Steer Data Validation & Matching Explained

During this process, Steer performs advanced data matching and cleanup to consolidate customer profiles, link service histories, and standardize vehicle information. By deduplicating records and resolving data conflicts, Steer creates a unified Customer Profile that allows you to communicate effectively with your customers based on their actual visit patterns and needs.

Customer Matching and Deduplication

Steer synchronizes customer data between the platform and your shop management system by comparing key identifiers like first name, last name, phone number, and email address. The process includes:

• Cleanup: Identifying records that refer to the same individual and merging them into one profile. Merging is based on the records that have matching identifying information such as: first name, last name, phone number, and email address. This process helps keep your data free of duplicate customer profiles to ensure effective communication.

• Standardization: Ensuring all contact information follows a consistent format for reliable text and email delivery.

• Unified Profiles: Creating one accurate profile per customer to prevent sending multiple messages to the same person for the same campaign.

Invoice Data Matching

To provide a complete service history for every customer, Steer links invoices from your shop management system directly to the corresponding customer profile in Steer.

• Linking Identifiers: Steer uses unique markers such as invoice numbers, service dates, customer names, and specific vehicle data to pair transactions to the correct customer and vehicle profile in Steer.

• Accurate History: This pairing ensures that every customer data metric is based on actual transaction data from your shop management system.

• Formatting Resolution: Steer recognizes how different shop management systems handle and store various pieces of customer information; this is taken into account to ensure our integration is built to pull information from the correct area within each shop management system. 

Vehicle Data Matching

Steer ensures that every vehicle in your shop is accurately tracked and assigned to the correct owner by matching shop management system vehicle records with Steer customer profiles.

• Vehicle Identifiers: The system compares the VIN, license plate number, make, model, and year to identify specific vehicles.

• Manual Matching for "Unknowns": If a vehicle make or model is entered uniquely in your SMS and cannot be automatically identified, you can manually match it to a recognized make/model within your Steer Settings, Click Here to Learn How. 

• Standardization: Duplicate vehicle records are merged to ensure maintenance reminders and deferred service campaigns are sent for the correct car.

Summary

The Steer integration process acts as a comprehensive data scrub for your shop's records. By deduplicating and standardizing customer, invoice, and vehicle data, Steer provides you with the accurate insights needed to run successful campaigns and maintain consistent, accurate communication with your customers.