We equipped Yell’s leadership with top-tier data professionals, unifying fragmented systems and driving £75M in projected benefits through advanced analytics, targeted customer strategies, and a future-ready data platform.
Situation
Rapid transformation of data systems, customer lifecycle management, and analytics capability to drive commercial impact and retention.
Yell.com, the UK’s largest local business directory, needed to rapidly modernise its data estate and analytical capability to stay competitive in an increasingly digital market. The organisation faced multiple challenges: legacy systems created data silos, customer lifecycle management was reactive, and real-time commercial decision-making was hindered by fragmented insight streams.
Recognising this, the Director of Customer Management, Insight & Strategy sought a strategic partner to help build out a high-performing insight function that could drive measurable improvements in retention, pricing strategy, and campaign performance.
Approach
Retained to strengthen Yell’s data leadership function and accelerate its transition towards a more insight-led, customer-focused organisation. We placed a trio of senior data professionals with complementary skills, blending strategy, data science, and technical implementation.
The scope included filling roles such as:
- Head of Business Intelligence and Strategic Insight
- Head of Strategic Marketing and Pricing Analysis
- Programme Director – Real-Time Decisioning
- Campaign Operations Manager
- Business Intelligence Consultant
- Senior Data Analyst
Key Appointments
Head of Customer Insight
Brought in to lead all customer analytics across Yell UK, encompassing strategic analysis, market & competitor insight, pricing optimisation, customer segmentation, and targeting. The work directly influenced retention, cross-sell and pricing strategies during a period of commercial flux and digital transformation.
Head of BI & Marketing Insight (CLM)
Operating at CIO and CDO level, this placement was pivotal in defining the business’s enterprise-wide data vision and closed-loop marketing strategy. With direct accountability for a 25-strong BI team and a 20-person IT unit, this leader delivered customer analytics products with projected benefits of up to £75 million.
Key outcomes included:
- Deployment of advanced data mining and segmentation models for pricing and retention
- Enterprise performance management across Board-level reporting
- Implementation of self-service analytics tools and a “single version of the truth” data platform
- Sponsorship of the business’s Big Data strategy and architecture
Oracle BI Consultant (OBIEE Specialist)
We sourced a highly experienced Oracle-certified consultant with 15+ years of cross-sector experience. Tasked with enabling Yell’s CRM and data warehousing functionality, this hire ensured the successful technical execution of reporting and ETL processes via Oracle’s BI Foundation Suite. Their hybrid role across architecture, development and stakeholder management helped translate complex requirements into scalable solutions.
Result
Yell’s data transformation project exceeded expectations, delivering significant business results by:
- Hiring two senior data leaders within 8 weeks
- Completing full project delivery in under 5 months
- Generating £75M+ ROI within 2 years through advanced analytics and targeted marketing
Sharper Decision-Making
Leaders gained faster, more accurate insights—empowering data-driven decisions across customer lifecycle management, pricing, and retention strategies.
Revenue & Retention Uplift
Advanced segmentation and targeted analytics delivered substantial revenue gains and improved customer retention during a critical period of commercial transformation.
Data-Driven Culture
A shift toward self-service tools and unified reporting fostered data democratisation across the organisation, embedding analytics into everyday operations.
Future-Ready Data Foundations
Strategic investments in platform architecture and governance laid the groundwork for long-term data maturity, scalability, and compliance.
“Banba’s expertise in placing senior data professionals was key to transforming our customer analytics and data strategy. Their support helped drive £75M in ROI and significantly improve retention and decision-making.”
— Head of Customer Insight, Yell
Through Yell.com’s data transformation project, Banba helped unify fragmented systems and enhance customer lifecycle management by placing senior data professionals with the expertise to drive advanced analytics and strategic decision-making. This initiative demonstrates how targeted leadership placements and data-driven strategies can deliver significant business impact in competitive, evolving industries.
Transform with Banba
Our goal is simple: to empower your organisation with top-tier AI and data science talent exactly when you need it. Trust Banba to provide solutions that drive innovation, efficiency and growth.
