In recent years, data has been described as the most important resource of the digital world, and for good reason. Data helps businesses understand, and thus improve, their processes to save money and time. However, a business can only function correctly if the data at their disposal is accurate, up to date, and relevant to the business. That is why the process of data cleaning, often referred to as data scrubbing, is essential for all businesses.
Data cleaning is the process of editing, updating, or deleting outdated, incorrect, or irrelevant data from a business’ records. However, the process of data cleaning can be tedious and time-consuming, which makes it a task fairly low on the list of priorities for many businesses. In this article, we will explore some of the benefits of data cleaning and why it should be more of a priority for businesses looking to expand.
It Allows for Better Decision Making
According to research, people produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day with 1.7MB being created every second. In terms of business data, research has found that, on average, a company will double its data every year. With this amount of data involved, errors and omissions are not just expected but, rather, are guaranteed. To make smart business decisions, business owners need to be sure that the data they have available to them is correct, isn’t outdated, and is relevant to them or it will skew the results of studies and analytics and result in bad business intelligence.
It Can Help Grow Your Customer Base
Customers are the driving force behind the success of all businesses and business owners should always be on the lookout for ways to improve their existing customer base. Having access to accurate data that is not outdated is essential for creating successful leads and thus improving customer reach.
Giving a marketing team access to clean data can also help improve email marketing campaign response and conversion rates and result in less time being wasted on sending emails and other forms of communication to channels that are no longer being used.
It Can Improve Productivity
Finally, having access to up-to-date data can result in increased staff productivity. Not only will it make the job of the sales and marketing teams easier, but it can also make everyday tasks such as ordering stock from suppliers as well as keeping customers updated on the process of their orders easier if the staff has immediate access to updated, relevant contact information.
While a business can undertake the task of data cleaning themselves, for big businesses that have a huge amount of data, it is often more cost-effective to employ the services of an expert who has the tools to complete the task more efficiently. Specialist data management companies such as the Australian-based data experts Lead Lists, who offer a range of data-related services, take the hassle out of data cleaning so that business owners can put more time and money into other aspects of running a business. In addition to data cleansing services from Lead Lists, companies can also look into acquiring software that will provide them with tools to perform basic data cleaning regularly to minimize the impact of bad data while they wait for a full cleanse by the professionals.
Clean data is an essential tool in a marketers’ arsenal that can help businesses reach new heights. That is why frequent data cleaning is something that all businesses, even small businesses, should make a priority.