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A centralized solution ensures compliance, enabling growth and saving millions
Nationwide is one of the country's largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations, and ranks 104th in total revenues on the Fortune 500 list (2007). The company offers a full range of insurance products and financial services through multiple distribution channels. Before the expansion of state and federal Do-Not-Call (DNC) laws, Nationwide's agents used an internally developed, self-managed DNC program. The manually driven compliance process required agents to look up phone numbers on a hundred-plus page Microsoft Excel spreadsheet before making each call. In addition, adding a name to the DNC list required sending an e-mail to the central office, where the spreadsheet was periodically updated and redistributed. This cumbersome compliance process frustrated agents and reduced productivity. With the introduction of DNC legislation in multiple jurisdictions, the process of keeping the spreadsheet current became even more complex, draining resources from Nationwide's core business functions. To automate telemarketing efforts and link affiliated companies together into one system that was current and easy to use, Nationwide chose a compliance solution from Gryphon Networks. "Gryphon has helped us significantly reduce our risk of non-compliance with a quality product that's easy to use," adds Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer and associate general counsel. "After getting into the system, it's as simple as dialing the next potential customer. You're only two keystrokes away from adding someone to your internal DNC list before moving on to the next number. What used to take days or even weeks now takes seconds, so it's several orders of magnitude faster and more efficient. In addition, several management tools are available so you can track how your sales force is working and it's all updated automatically and in real-time."

Protecting the brand
Without a compliance system in place, businesses face significant risks. Fines for non-compliance can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per state or event, and the state attorney general can even shut down businesses that fail to comply.

Because the solution from Gryphon prevents calls from being made to anyone on state, federal or the company's DNC list and allows agents to process new DNC add requests in real time, it effectively prevents calls from being made to consumers who have expressed a desire not to be called. This enables Nationwide to enjoy another benefit of using the Gryphon Networks solution: avoiding damage to its brand. "Gryphon is doing more than just enabling compliance it helps protect our brand and that's very hard to quantify," says Herath. "We spend millions of dollars on our brand and on advertising, and one negative story on the front page of the Wall Street Journal could have a deep impact."

Easy to use and implement
Before and during implementation, Nationwide and Gryphon sent a series of informational communications to agents that described the regulatory environment, explained why Nationwide chose the Gryphon solution, and provided details about how the changes would affect agents. Gryphon assigned a primary contact for Nationwide and worked closely with the company to roll out the compliance solution. Nationwide provided Gryphon with a list of agents by state, along with their e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, and a numbering convention for the agents' personal identification numbers (PIN) that were used as a tracking mechanism. Training sessions also were available via teleconference, but many agents were able to learn the system simply by following the user guide. Herath credits a smooth implementation to Gryphon's easy-to-use system and training program. "The field's response is that the Gryphon system is very easy-to-use and everything works off the telephone keypad," says Herath. "From a telecom pricing perspective, in most cases it actually costs less than what they were paying in the past."

Tracking data creates opportunities for new marketing efforts
Gryphon's reporting capabilities allow sales management to drill down and see the number of calls that were made, the duration of each call, how many people asked to be added to the DNC list, and custom call events that agents can enter immediately after a call for follow-up purposes.

Effective product, outstanding service
Nationwide's overall satisfaction with Gryphon has been very high and the company believes Gryphon has gone above and beyond to serve them well. For the first time, Nationwide has a compliance solution that also provides sales management with real-time data on calling activity, information they can use to drive productivity. "Anyone trying to manage the Do-Not-Call compliance issue with home-grown technology is missing the point," says Herath. "Clearly, gaps will exist somewhere. Using Gryphon allows us to focus on our core business. Compliance is a significant issue, and if there's a company that does it well, you should investigate whether or not you should use them. In my estimation, Gryphon is the best. They're a leader in DNC compliance. There really isn't anybody out there that does it as well or as completely."