Organizations from different industries, with disparate goals, and operating in dissimilar environments will each develop their own, specific, custom data storage process. As technologies develop at a rapid pace, the Internet has a major impact on global business as organizations, regardless of size, potentially have access to a universal customer-base; still the most important tool deployed by any established marketing department is the Data Base.

Creative, strategically planned and implemented marketing campaign will not rescue the organizations unless until accurate data is used.

A partnership between the business and technology groups is essential for any data quality management effort to succeed. The business areas are responsible for establishing the business rules that govern the data and verifying the data quality. The Information Technology (IT) is responsible for establishing and managing the overall environment – architecture, technical facilities, systems, and databases – that acquire, maintain, disseminate, and dispose of the electronic data assets of the organization.

“Inaccurate data creates inaccurate business processes.”

Smart organizations are concerned about maximizing the return on their investment in technology. What follows are some likely returns from data quality management and customer data management. Not all of these scenarios could apply to every organization, but every organization will derive some benefit from their data quality and customer data management initiatives.

“Better to collect good data than to correct bad data.”

Benefits of a Data Quality Management Initiative

1. Back-office improvements. Data quality management can lead to benefits such as unified billing, accurate revenue accounting, and accurate contract billings, unified credit management and reduced mailing costs.
2. Reduced costs of direct mail/marketing. Companies can decrease the costs associated with direct mail and marketing efforts by having more accurate data.
3. Reduced operating costs. Improved customer data and the consolidation of that data into a single source can lead to significant savings in operations costs for companies.
4. F aster and more accurate billing. Operating a central resource to manage data quality rules, taxonomy, and process enables organizations to keep customer information accurate, consistent and up-to-date, helping to ensure that invoices and other mailings get to customers in a timely manner. And, collections can be expedited with more accuracy in customer information.
5. More effective cross-selling and up-selling. With more accurate and reliable data on customer preferences, interests, and demographics, enterprises can more effectively cross-sell and up-sell their products and services to customers.
6. Better relationships with customers. Organizations with more accurate and reliable information about customers will have better relationships with those customers.
7. Improved customer service. Having accurate and timely information on customer preferences and concerns is vital to providing top-notch service.
8. Front-office improvements. Organizations can unify the corporate Web site with back-office systems, ensuring consistent data from all sources.
9. Improved regulatory/compliance efforts. With greater assurances that customer data is current and correct, companies are more likely to be compliant with government regulations.
10. Bolster privacy efforts. An effective data-quality and customer data management effort can help protect the privacy and security of sensitive customer data.