SASKTEL: INTELLIGENCE IN MINUTES, NOT HOURS

As the first North American company to offer high-speed DSL Internet access and the first Canadian IPTV provider to roll out high-definition television, SaskTel is a communications pioneer. Building and managing profitable communication services depends on anticipating consumer demand and providing responsive customer service. SAS® gives SaskTel the intelligence to offer consumers the latest in converged communication technology.

SaskTel serves 425,000 businesses and residents and is the leading full-service communications provider in Canada’s Saskatchewan province. SaskTel responds to marketplace preferences by using SAS to manage a rich customer base and to provide the right services to the right consumers at the right times.

“We have tremendously loyal customers,” says Mike Woolley, Manager of Marketing Intelligence. “The vast majority of Saskatchewan customers use at least one of our services, meaning our databases contain a wealth of customer information. If we don’t have the tools to get to that data quickly, then we lose a competitive advantage. We can’t respond effectively if we don’t know what is going on.”

With SAS, SaskTel is able to process and analyze huge volumes of customer information. The data is then used to support and develop various consumer campaigns and to identify direct contact opportunities with current and potential customers.

“We average around 12,000 customer contacts per day,” says Woolley. “Our call center is critical to our expansion mission and to maintaining our high standards of individualized customer service.”

SAS helps SaskTel to identify potential customers for new services and to develop “win-back” campaigns for consumers who shift to other providers. For example, if a client chooses another provider, he or she is placed on the automated calling list and contacted for feedback the very next day.

“Responding quickly is the key,” says Woolley. “It’s critical to find out what our customers are thinking and to work together to develop solutions.”

Before SaskTel began using SAS, making new data available for campaigns took up to four hours. With SAS, SaskTel can make new data accessible to campaigns in as little as 10 minutes. “We can spend our time working and not waiting to find out what we need to be working on,” Woolley says. “We’ve been able to raise the bar with fast campaign turnaround times.”

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