Relationships needing work…

I have noticed over the past year the amount of discussion CRM has provoked in the media. I believe it will continue to do so for a while longer, as providing better customer service will continue to drive companies in the 21st century. CRM will remain a buzzword in the IT press, and companies will continue to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on implementing applications because they place such high value on the role IT plays in improving customer service. So why is it that these companies are less willing to spend money on auditing and ensuring the accuracy of the very data that will feed these applications?

In today’s competitive market, customer information is often a company’s most valuable asset; its sales and marketing potential is the means by which companies can stay ahead in the customer service race. For this reason it should be audited with the seriousness and regularity afforded to accounts and stock control.

Data quality continues to be one of the most ignored issues in any IT implementation. Yet, when a company has no data quality program in place, customer

information is probably no more than 60 to 70 per cent accurate – on average 12 per cent of the records companies count as individual customers consist of duplicated, corrupt or incomplete data.

Enlightened companies are realising the damage that can be caused through these inaccuracies and are seeking to perform data audits.

Mike Healy

Senior vice-president

ISI

Woking