Why Data Cleansing is Key to Success in Lead Generation

Business contact details decay at an astonishing rate annually. It is estimated that 40% of your existing contact details will change each year. If your system contains only 20% of inaccurate information, this is still going to cause you problems in lost hours and client frustration. That equates to 20% of your direct marketing budget.

Up to date data

As any telemarketing executive will tell you, valuable operational aspects of your business lose productivity when client lists are not kept up to date. You want your lead generators and your sales teams doing their job, not continually apologising to clients because of outdated information. The effectiveness of any campaign will be seriously compromised if contact details are not efficiently maintained. What could be worse than getting the client’s name wrong, or mis-pronouncing the business name?

Typical problems are:

• wrong name or telephone number
• telephone number and Christian name contact only
• right customer, wrong business
• slow response times and unreliable results
• increasing amounts of undeliverable, returned or delayed mail
  

Improving resources

After all, you do not want to foster a bad reputation among your business contacts that your procedures are faulty. You are dealing with busy professionals who do not have the time to help you correct inaccurate contact details. Therefore, data cleansingis also about putting across the right image and creating the right impression.

Problems can be attributed to human error, such as staff who fail to log essential details properly. Complications can also derive from time consuming and complex to use software programs that fail to save important information. Whatever the reason, as the business owner, you have to deal with the situation if you want to implement successful campaigns in the future. An option to consider is data cleansing services.

Trustworthy systems provide accurate information

If you are thinking of using a database cleansing company to maximise the potential of your next campaign, there are some points to consider.

To ensure the proficiency of your next campaign, employ the services of professional telemarketerswho are experienced in getting all the information that you will need.

Good database cleansing services not only provide a high quality data cleansing clear out for your company, but their work also provides detailed reports and analysis such as:

• procuring the names and email addresses of decision makers
• providing details of company structure
• determining the existing supplier and contract renewal dates of the product or service you are offering
• detailing existing budgets
• outlining the preferred order route
  

Time is money

When you do decide to cleanse your data, try to be economical in your approach. It may not be worth cleansing your entire data banks, for example. A clean sweep of data that has not been contacted recently may be a better way to use your budget.

Although database cleansing can be achieved manually, there are a variety of automated services that can enable you to complete the task economically and efficiently. However, be aware that a pinged email will not give you the complete picture. It may only suggest, for example, that a company has changed its email system, not whether your contact has gained promotion to another department or left the company altogether. A data cleansing campaign will be able to provide precise details, and even expand on previously held knowledge. Just calling to check details with a client can open dialogue in a way that direct sales calls may not.

Breaching Regulations

The Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) is another important consideration regarding the legal requirements of your operations. Cleansing your data of companies and business contacts who have requested not to be contacted will again ensure smooth negotiations and negate frustrations on both sides of the line.

Data cleansing is an important aspect of your business and can be incorporated into your business calendar. If data is not valid, it is not useful.Therefore, can you afford not to clean up your act?

Rosie Percy has written for the Guardian and lifestyle blogs, she writes for a range of topics including health and business. For more information about business success and lead generation visit http://www.marketmakers.co.uk/lead-generation.