WARNING: The impact of bad data
F R O M M E A N TO C L E A N I N 8 ST E P S
Remember the movie Gremlins ? If you're under the age of 35, it's probably before your time.
But it's a cautionary tale that marketers of every age should know, because the story of how those
furry balls of cuteness turning to scary, fanged mischief-makers is the story of how good marketing
data goes very, very bad.
While your database may seem like a tame and well-behaved beast on the surface, you need to pay
attention and follow the rules to avoid losing control and ending up with a monster on your hands.
CHECKLIST
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Bad data is bad for business
Unlike Gremlins, which enjoyed their heyday in the 1980s, the impact of bad data continues to grow with
each passing year.
Experian's 2015 data quality benchmarking report (gated content) highlights the importance of the issue
and the prevalence of bad data everywhere. According to the report, 99 percent of organizations believe
data is essential for marketing success, yet few organizations feel confident about data quality. In fact,
the vast majority of US respondents (92 percent) suspect their customer and prospect data might be
inaccurate in some way.
And it's not just a bad email here and a misspelled name there: it's a big issue. In 2014, US organizations
suspected that approximately one quarter of their data (25 percent) was inaccurate, and in the span of just
one year, that number rose to nearly one third (32 percent).
Those data issues directly impact revenues. More than four out of five organizations believe inaccurate
and incomplete customer or prospect data results in wasted resources, reduced productivity and
wasted marketing and communications spend. SHARE THIS!
99% say
data is essential to
marketing success
92% suspect
their data is
inaccurate
83% say
inaccurate data
impacts revenue