Melbourne Cricket Club drives member engagement using Experian’s data validation solutions
Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) has partnered with Experian to fulfil its data quality needs since the early 2000’s, which started with real-time address validation on its website. Today, MCC has the full suite of data validation solutions in place across internal and customer facing platforms to ensure that trusted data is collected from members and waiting list candidates.
The challenge
MCC has over 330,000 records in its database for members and waiting list candidates. This membership program continues to grow annually and requires day-to-day management and communication. Historically, the Club relied heavily on postal addresses to fulfil member activities such as posting initial application forms, shipment of member cards and goods, as well as giving notice of renewal. While postal mailing is an important channel, the Club recognised the need to digitise their engagement strategy. Digitisation would ensure; reduced postal costs, meeting the needs of members who prefer email and text messaging, and delivery of timely updates to members and applicants especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The solution
For several years, MCC has used Experian’s real-time address, email and mobile validation solutions at the point of data capture on its website and within the Microsoft Dynamics system. The solutions put in place check addresses against official data from Australia Post and directly with mailbox and mobile network providers to ensure existence and deliverability. If details are incorrect, the person entering the data is prompted to make corrections before submitting the form, preventing manual rework of data for MCC later down the line.
MCC’s proactive approach to data quality management enabled them to deliver the best multi-channel engagement strategy and more. Results include:
- More complete and accurate records for members and applicants. For example, 100% of records have valid addresses, and over 96% have valid email addresses and phone numbers.
- Improved member engagement with a 99% successful email deliverability rate, thanks to real-time email validation.
- Reduced costs by validating addresses and shifting to be digital-first. Renewal notices are now sent via email instead of post to 85% of members, saving over $100,000 AUD annually.
- Faster membership renewals. 61% of members renewed within two months when notified via email, compared to 51% the previous year who were notified via post.
- An improved account management experience for members on their website.
Melbourne Cricket Club is continuing to enhance its data and digital engagement strategy with support from Experian identifying ways in which to better govern their data, which will enable the organisation
Data quality managementAbout the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC)
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is the largest sporting club in Australia with over 140,000 active members. The MCC has the public responsibility of managing the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia’s largest stadium. The aim is to create unforgettable experiences for members nationally and internationally, through live sporting events, entertainment and culture.
Contact information drives how we manage our membership program. Experian’s data validation solutions were easy to connect and have enabled us to capture the right information up front so we can communicate with members. Evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic where we needed to provide our members information quickly and regularly.