Removing the stigma of discussing data quality

“There were 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003, but that much information is now created every two days.” ~ Eric Schmidt, Former Executive Chairman at Google?

I saw this quote crop up recently and it made me think about the sheer volume of data we see in modern days. It’s no wonder data quality is an ever-increasing issue but conversations regarding resolving the dirty data or even admitting it’s there seems limited Why is that???

Do you think the customer data you have is good??

Data is entering business systems at an exceedingly high rate, and your CRM is quickly filling up with possible “leads.” It seems full of possibilities for company growth, but have you ever felt whilst targeting every contact that enters your system that your efforts are redundant? That most of it is chasing a dead end??

It’s not a wild thought to have whilst working with customer data, in fact 32% of U.S. organisations believe their data records are inaccurate. Meaning if you were given 100 leads a day 32 of them would be a waste of time and should have been qualified out way before your time was spent chasing them down.

Starting with unkept data is often quite demoralising and there’s no denying the success of high quality data, just look at the stories from the last newsletter !?

It seems a universal thought that discussing your companies data quality is a slightly taboo subject. When interviewing IT Decision Makers Forbes found that 77% said they lacked trust in their organisations data. Quite often, people dont speak to their managers about the quality of the data and how it makes day to day tasks painful. It is a well known fact that the data isn't fit for business use, but why does everyone avoid the situation? Is it because there is just no quantifiable proof?

Why isn’t the Data Quality issue raised??

They never used the CRM in the first place?

When researching around why people don’t mention data quality issues within their CRM a glaring piece of information appeared. Many people never used the CRM in the first place, particularly the Sales team.??

Low CRM adoption is more common than you may think in fact 79% of opportunity-related data collected by sales reps is never entered in their CRM. Quite often they’ll have their own excel sheets which they keep clean.?

Due to not being taught about how to use the CRM effectively they’ll ignore it, unaware of the issue that’s bubbling in their peripheral view. Why would they mention an issue they didn’t know was occurring??

This issue explains why they don’t mention CRM data quality, whilst bringing up a cause of poor data quality. They don’t know how to use the CRM well enough to see these issues. In a report by Accenture they found only 13% of sales reps used the full capabilities of their CRM. Whilst fixing data quality may not be on the top of the sales rep mind, discussing with seniors to have lessons on how to effectively use their CRM to provide value will be.

There is no shame in asking for help, this is a costly investment, and it will be in a companies best interest to ensure everyone is getting their money’s worth within the CRM.??

Not only would this enhance a sales rep job by saving them time it’ll also improve work morale, knowing their work is going to high quality potential clients.??

Its seems a cop out as many see data quality as an inevitable issue

Customer data can change very quickly, people move, change their number, or even change their surname daily. It’s been estimated data quality around the globe declines 3% a month, meaning your contacts information can be rendered useless rather quickly. The odds seem stacked up against you and as a result many seem to have just accepted their data won’t ever be complete, accurate or consistent.??

With this mindset those who deal with the data daily such as Marketing or IT don’t mention their data quality issue, they just work around it. Complaining is where the taboo topic seems to stem, how can you complain about an issue that everyone seems to face???

This assumption isn’t correct though, not everyone faces Customer data issues, just look at the success we saw with Curry’s in the last newsletter !??

The benefits of high quality data is becoming more prominent in recent years, customers want that personalised touch which cannot be achieved with poor quality data. Looking back at the original quote data is growing at an increasing rate and the importance of moderating it to be high quality is becoming much more difficult.

If you don’t mention data quality issues to seniors though with the rate of data decline, you will start to struggle to stay on top. Mentioning the impact of data quality on your work to seniors isn’t a cop out or an excuse for poor results, it’s a genuine issue.?

So what now??

In summary, stop using workarounds. Talk to those who could implement ways to tackle data quality issues and arrange lessons to understand just how beneficial a CRM can be to you and your job. Discuss the successes of high quality customer data and how fixing poor data will benefit you, your boss and ultimately your company.?

If you feel you need to show the extent of your poor-quality data to your seniors don’t hesitate to drop me a message about a DQ Diagnostic here on LinkedIn.??