CRM, Data Quality And The Single Customer View

Many businesses are chasing the utopian vision of the single customer view: the point where each customer is represented by a single instance in a database, and every activity radiates from a central hub of trusted customer data. Yet the reality is sobering. 42 per cent of CRM installations fail due to poor data quality, and the number one reason for lack of user adoption is a lack of trust in the data. This whitepaper from DQ Global explains why data quality, more than size, cost or complexity, determines whether your CRM succeeds or fails.

Why the Single Customer View Matters

When well organised and implemented, the single customer view places the customer at the heart of everything. It helps retain existing customers and attract new ones, props up the entire marketing, sales and support lifecycle, and makes employees' lives easier. Marketing teams gain access to high quality mailing lists, and customer service teams can confidently use the data in their dealings with existing customers. Everything hinges on the data, and the data steers the business as it grows.

How CRM Data Decays

Even a well-run CRM cannot escape a simple truth: the quality of data diminishes over time. People marry, separate, move and die. Businesses move, change names, merge and go out of business. Employees join, leave and change roles. The whitepaper shows why a CRM can only support processes that already exist, why staff must use it consistently and diligently to build trust in the data, and why automating bad practice can actually exacerbate the problem. A very simple CRM maintained to a high standard can be phenomenally effective, while a large, expensive and complex CRM can crumble when its data goes out of date.

Fixing Data Quality and Reaping the Rewards

The fastest way to resolve problems in a CRM is with a dedicated software tool, such as a data deduplication or matching solution, or a data quality plugin. The paper outlines what these tools can do:

• Find and correct duplicate records across the entire CRM
• Correct changed or misspelled addresses using postal authority reference data
• Identify 'gone away', deceased and opted-out records
• Introduce logic that prevents future duplicates from being entered

Businesses that invest in data quality are rewarded across the entire lifecycle: better protection from Data Protection Act penalties, reduced waste, lower mailing costs, higher staff morale and greater customer trust.

This whitepaper is essential reading for CRM owners, marketing and sales leaders, and anyone responsible for customer data who wants to turn their CRM into a trusted single version of the truth rather than a hindrance.