Virgin Mobile picks SPSS to optimize CRM strategy

Virgin Mobile, Britain's leading virtual network operator, has selected predictive analytics software from SPSS to drive marketing campaign optimization and reduce customer churn.

The software from Chicago-based SPSS enables Virgin Mobile to analyze its customer data and the results of previous direct marketing campaigns to identify appropriate customer segments for new marketing initiatives targeted at the mobile operator's 4 million customers.

Virgin Mobile undertakes more than 100 marketing campaigns each year. By identifying the most appropriate customers for each of these, the mobile operator will be able to lower campaign costs, reduce customer churn and increase revenue per user from event-triggered marketing activities. For example, customers who add additional minutes by a certain amount and are likely to churn can be sent a text message reminding them of the benefits of Red, Virgin Mobile's rewards scheme, at or close to the time they re-up their minutes, rather than within an ad hoc campaign.

SPSS' predictive analytics software provides Virgin Mobile with a better understanding of its customers by combining information on past circumstances, present events and projected future actions. This gives the mobile operator a complete view of its customers and enables the company to adequately anticipate individual customer behavior and needs. For example, Virgin Mobile can predict the likelihood of a customer leaving and take measures to prevent this.