Telemarketing Lead Generation Blog

Bad Data: How does it impact us? And what can we do to improve?

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 by Laura Johnson, Program Director

Perhaps like many of you, I spent this past weekend cleaning house. On a hot and sunny Georgia Saturday, you can’t help but feel a little resentful when you’re stuck inside sweeping, dusting, folding laundry, and wondering exactly how it is that things get so out of order. I mean, where does all that stuff even come from? Worse yet, you know you’re only going to have to do it all over again in a couple weeks. Of course, if I had the diligence to do a little housekeeping every day, I wouldn’t have to waste a whole weekend with the dust bunnies. This got me to thinking about the data issues we face here at TeleNet in executing lead generation programs. It’s a bit like toiling away against whole armies of dust bunnies.

One startling fact that our clients—new and old—often struggle with is bad data. Even with the best possible list sources, our clients are constantly surprised by how much of their data is unusable. Understanding how data gets to be “bad” and what you can do about it can be tricky, but identifying and maintaining “good” data pays a high return on investment.

What do we mean by “bad” data? Bad data is simply data that cannot be used for marketing purposes. There are two basic classes here—old data and wrong data. You can spot old data pretty easily. It includes bad phone numbers; companies that have gone out of business, been acquired, or changed locations; contacts who have left the company or changed roles. Wrong data is a little trickier to identify. Wrong data is usually data that is not in your target market. This includes the wrong type of companies and the wrong type of contacts. Since wrong data is typically real data—real people and real companies—it can take a lot more time (read: money) to connect with and exclude these records.

How does it get that way? Data goes sour pretty quickly. Think of all the people that have come and gone from your company in the last six months to a year. Has anyone gotten married and changed names? Even moving to a new office can mean changing phone numbers. Has your receptionist changed? Or your phone system’s auto attendant? The difference between “McEntyre” and “McIntyre” can mean that a caller can’t get through a dial by name directory. Even (or perhaps especially) in a volatile economy, businesses need to change rapidly to stay competitive. This can mean downsizing, consolidating resources, and the dreaded re-org. All these changes in your target audience can affect your database. The end result is that data that was good six months ago is useless today.

What are the consequences? Trying to get by with old or wrong data means not making the most of your marketing dollars. All the creative, compelling, and innovative marketing strategies in the world won’t help you sell your product if they’re not getting into the right hands (or into any hands at all). Consider also your company’s reputation. What message are you sending when your mailers are all addressed to someone who died two years ago? To the company CEO, whose name is misspelled? How much money are you wasting trying to telemarket to the secretary? Maintaining your data can be an expensive proposition, but trying to do business with bad data can be even more costly.

What can you do about it?

Learn from your mistakes. In the case of wrong data, find out what’s wrong about it. This can help you to better identify your target market. What titles do the “wrong” people have? What titles do referral contacts share? What are the characteristics of companies that are out of target? Are they too small? In the wrong industry?

Don’t keep doing it wrong! If the data is bad, get it out of your system. Don’t waste time and money marketing to bad data. When you learn that data has gone sour—whether it be from retuned mail, bounced emails, or reporting from your telemarketing agency—flag it in your CRM system so that it doesn’t pop up on new lists moving forward.

Invest in some housekeeping. Use the right tools for the job. A lead generation effort is for generating leads—not looking up bad phone numbers searching for a replacement. A dedicated data cleansing initiative will give you a clean list by helping to identify bad data and replace it with good information. A well-planned contact discovery program can help you use all those “wrong” contacts to your advantage. Since they are real people—just not the right people—find out from them who would be a better target for your message. Keep in mind, however, that this data too will expire. Data cleansing and contact discovery need to be an on-going effort aimed at protecting your database and your marketing dollar.

Ultimately, bad data is a fact of life in this marketplace. Keeping your data clean requires constant attention. It’s like those dust bunnies in your house. You get rid of them all with a brisk sweeping and some diligent vacuuming, but you don’t honestly expect that they’ll never come back, right?

Tagged: lead generation data, targeted lead generation data, data hygiene, data cleansing telemarketing, telemarketing leads data

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