Businesses have started to trend around finding tools that help manage big data and so the demand for having the proper analytical tools is at an all-time high. But enough cannot be said about the essential benefits of data quality that have emerged as a result. Companies are creating opportunities that were just not possible before. Insights help make decisions much more streamlined, but again, it all boils down to the quality of data being gathered.
Businesses can improve their strategies when they have access to high-quality data. However, we are now starting to see an unprecedented amount of information being shared with businesses. The shared information is overwhelming to the point where unreliable data is becoming all too common. Therefore, companies are now on the constant lookout for ways to clean up their stream of data. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are expected to become a necessity moving into 2020, but what about those records that need to be entered manually? Data entry outsourcing, while required, comes with the risk of human error. Therefore, building a system to ensure information is accurate is essential to starting a new business.
The Impact on Data Quality in Business
There are four prominent roles that data plays in a business, so let’s start by taking a quick look at those:
- Decision-Making: One of the primary uses of data is to make crucial decisions. So, higher quality data will lead to better decisions.
- Productivity: High-quality data raises productivity for everyone within the organization. Instead of having to waste time fixing errors in the information, employees can focus on the core mission of the company.
- Compliance: Maintaining high-quality data will also ensure that a business is compliant will all rules and regulations. We see government regulations changing at such a fast pace those companies must be able to stay caught up.
- Marketing: Data is used to create customer profiles and to formulate marketing strategies. However, if the data being used is riddled with errors, then the ROI of marketing campaigns will suffer.
Startup businesses struggle with managing data and so it’s important that they gain a grasp on it as quickly as possible. One advantage of starting a business today is that you get to start with a clean slate. So you can build your entire business around the concept of being data-centric. Here are some of the biggest benefits.
#1: Increased Profits
Businesses should be using high-quality data as the foundation for every decision they make. We are long past the days when CEOs made decisions based on their “gut feeling.” Leaders use data to make confident, logical decisions that are backed with proof. However, unreliable data will snatch their confidence away from them. The bottom line is that better choices lead to higher profits. Quality data allows you to target the right customers and develop more efficient business processes. Increased customer satisfaction is another result, which leads to repeat business. Finally, when a business has access to good quality data, then they save time because they do not constantly have to reconcile conflicted, inaccurate data.
#2: Quality Data Saves Mailing Costs
This point goes hand-in-hand with our previous benefit, but it’s worth giving it a section all by itself. Having inaccurate customer data poses a risk because businesses will end up having a higher percentage of undeliverable mail. This cost can be substantially reduced by using big data and AI systems to ensure that customer data is always kept up-to-date. One of the primary benefits of data quality is that it will increase ROI and so saving on postal rates is one way to increase the bottom line.
#3: Good Quality Data Improves Customer Satisfaction
Let’s use IT customer support as an example here. Imagine if you could call your provider and never had to tell them the model, operating system, and the patch level of your computer when you require support. As a customer, how amazing is it when they already know this information and can get straight to troubleshooting? Companies are already starting to use data to match this information with customers the moment they call. This same data strategy can be used with any business. As a result, we see faster response times for customers since calls generally take a shorter amount of time. Customers also experience higher quality customer support since these same systems will use other customers’ histories to identify common issues. Furthermore, companies that use high-quality data can provide customers with a more streamlined buying process. All of these factors lead to higher customer satisfaction.
#4: Centralized System
As a business grows and hires new employees, they will start to see their data needs increase exponentially since more people will require access to it. This can eventually lead to contaminated data. Startups can avoid this by building their business around centralized systems. This leads to higher security and better data management. Leaders can then assign roles that allow access to only specific types of data. These roles are usually defined as:
- Data Owners
- Data Stewards
- Data Managers
- Data Users
The point here is that centralized systems are a direct result of a company’s efforts to ensure high-quality data.
#5: Frees up Time
Time is a commodity that we can never get back. Companies that struggle with low quality data waste a lot of time having to reconcile data manually. This is all too common with startup businesses. Sometimes it’s so bad that they have to get data entry outsourced in order to clean up their records. Companies develop systems to ensure accurate data as that will help them have more time to spend on core business tasks.
High-Quality Data Ensures Information is Being Used in the Right Way
There are many more benefits of data quality that could be listed here and they all have merit. High-quality data ensures that your information is being used in the right way. Businesses base many of their important decisions on data. Hence, they need to take steps to ensure their accuracy. Build a foundation for a data-centric company, and you will start out ahead of the game.
Guest post courtesy of Christopher Roberts