News
greenstone data solutions looks to make a clear difference with The Customer Partnership
growing database solutions company invests in marketing optimisation technology and services
30th September 2009
greenstone data solutions, the emergent force in database marketing, has today reaffirmed its intent to become a best in class service provider with the announcement that it has acquired a controlling stake in The Customer Partnership (TCP Software Ltd).
The association with TCP and its founder, Julian Berry, (who remains as Managing Partner), reinforces greenstone’s ‘the subtle difference’ proposition by bringing together first class marketing optimisation software tools and innovation with the ability to deliver at an operational level on every aspect of the direct marketer’s requirements. The new venture will operate under the name of TCP Marketing Solutions - a greenstone company, and will work closely with the group’s existing brands, greenstone data solutions and greenstone customer insights.
greenstone’s Commercial Director, Marco De Caprio commented, “TCP is a hugely respected specialist direct and database marketing solutions company. Its focus on developing innovative software tools to help organisations make more effective use of marketing spend, and provide value based decision support for marketers, is in line with our approach, and together we will deliver even more value for our customers.
Julian Berry, said of the association “greenstone has grown both in scale and reputation since its inception in 2003. Our offer to the market is entirely complementary through our joint belief that marketing should be led by science and data, rather than intuition. And whilst culturally we are very similar, greenstone also provides the necessary development resources, scale and market presence with which we can effectively develop and distribute our software solutions.
greenstone data solutions appoints Operations Director
19th August 2009
Maidstone database bureau greenstone data solutions has appointed Kaye Clubley as Operations Director to oversee the development of new database solutions for its customers. The appointment comes on the back of record revenues for the firm and in a year where staffing levels have grown by over 30%.
Previously Special Projects Manager where she oversaw the People’s Postcode Lottery account, Kaye says, “It is a really exciting time for us at greenstone. Despite the current economic climate we are going from strength to strength and it is really rewarding to see the team grow in both numbers and skillset.”
Kaye’s focus over the coming months will be one of continuous improvement; bringing efficiencies to existing processes and developing new ways to delight greenstone’s growing list of clients which include blue chip FMCG, financial services, retail and marketing companies. Prior to joining greenstone, Kaye spent 12 years with the Kent Messenger group as Sales Manager and IT Manager for whom she successfully achieved Investors in People status.
Managing Director Jon Hinkley concludes, “Kaye’s committed customer-focused approach to continuous improvement has already paid dividends both for greenstone and our clients. We are building a great foundation for the business which will helps us continue to outperform the market.”
greenstone announces record performance
18th August 2009
Innovative database bureau, greenstone data solutions, today announced record performance figures for 2008/2009, despite the downturn in overall marketing spend. For the sixth consecutive year, the Maidstone based company, which was formed in 2003, achieved year-on-year turnover growth of >50% whilst also maintaining profit margins. Growth was attributable to a number of new client wins across both B2B and B2C divisions, as well as a number of contract extensions and solid growth across existing key accounts. The company processed over 21 billion client records in 2008/2009.
The record figures put greenstone ahead of many of its larger, more established competitors and secures its position as a leading name in the data solutions market.
Marco De Caprio, Commercial Director of greenstone says, “We offer our clients a quality service at a competitive cost and it is this that has enabled us to continue to grow, despite a difficult market. Maintaining this level of growth is down to the hard work and expertise of our dedicated team and is reflective of the subtle difference in data management that we provide our clients.”
Tony Lawes, Director, Transactis Ltd, adds, “We have enjoyed a close working relationship with greenstone for over four years and view them very much as our preferred technology partner, rather than merely a supplier of bureau services. The team at greenstone has worked hard to gain a deep understanding of our distinct business drivers and is able to translate these into innovative data solutions that consistently deliver our commercial and financial objectives. greenstone’s record growth is a testament to their exceptional knowledge of working with data and their commitment to bringing additional benefits to their clients’ businesses.”
greenstone signs De Caprio as Commercial Director
18th June 2009
greenstone data solutions, the successful and fast growing database marketing bureau, has appointed Marco De Caprio as Commercial Director to oversee all aspects of its future strategic growth, client management and business development.
Since the company launched in 2003, greenstone has quickly established itself as a leading and respected database bureau. Offering data cleansing, database design, hosting and management, software development and customer insights services, greenstone boasts an enviable list of national and international clients.
De Caprio joins greenstone after leaving EDF Energy where he was Head of Home Services in the B2C division. At greenstone he will report to the company's Managing Director Jon Hinkley.
greenstone’s Jon Hinkley said of De Caprio’s appointment as Commercial Director, “having worked with Marco before we are very aware of the skills and drive that he brings to greenstone. This is a pivotal appointment for the company, and is crucial to our continued success. We are delighted to welcome Marco to the team.”
Marco’s experience with EDF Energy coupled with his time at NDL International, Claritas UK and Altwood Systems, means that he brings his wealth of experience to mainstream database marketing.
Synopsis from Data Strategy magazine - Better customers in prospect
16 March 2009
Is there a critical gap between prospect pools and customer databases that needs to be filled? Usually prospect data is assembled into a standalone database and intelligence applied based on how that data performs during marketing campaigns. The problem is that this ignores all the knowledge which has been built up on customers, their propensities and channel effectiveness.
Equally, customer databases have not benefitted from enhancement, refresh rates and learnings about market dynamics that emerge from prospecting. So is it time for clients, data owners and MSPs to start putting these two worlds into closer orbit?
greenstone data solutions comment
The fundamental issue today is a lack of information and knowledge, despite the proliferation of data. Data alone cannot possibly provide customers with the insight to truly target the right customer with the right message at the right time. Only by building customer and response data into a prospect pool, can a cycle of information be continuously built. With this platform, information, knowledge and insight are continuously improved, leading to demonstrably better response rates and results.Of course holding separate customer data and a separate customer base isn’t too much of an issue as both can be analysed individually. A separate prospect pool cannot be analysed independently in the same way however, which means there is a vast amount of data that doesn’t ever get used. By analysing all three sources of data in the same way, customer profiling becomes more meaningful, but of course this is entirely dependent on the quality of information within the pool.
One area that is fundamental to the success of prospect pooling is the multi-sourcing of the customer base - obtaining and overlaying data from two or three sources increases the data footprint. Although each piece of data is unique to the supplier source, there may be additional information that can be extracted to uplift the prospect. In fact by using such a method we believe the prospect can be improved by as much as 20%. Sourcing data at a variable level can also build confidence factors in the data overall, so it is crucial that multiple sources of customer data become an intrinsic part of any prospect pooling solution.
greenstone data solutions has for over five years now, offered a combined solution providing a full cycle infrastructure to its prospect pools, looking at customers and prospects and incorporating relevant information for multi-channel activity. Being able to offer this level of service ensures that greenstone are in a unique position to support the next generation of prospect pooling, incorporating all touch points.
greenstone data solutions – the subtle difference
9 March 2009
As marketing budgets are tightened and customer spending becomes increasingly cautious, it is more important than ever before to ensure that data is accurate, up to date, accessible and generates the best return on marketing spend.
While many data solution companies claim to deliver all of the above, there is only one that believes that it is the subtle difference that really makes the difference. Established over five years ago greenstone data solutions could be regarded as a relatively new kid on the block, however it’s the company’s unique approach and its consistent delivery of best of breed solutions that has resulted in contracts to provide data management services to over 50 clients, throughout Europe, across a range of sectors.
Subtle differences in greenstones’ quality of service, investment in people and processes, and unique ability to work with the client to realise end results are attributing factors to its success. greenstone adopts a consultative approach, working closely with the client to understand the objective, identifying exactly what is required and ensuring that opportunities are not missed.
- greenstone provide a number of advanced data management solutions that deal with the real issues faced by direct marketers, these include:
- database and application development services to support core operational systems
- data bureau services with the capacity to process millions of records every day
- in-house hosting of partners’ databases
- enhancement and improvement services to base customer data
- design, development, hosting and managing of ‘Single Customer View’ marketing database
- tailored Prospect Pool development
- development, implementation and managing of customer knowledge, insight systems and working methods
- proven analytical techniques to analyse, segment and profile model customer data.
With data cleansing generally perceived as a commodity, greenstone use technical expertise and a variety of tools to provide the right technology and the right solution. Each project is treated on an individual basis, Managing Director Jon Hinkley comments, “Everything about greenstone centres around consultation; if a client approaches us with an idea we actively work with them to work out how to make the solution work for them and then implement the infrastructure for supporting that solution.”
greenstone Development Director, Brendan Pey adds, “Our flexibility means that we are best placed to solve individual problems rather than forcing clients to use a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather than being asked, we proactively look at how to make operations slicker, automated and more profitable, it’s all part of the added value we provide. Our proposition is our people, not our programmes; we offer a flexible adaptable approach combining the right technology with the right expertise.”