and in that same vein of commitment to the consumer, I plan to go even further in our efforts to deliver the highest quality data and the best consumer experience possible. For the last few years, we have embarked on a rigorous plan and invested millions of dollars in staffing, training, education and system improvements at Experian to ensure our data is as accurate as possible, to streamline the dispute process, and to make problematic disputes easier to resolve. Let me highlight what we are doing. We are building on our strong foundation of systems and processes to achieve even higher levels of quality. We have a team of more than 100 employees who are focused on receiving, loading and managing the quality of data from data furnishers. We maintain an inventory of more than 400 data quality rules that are applied each time data is furnished to us, so that we can ensure the data is historically consistent and logical before it is loaded into Experian’s database. Every month, we work proactively with data furnishers to further enhance the accuracy of the data they provide to us by pointing out any issues that they need to address; for example, data formatting issues that could result in inaccurate data being added to a consumer credit report. Our goal is to manage our data proactively at the front end to benefit all consumers and lenders. The accuracy, quality and integrity of our data is foundational to Experian’s business, and we are committed to further enhancing the consumer credit experience by attaining the highest level of data accuracy and quality. 98 percent is good – but not good enough. We are making further improvements in data accuracy. Perfecting the credit ecosystem, which includes more than 10,000 data furnishers and 1.3 billion monthly credit report updates, is complicated. As an industry, we have achieved a 98 percent accuracy rate for credit reporting. While that is good, it is not good enough. We are striving for perfection, taking tangible steps and making real investments to further enhance accuracy. We are making the dispute process easier. As the first credit bureau to have launched a national credit education initiative, we have more than 20 years experience working with consumers to help them more effectively manage their credit. In the last two years, we have spent considerable resources to improve engagement with consumers: We have upgraded our website to make it easier for consumers to dispute reports online. We have added a new system that enables consumers to provide dispute documentation through a secure document uploading process. We have added more agents, so consumers can speak to one of our representatives to ask questions. We have increased bilingual support for our Spanish-speaking consumers. These investments have shown results: The number of disputes initiated has dropped, dramatically decreasing 42 percent since 2008. The time it takes to resolve disputes has been reduced in the last year, with almost 59 percent of all disputes resolved within 10 days, and an additional 19 percent resolved in 20 days. The timeframes of the disputes are much shorter than the 30-45 days allowed by federal guidelines. But, of course, our efforts will continue to provide the best consumer experience possible. Credit reporting enables the American way of life. Our industry helps fulfill dreams of owning a car or a home. It allows students to attend college. And it stimulates financial growth. Our work is not without errors, but we are wholeheartedly committed to perfecting our role in the credit ecosystem – empowering consumers and the economy alike. As I said, our goal is to be a champion for consumers. We will continue to invest in and work toward that goal. We will do more. We will do more, and as CEO of Experian North America, you have my commitment.

We’re just a few months into a new year and already there are clear signs how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to further advance its regulatory authority over bank and non-bank entities across the credit ecosystem. Here is a look at the top three priorities for the CFPB in this space: 1) Debt Collection Complaints about debt collections are near the top of the list of consumer comments for both the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission. In fact, according to a semi-annual report by the CFPB released in December 2014, 36% of consumer complaints concerned continued attempts to collect debt that was not owed. The high number of consumer complaints coupled with the complexities of the debt collection industry, in general, has prompted the CFPB to take action.  The bureau put out an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in November 2013 that drew more than 23,000 comments and it’s expected to release a proposed rule later in the spring of 2015. In addition, during a field hearing last December, the CFPB released a report focusing on both medical and non-medical collections. The report highlights the lack of standardization concerning how and when collection tradelines are furnished to credit reporting agencies (CRAs). Specifically, the report suggests that these variations can lead to consumer confusion and may impact accuracy. With collections under the microscope, expect to invest more in data management and data governance systems as part of new compliance and standardization initiatives as well as to alleviate consumer complaints. 2) Consumer financial education and empowerment Consumer financial education and empowerment remains a top priority of the CFPB, since it is baked into the bureau’s organizational structure. The CFPB has encouraged financial institutions to simplify disclosures and to provide credit scores on monthly statements. In remarks before a Consumer Advisory Board meeting in February, CFPB Director Richard Cordray made clear that the initiative is aimed at helping increase transparency and awareness of credit scores so that consumers can better understand the impact that they have on their lives. Furthermore, Director Cordray has stated that, “Financial products can help make life better, but they can also make life harder… Responsible businesses must help make the costs, risks, and benefits of financial products easier for consumers to understand.” To that end, expect renewed calls for improvements in customer service, education and credit data transparency as part of an ongoing move to facilitate consumer empowerment. 3) Accuracy of consumer credit data The accuracy and completeness of information contained in consumer credit files will continue to take center stage as the CFPB focuses on the responsibilities and duties of both credit bureaus and data furnishers, particularly debt collectors. Hearkening back to the field hearing conducted last December in which the CFPB’s study focused on the lack of standardization in collection tradelines, CFPB Director Cordray emphasized the responsibilities of data furnishers — including both debt collectors and lenders — to provide credit bureaus with complete and accurate data.  In addition, the CFPB remains highly interested in ensuring that the consumer dispute resolution system operates efficiently. The CFPB also announced it would require CRAs to provide accuracy reports on data furnishers that identify key risk areas for consumers. New reporting requirements for CRAs include identifying furnishers with the most disputes, industries with the most overall disputes, and furnishers with the highest overall disputes relative to industry. While data reporting will remain voluntary, furnishers will need to take greater steps to ensure fair and accurate reporting of consumer credit data or face greater scrutiny by the CFPB. These top priorities demonstrate some of the key focal points by the CFPB within the consumer credit environment anticipated this year. To that end, it will be important for covered entities to ensure that they not just comply with current federal and state laws, but also strive to advance industry best practices while keeping consumers front and center. For information on the responsibilities of furnishers submitting information to consumer reporting agencies, access Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For information on how to act and comply with new data quality rules, visit Experian Data Integrity Services.

For the second year in a row, Experian Marketing Services has been named one of the top email service providers (ESPs) in the market by The Relevancy Group. The Relevancy Ring — ESP Buyer’s Guide 2015 evaluates and ranks ESP vendors according to the satisfaction of several hundred marketers and the vendor’s ability to meet their challenges and goals through product functionality and innovation. The report also cites Experian Marketing Services for excelling in areas such as integration, omnichannel marketing and production services. According to the report, Experian Marketing Services differs from a traditional ESP in its ability to support real-time optimization and machine learning using a combination of data, services and analysis. “Experian goes out of their way to understand a client’s unique challenges. They can simplify complex systems and create solutions that help clients to make their marketing programs more sophisticated,” said David Daniels, CEO and Founder of The Relevancy Group. The report also praises the Experian Marketing Suite for its infrastructure stability, deliverability tools and services, creative services and technical services. The report states, “Clients interviewed tended to praise the timeliness, quality and the ability to scale Experian’s technical implications. They also are seen as great partners and extensions of their clients’ teams.” Learn more about the Experian Marketing Suite here, and download your own copy of The Relevancy Ring – ESP Buyer’s Guide 2015 today.

Launch of AdTruth Resolve simplifies cross-device audience management for marketers Experian Marketing Services, today, introduced AdTruth Resolve, a new technology designed to simplify the process of recognizing and engaging audiences across all devices and environments. AdTruth Resolve is designed for the multinational marketer that struggles to make smarter, more data-driven business decisions and keep up with today’s mobile-first consumer. AdTruth Resolve provides marketers with the means to reconcile and associate their existing digital identifiers — including cookies, device IDs, IP addresses and more — and then leverage that consolidated intelligence for visibility across devices. AdTruth Resolve represents another milestone in Experian Marketing Services’ long-term strategy to provide marketers with a ubiquitous, consistent and persistent link across all channels as part of the Experian Marketing Suite. Powered by a three-tiered identity-management framework, the Experian Marketing Suite’s Identity Manager gives marketers everything they need to persistently, accurately, effectively and respectfully recognize, resolve and reach consumers across all devices in all digital environments. “The AdTruth Resolve technology is meant to address the needs of both the data owners and the consumers in the digital ecosystem,” said Matt Seeley, president at Experian Marketing Services, North America. “Our AdTruth Resolve technology functions within a company’s own data and technology environment, enabling marketers to focus on leveraging their data assets within their existing tools and services. It is an excellent extension to the Experian Marketing Suite’s Identity Manager and will further enrich the customer view we are already providing to our marquee clients.” AdTruth Resolve uses a process called digital identification resolution to remove the need for organizations to piece together and manage the vast amount of identification data variables themselves. AdTruth Resolve identifies, reconciles and associates a company’s existing digital identification data assets, allowing the consolidated data to be used throughout its digital marketing stack and across the entire digital ecosystem in a privacy-mindful way. AdTruth is known for DeviceInsight™, a statistical device-recognition technology that delivers a privacy-compliant way to associate online activity with a specific device. AdTruth Resolve continues Experian’s consumer-privacy-minded technology development by facilitating broader opt-out capabilities. “Marketers and publishers have struggled to deliver consistent, targeted messages across the entire digital landscape because their customer data resides in so many different systems,” said James Lamberti, vice president and global general manager of AdTruth. “By implementing AdTruth Resolve, marketers have full control over, and can take full advantage of, their own customer data to address this situation. AdTruth Resolve is a smart product for achieving a consolidated customer view that protects an organization’s data and respects consumer privacy as well.” The Experian Marketing Suite was designed to be flexible, giving clients complete control over the components necessary to power their programs. As a client’s campaign requirements and complexity evolve, they can easily take advantage of the functionalities across the Marketing Suite’s three core managers: Identity Manager, Intelligence Manager and Interactions Manager. Similarly, the AdTruth Resolve technology can be used as an integrated part of the overall Marketing Suite or incorporated into a company’s existing tools and services. Click here for more information about AdTruth Resolve.  

Years ago, when data was the shiny new object, people talked a lot about it being organized into useful information that could drive actionable insights. It sounded great at the time. Unfortunately, at that time (and we’re talking about the late 90s and early 00s) the promise far outstripped the reality. However, in the past five years the responsible collection and usage of data has significantly evolved. In fact, we see that 95 percent of companies feel driven to turn data into insight to understand their customer needs, find new customers and increase the value of each client. Today, successful businesses are drawing meaningful insights from data to impact almost every aspect of business operations. But what actually makes data valuable? How can this incredible volume of information be converted into action? In its rawest form data really isn’t all that useful. A name here, an email address there, and purchase intent somewhere else. But responsibly collecting and connecting those data is the key, and it’s also a complex task that almost all businesses struggle with. Accomplishing this task – turning insights into action – is what we do, and it’s something we do better than others. Transforming insights into action can take many different forms. It can mean helping marketers communicate with customers in more meaningful and effective ways; helping consumers secure loans that are right for them; or helping businesses protect themselves against risk. Given what we do at Experian Marketing Services, it’s that first point I’d like to focus on. How do we approach data so that it has the greatest value for marketers and their customers? First and foremost, we treat data with respect and protect it rigorously. For some it may be easy to forget that each and every bit of consumer information out there has its roots in a real person. This is something we never forget or take for granted at Experian. We hold ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to working with and managing consumer information. That ethos is in our DNA, and is the foundation of everything we do. Equally important is ensuring information quality. For a marketer, accurate information is critical. Before you can reach out to a customer you need to have a high degree of confidence that you are reaching the right customer. In many respects, inaccurate data is a bigger problem than a dearth of information. Why? Today we see a little over a quarter of information is believed to be inaccurate in company databases. That high degree of error dramatically impacts marketing success, but also the business bottom line. The final piece of the puzzle is making that highly accurate and well-protected information available when, where and how it’s needed. This means being steeped in the innovation that is part and parcel of the integrated marketing mix. Our Experian Marketing Suite provides marketers with the ability to plan, manage, execute and optimize all of their customer interactions in real time across any channel. And this is critical as today’s consumer moves seamlessly between media channels. She may be reading an email one minute, browsing the Web in the next and scanning Facebook on the phone in the one after that. This reality of the consumer device experience creates opportunities for marketers to meet the consumer where they are with messages that make the most sense, at the right time. For example, promoting the latest episode of a popular program to a streaming-enabled device in the evening is an actionable impression and one likely to be welcome by a fan. When this type of interaction happens, consumers often don’t think twice, they simply appreciate the natural and timely delivery of relevant information. Information needs to inform every consumer engagement in today’s cross-channel world. We’re able to deliver this through our strong foundation in marketing technology, our appreciation and understanding of today’s platforms, apps and devices, and by keeping an eye on the future. We recognize that consumers live in an increasingly diverse digital world. We understand that the data – accurate data that provides a great experience for consumers and marketers alike – is an asset like no other. It’s the bedrock on which so many businesses, relationships and experiences are built. Serving as responsible stewards of that data through the technology and services we provide has allowed Experian Marketing Services to play a central and trusted role for marketers around the world.