- March 29, 2016
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4 Proven Ways to Get Your Marketing-Data House in Order
Accurate data is the lifeblood of integrated marketing success. Clean, well-managed information keeps qualified leads flowing and cash registers ringing.
Companies know this marketing maxim all too well. Yet, those who try to build campaigns on a foundation of dirty data only set themselves up for costly and disappointing results.
How Does Data Get Dirty?
Before digging into how data gets sullied, know that you’re not the only one facing this challenge.
In its 2015 “State of Data Marketing” analysis, covering 200+ million customer records, Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex reports that more than 80 percent of files it reviewed were in some way incomplete, with more than 50 percent missing a contact phone number.
Some ways data-quality slides into such an untenable state include:
- Input errors–SMBs often rely on manual updates, which exposes them to entry errors, unintentional and otherwise; its’s easy to imagine a harried, overworked sales person leaving blank or guessing at one or two data fields.
- The pace of change–it’s surprising how often people change jobs, home and email addresses, other personal information; the pace of such churn makes it difficult for even vigilant businesses to keep contact records current.
- Inconsistent processes–all groups in your firm should capture the same data in the same fashion; subtle differences, such as using St. for Street; US for U.S.; or dashes instead of spaces can send deliverability to the basement and bounce-rates through the roof.
Tips To Apply Right Now
Layering solutions in a complimentary manner can help improve results, say marketing automation experts at Stampwood in the U.K. Combining these steps with our recommended tips below can take you a long way toward getting your data house in order:
- Update existing leads–assign an individual or team to tidy up current records, or use a reliable third-party data-cleanup application
- Ensure that records are complete–ID the most important and relevant fields for marketing, and implement repeatable processes and controls to ensure consistent quality.
- Be consistent–standardize formatting of all key information, including abbreviations, and don’t forget to tell and train everyone who’s involved with data upkeep.
- Deal with the dupes–even tiny differences can generate an undesirable number of duplicate records (and analytics issues); most reputable CRM and MA platforms have match-and-merge capabilities; but if you’re a smallish-company with limited resources, manual de-duping may fall to some lucky team member.
Visit our Direct Mail and Marketing archive to preview an even more extensive array of proven, practical tips for improving: list strategy, list management, segmentation, and response rates.
