The postcode as the strategic centre of insurance marketing

A survey conducted by Royal Mail recently revealed that customer data is one of the most neglected business assets by UK companies. Eighty-six per cent of accountants think that almost two thirds (60%) of organisations fail to exploit customer data to its full potential, with 96% believing that companies have lost competitive advantage as a direct result. Abi Wood , Head of Financial Sector Marketing, Royal Mail looks at the statistics and considers the implications for the insurance industry

The postcode is arguably the single most important piece of customer data held by organisations, primarily because it easily locates a customer, but also because it can quickly identify them. What is the first piece of information requested when phoning a call centre? – Your postcode. Without a correct postcode or postal address it is far harder for companies to ensure that they can match the correct individual across multiple contact points, especially when a phone number or email address has been appended to a customer record. This is particularly true in today’s multimedia environment. According to the Office of National Statistics over half of consumers have three or more active email accounts, for example a work address, a freemail account and a home address. They use each account differently and would perhaps vary which email address they give to suppliers or companies that interest them on different factors.