As the landscape of how companies do business changes, communication service providers (CSPs) are continuously evolving their business plans to meet the needs of the next big idea. Now, more than ever, data-driven decision-making is at the forefront of a company’s business structure. It touches almost all sides of the business – how a company markets, sells, and structures services. CSPs aren’t just concerned about their network’s data, but the information related to potential serviceable addresses in their area.
So where does a company keep this information? Most companies enlist the help of a customer record management system or CRM. The CRM serves as the central repository for all details regarding existing subscribers and prospects. As the industry changes, executives and their workforces have record of the details they need to make data-driven decisions. However the data is often siloed and spread across their respective systems: customer data lives in the CRM and network information is stored in their mapping program, with little communication between the two. This blocks companies from creating a holistic picture of their real – and potential – network.

With decades of experience working with communication service providers, VertiGIS has noted the industry’s need for an interface that compiles consumer data, network information, and plant maps into one view. CSPs need a platform that can seamlessly integrates the details from a CRM with network data to create a detailed cost report for serviceable addresses. That’s why we’ve created integrations between industry-leading CRM platforms (like Salesforce) and VertiGIS to provide an accelerated estimate of costs. This integration pushes accounts, leads, and opportunities from a CRM and links those details to a serviceable address. From there, the data can be further enriched with demographic data and unique construction costs to create pricing specific to the service area. This gives CSPs the power to quickly assess and prioritize leads or areas to target with marketing and sales initiatives.
To get a better picture of how this integration assists in creating data-driven opportunities, let’s look at a practical use case from the real world. First, the CSPs plant maps were combined with demographic data that correlated to serviceable address data. Then the marketing department ran a report on serviceable addresses to create a targeted list. With this list, they supplied content for these addresses, ranging from digital advertising, to 1:1 outreach, to leaving door hangers in neighborhoods and specific commercial locations.
Once marketing found an opportunity, it was time for the sales team to get to work. With a few button clicks, sales reps were able to automatically create a proposed route and cost estimate for connecting the given structure to the nearest access point. In the provided route, VertiGIS accounted for known obstacles such as road crossings, water crossings, and other potential disruptions of service. The information on the route was then synced to the CRM for further evaluation and action from sales.

Because VertiGIS offers mobile-friendly tools, salespeople can also create on-the-fly estimates during customer visits or events. This functionality provides the field sales team with insights on the practical serviceability of an address before walking in the door.
With opportunities for automation, tools to derive actionable insights, and a decrease in time to make decisions; CSPs are primed to make scalable strides by integrating CRM and fiber mapping systems with VertiGIS.