Forresters’ recent “The State of Customer Analytics 2012“ report revealed that the vast amount of customer data now available to organisations is making data management, quality control and integration very challenging.

Spend on data management and analysis has been growing faster than the budgets allocated to creative and integration. That’s because we all know that without the right contacts to send it to there’s not much point in doing any of the other stuff. Follow these tips for cleaning up your data and you’ll see your campaign results transformed.

get your data squeaky clean

1. Housekeeping time

asset-13.pngAs tedious as database housekeeping undoubtedly is, it’s a chore that really can pay dividends. Did you know that 14% of job titles submitted in forms are fake? Regular checks and culls of your lists can weed out the ignorers and the fakers and ensure that you’re communicating with the people that are more likely to engage.

2. Sorting time

Once you’ve got it clean then you need to get it consistent so use:

  • Naming conventions (that have to be shared with everyone that adds data to the CRM system).asset-11.png

  • Standardised job titles.

  • Clearly defined profiles (use this template to create them).

Making and sticking to these rules can not only help you keep your data clean, it can help you segment your lists more effectively as well, so you get better results from your campaigns.

3. Maintenance time

asset-12.pngYour lists are now clean, consistent and delivering results. To keep them that way you need to put in the maintenance time. Allocate responsibility or quality will slip again. Capscan’s 2012 Data Quality Insight report revealed that in the organisations surveyed, 10 different roles were cited as including responsibility for data management. So no-one was doing it as they all thought somebody else was!