Three basic steps to honing a data management strategy

Around the world, businesses and organisations have realised over the last four decades or so that it is not just the amount of customer data they can gather that makes them powerful. It is how they use it, when, where and why. But, just as a blogger might have thousands of Facebook followers yet can hardly be declared popular if 90 per cent of them are trolls and naysayers, so a huge database is only as good as its quality. And ensuring that good quality, is a good system and a great team – working together alongside a clear strategy.

So how good is your data management strategy?

As one digital marketing executive, Gunjan Tripathi, has said: “When it is successfully analysed, Big Data can help scientists decode DNA, it can help governments predict terrorist activity, it can adjust your company’s offerings to your customers’ needs. But the question facing the gatherers and holders of such data is how do we make use of it?”

Data – what is it good for?

• For personalising promotions and making highly relevant special offers
• Getting product/service feedback – and upgrading as a result
• Viewing the customer journey cross-device/channel
• Recognising which campaigns/adspend resonated most effectively
• Providing better customer service
• Spotting areas requiring improvement

Set up your data management strategy by getting the basics right: follow the three steps below – then you can turn your data into revenue, as this infographic by Informatica shows.

1 Choose the right CRM system – Is it fit for your purpose? Can you customise it? Can it be easily accessed by other departments – including staff in satellite offices or on the road. Have you someone to fix it if there are hiccoughs?

2 Team work – Are all the staff on board with your data strategy? Are they taking responsibility for keeping their own data clean and sharing it properly? Currently, databases decay at around 25 per cent a year – is your team empowering your data effectively?

3 Stack the odds in your favour – Re-examine your strategy regularly; walk the walk! Across the globe, fewer than 0.5% of all data is ever analysed and used, so make sure your database works hard. Motivate the team, keep accurate data – detailing who, what, when, where, how – and know your customers.

Put your data to good use in personalised marketing campaigns that hit home, such as this one.