database cleansing Archives

If you keep on neglecting to cleanse your data regularly, you’ll be surprised at how low quality your data is. An unclean database can’t provide a better understanding of your data which leads to low ROI. When thinking about how often should you clean your database, you must consider the following.

How big your data is
How much time you need to clean your database
Do you have enough staff and resources

But why do you need to constantly update and keep your database clean?

Let’s face it, the records in your database deteriorates rapidly. An outdated record could no longer provide the same use to your marketers. Delaying data cleansing only makes the process time-consuming and less cost effective. Too many bad records lead to:

Useless database after 2-3 years.
Waste of money and effort calling wrong company and contacts.

If you’re planning on making sure your database is updated and clean but is having a hard time managing it, here’s a complete guide to data cleansing.

What is data cleansing?

Data cleansing is the process of removing, deleting and correcting incorrect or bad records in your database to ensure you only have the highest quality of data left. After a month or so, your records are filled with useless data – incorrect, duplicated, and outdated information.

By having a scheduled data cleansing of at least once a month, you are getting rid of these unwanted sets of data so your team won’t waste their time and can focus more on the most current and relevant information.

What information should be included in a database?

The information included in a database depends on your target business. Information such as:

Full name
Job title
Direct/business email address
Mobile number/ direct line
Complete company name
Company address
website

How to keep your database clean?

There is a different method on how to keep your database – data scrubbing, data deduplication, data profiling, etc. But having a strict routine will do your business good. Schedule a regular cleansing because having a dirty data will cost you more money.

Here’s how we do it.

Step #1. Identify if there are any duplicates or unwanted records.

(Unwanted records include; wrong company or number, phone numbers no longer in service, etc)

Step #2. Determine which record has the most information

For example:

Duplicate company number 1 has the Contact name, company name, and address but no email address or direct line. Duplicate company number 2 as the direct line and an email address but no company information.

Step #3. Combine all information in one data and save separately.

Step #4. Have someone to research online for missing information and update the record.

Step #5. Assign someone to call to verify if the information is correct.

Gather and change the information if necessary.

Remember to ALWAYS delete with caution. It is best to double check and make sure everything is correct before deleting any record.

Larger businesses with bigger database and collects more data faster than smaller companies need to clean their data more regularly. How often you do it depends on you as long as you do it. The best thing is to assign a team who is dedicated to updating and making sure your records are always clean.

Wikipedia says Identity verification service is used by businesses to ensure that users or customers provide information that is associated with the identity of a real person. The service may verify the authenticity of physical identity documents such as a driver’s license or passport, called documentary verification, or may verify identity information against authoritative sources such as a credit bureau or government data, called non-documentary verification.

In customer profiling and other campaign types as well, identity verification is as important as the air we breathe – when it’s contaminated with pollutants it can harm a person’s health and may even cause death. Pardon my morbidity, but yes, your business will eventually die when all the data you’re dealing with are fraudulent.

Trulioo, the leading global ID verification company emphasized the importance of identity proof in the emerging markets due to identity theft by internet hackers. Look how clever these criminals are – as technology in business progresses, their felonious tactics have become just as competitive.

Marketing strategists have come up with ways to do business contacts verification strategies like verification softwares. One example is Precise IDSM for Compliance by Experian ), an identity verification software that allows clients to make fast, flexible decisions when acquiring new customers while also managing fraud and compliance processes throughout the Customer Life Cycle.

While mutual company StateFarm uses Knowledge Based Authentication (KBA) as part of their customer verification process. Verification questions are generated randomly during each customer interaction, making it impossible to determine which questions will be presented in a quiz. The provider pulls answers for the verification questions from a wide variety of customer information databases, but not from State Farm customers’ personal information.

You might also like: Better Leads? Two Words: Customer Segmentation

Betfair, UK’s leading sports betting company completes their customer verification process electronically through ID-3, When you first fund your account your personal details are run automatically through an identity verification product called ID-3. This is a product supplied by our partners at GB Group. We check the full name, address and date of birth details entered during registration against multiple data sources to confirm the validity of the information.

But we always go back to basic and visit the old school once in awhile like some marketing strategists do for their business contact information verification process – Calling.

Despite all the promising benefits and advantages of advanced technologies in contact information verification, over the phone verification still thrives as one of the many preferred strategies by marketing specialists. For them, there is no better way to get the most accurate information but from the customer – speaking live to them, branding your prestigious company in a courteous manner, promptly answering their queries without delay and building genuine rapport are factors that generate authentic trust from the customer. Tools or softwares were crafted to streamline workflows and ease tasks by automating processes but must be considered as aids to humans only. Logic and initiatives are best exemplified via live customer engagement.