3 ways to show your data some love

In this blog, we’ll explore 3 key steps your business can take to show your data some love, ensuring optimum Data Quality today and into the future.

1. Prioritise your data quality strategy

The first step in taking care of your data is to establish a comprehensive strategy for maintaining and utilising data within your organisation. To do this you need to establish your data objectives along with a sustainable Data Quality management plan that involves the necessary tools, processes, and techniques.

After outlining the strategy it’s vital that everyone within the business understands the value of Data Quality and is bought into the strategy. Without an effective plan and employee buy in businesses expose themselves to risks including:

• Wasted Time: Errors such as duplicated and outdated data will result in excessive costs, diminished productivity, and harm to a brand’s reputation.
• Missed Opportunities: Mistakes in formats or inaccurate entries may divert potential opportunities to competitors with superior Data Quality strategy.
• Compliance Issues: Poor data practices not only higher the risk of security issues but also neglect compliance with the latest data regulations.
• Poor Customer Experience: Inaccurate data adversely affects customer experience, hindering the ability to analyse consumer behaviour, consumption patterns, and purchase history.
• Unreliable Decision-Making: Unreliable data hampers the ability to make precise and informed decisions, jeopardising businesses to achieve their goals.

A clear data strategy enables businesses to collect and manage high quality data from beginning to end. Whilst getting buy in from all stakeholders within the business ensures everyone has a role to play in your company’s data strategy and will attribute to accurate decision making, regulatory compliance and high customer satisfaction.

2. Invest in real-time data validation

It’s essential to show your data some love at the point of capture. We all know putting inaccurate data into your CRM, POS or ERP system only causes more problems further down the line. Real-time validation technology ensures only up-to-date and accurate data enters your business.

Validating customer data in real-time offers benefits such as:

• Successful Email Campaigns: Email Validation ensures the validity of email addresses, reducing the likelihood of bounced emails.
• Accurate Mail Delivery: Address Validation scans for formatting errors, mismatched city and postal code data, and potential spelling errors, ensuring successful mail delivery.
• Effective Communication: Phone Validation verifies whether a number is active and can receive calls, increasing the likelihood of successful responses for direct calls or text message campaigns.

By implementing Experian’s real-time Data Validation tool, Charles Tywhritt, has increased sales conversion, reduced the cost of lost orders, and improved customer experience.

We chose Experian because it’s a market leader with a mature, easy-tointegrate solution. It’s stable, works well, and does what we need it to do. If a business isn’t using address validation, they should have it, and yes, I would recommend Experian.

Doug Wooten, IT Director of Charles Tyrwhitt

Read full Charles Tyrwhitt case study

3. Find a partner that loves you back

Investing in your Data Quality journey by utilising the right technology and resources is essential. But it’s also essential to work with a technology company who understands your needs and challenges and works with you to find solutions. This is something we pride ourselves on at Experian Data Quality, but don’t just take our word for it. Industry leaders such as Yodel and Charles Tyrwhitt, highlight the importance of choosing the right partner and technology for Data Quality.

Working with Experian has been exceptional for us at St. James’s Place. Overall, the collaboration has not only improved our operational efficiency but also supported better decision-making and client satisfaction. We’re excited about the future opportunities this partnership brings.

Ian Peters, Central Data Office, St. James’s Place

Read full St. James’s Place case study

If someone asked me ‘Should I use Experian?’ I’d say yes. The solution works well, integration was easy, and I can forget about it! It scales when we need it to, it’s performant, and in more than a decade we’ve never had to raise a support ticket.

Dominic Bishop, Principal Technical Architect, Travis Perkins

Read full Travis Perkins case study

By putting these 3 steps into practice, companies may gain a deeper understanding of their data assets, which facilitates more accurate, automated, and efficient business process decision-making. As you take care of your data, you empower your organisation to thrive in the digital era, driving growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction.