Make your data grow in 8 lessons

Gone are the days when the wealth of a company was based on the quantity of ore present in the basements it exploited.

Today, the wealth of a company resides not in its basement but rather in the clouds, where the precious data that it “possesses” on its products, suppliers, and customers are stored.

This data is the fuel for many organizations today. How to take care of this capital? How to make it fruitful?

Within organizations, the quality of customer data is everyone’s business. But still, too rarely a person takes responsibility for it. But if no one is responsible, no one cares…

The 8 lessons to remember to reduce vulnerability and protect your data 

1. The lack of data quality has a cost

Neglecting this quality has consequences not only on the productivity of teams at all levels of the company but also on the validity of the strategic decisions taken by the head of the organization.

Everyone needs accurate information to make appropriate trade-offs.

2. Get to know your client better to personalize the relationship

Today consumers expect brands to treat them as individuals in their own right, with their tastes, desires, etc.

The data that organizations have on their customers allows this personalization of the relationship. No data, no personalization.

3. Collect data efficiently

Customer data has always existed. Whether it’s a returned newsletter for an order or a subscriber number. But the sources of this data have become inexhaustible.

The multiplication of communication channels and the immediacy of communications have multiplied the volume of data.

It is therefore essential for companies to equip themselves with a single customer repository that centralizes the available data and gives it meaning. The CRM plays the role of aggregator in many organizations.

4. Make the data intelligible and usable

It is not enough to have a wealth of information about a person. It is still necessary to make them usable from a business point of view.

To make the data usable, several tools are available to de-duplicate the data and enrich it with formatted information (such as a discretization database for example, or a Postal Validation Normalization Restructuring tool).

5. Abandon excessively detailed data

The usability of the data sometimes depends on the level of detail required on the database and the use that will be made of it. Let’s imagine the release of a product that will be aimed at marketing decision-makers.

A letter addressed to each member of the target must bear the exact title of the function concerned. On the other hand, the targeting for the sending of an email will be done on all the people having more or less the role of Marketing Director.

And this targeting will include the following job titles: marketing managers, marketing and communication managers, communication managers, etc.

As far as data quality is concerned, sometimes you have to agree to stay at the bottom of the cave and settle for a simplified view of reality.

6. Raising employee awareness

Security breaches are often man-made. Raising employee awareness is therefore the first step in a strategy dedicated to data governance.

Do not hesitate to recall good practices: changing passwords regularly, verifying a sender before opening an attachment, etc.

7. Check the legality of customer data

We remember the Acadomia scandal in 2010, which was called to order by the CNIL for having not only compiled a file on teachers but also for having collected data relating to the private life of its customers (students or parents) and teachers.

These comments amounting to defamation, even insult, had no reason to be. Since the GDPR has been there and organizations have taken steps to prevent this kind of scandal from happening again.

8. Ensure data quality and security for better customer satisfaction

The consumer is no longer fooled, he knows that he is the company’s capital. This idea can be summed up with this formula “If it’s free, it’s because the consumer [and his data] is the product.”

Some consumers accept it, but the data must still be secure. Because the management of a crisis of confidence is always a very delicate moment for a company which can lead in the worst case to bankruptcy. Customer satisfaction depends on the quality of the data…

For more information, or to read this article in its original French, click here.

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