Fall 2011: Property Insight customers are pleased with the performance and functionality of TitlePoint™ and TitlePoint Xpress™. Data and image quality ratings are improving when compared to historical levels, and customers applaud the support they receive from Client Services and their Account Manager.

These are among the findings of a customer survey conducted by Property Insight this past summer. Over the course of two months, in-depth interviews were completed with 165 customers representing 104 office locations in 14 states. The findings will help guide Property Insight's business priorities, technology strategy and operations planning for years to come.

"We are pleased with the feedback," said John Walsh, Property Insight President. "The findings represent an improvement over the past and the survey reaffirms that we're focused on the right things."

Still, there is the belief shared by all managers that we spoke with that Property Insight can do better.

"We are re-doubling our efforts in some areas," said John, "and we are impressed that there are new areas for us to focus on, such as improving the ability to locate starter records, and bringing full TitlePoint™ and plant automation to new markets, like Chicago."

In this issue of Insights, we explore what we've learned in our conversations with customers.

The Need for Speed

At a time when customers are being pressured to produce orders faster and with fewer resources, speed is paramount. When it comes to software applications, speed isn't the only feature, but it's generally at the top of the list in terms of importance.

Understanding the need for speed has driven the company's plant search technology strategy.

Property Insight collects input on technology enhancements and fixes through a number of client touch-points: TitlePoint™ and TitlePoint Xpress™ users provide feedback through product managers, account managers, Client Services and the Help Desk. Product functionality even pops up in executive discussions. Every conversation is documented and recorded in a database from which enhancements, changes and fixes are prioritized and scheduled. In turn, the products are updated three to four times each year.

Quality is fundamental

Not long after Property Insight was launched in 2002, Property Insight commissioned IBM to conduct a survey of customers to identify technology needs. But customers had more than technology on their minds…data quality was, as Nikki calls it, a "pain point."

Improving data quality became a priority and was manifest in strategic initiatives like the Data Discrepancy Program, where customers were incentivized to report plant and image errors to regional plant operations.

Since the 2002 study and thanks to programs like the Data Discrepancy Program, data quality, as rated by Property Insight customers, has improved.

In the 2010 survey, overall scores for data and image quality were very good. Most customers rated it as "good to excellent" and one in three customers say they believe data quality is improving. Still, errors persist; half of those interviewed report periodically finding errors in plant postings.

Participation in the Data Discrepancy Program is growing: approximately half of clients say they participate. Of those, a majority gave the program high marks for its effectiveness.

"Since the program started, we have seen a steady increase in customer participation," said Erik Bauer, who manages the National Discrepancy Program. "We see it as a core element of our data and image quality improvement program, so we're stepping up efforts to make it easier for customers to participate and submit discrepancies. We're also increasing our capacity to handle what we expect will be more volume," he added.