Data Quality Immunity

Poor Data Quality continues to be a disease that afflicts the Market Research industry at an unprecedented rate.

As a rough topline number on a daily basis, we see up to 15% to 20% duplicates, another 10% to 15% of some form of fraud or the other, and then budget another 10 to 15% scrub rate.

These numbers don't consider further poor open ends, high activity survey takers which might add up to another 10% at the least.

That's 45% on the lower end.

Imagine an Amazon.com where half of their products are rejected. They would not be in business long, much less one of the most valuable companies in the world.

The best way to fight a disease is to be healthy. So, in that context, what can we do to be strong and ready?

1. Pay.

Pay for quality. If good chocolate costs better than Hershey's, if the luxury cars cost more than the Chevy, why wouldn't we expect that good Data Quality cost more?

$1 for 10 mins, gen pop. Really?

2. Fight.

Fraudsters are spending 15-hour days trying to get into surveys. If you think that they are going to be put away with a "VPN check" or and IP check or a honesty / attentive check, think again. If they get turned away from a survey, they are going to turn around and try again.

Then, again. And, then again and again.

We need to meet them and fight them at the source.

3. Invest/Hire

Another relevant word might be 'invest' - paying for Data Quality may include the direct costs for sample, but more importantly investing in either a department or individual is important, especially on the research agency or department side.

Not having this function is like sailing without a captain, especially if research is important to you.

4. Layer Up

Consider the fight against fraud like. It's too warm and too early to be thinking about the winter, but a good way to fight fraud is to layer the fraud tools.

Use the honesty checks, duplication tools (Research Defender or not) and have your own internal checks.

Do something. Do anything! We need these tools, ideas, methods to be fighting against fraud.

These just scratch the surface, but the fight is real and the time is now.