6 Reasons Why Companies Have Poor B2B Sales Data Quality

As much as data and analytics are important in today’s marketing strategy, yet many businesses are struggling with building their customer database. The problem is not in the quantity of data but in the quality.

There are a lot of avenues where you can get customer data and a lot of agencies selling them in bulk. Most of them, however, are useless. According to Forbes Insight and KPMG Report, 84 percent of CEOs are worried about the quality of their data. Furthermore, a Dun & Bradstreet survey revealed that 1 out of 5 businesses loses revenue and customers because of incomplete data

These reports show that for a marketing campaign to be truly successful, it needs to be built on accurate consumer data. Sadly, however, data analysis and management do not get the focus they deserve. As a result, companies and their brands are exposed to the risks of receiving low-quality data. In this article, we will further discuss the common customer database problems and how to fix them. 

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6 Common Problems of Sales Database Building

Out-of-date Information

Do you know that every 30 minutes 20 CEOs quit their jobs, 75 people change their phone numbers, 120 businesses change their addresses, and 30 businesses are formed. 

That’s a lot of change in just a short span of time! Keeping up with all these changes and updating your database can be daunting yet, a worthwhile practice. 

You can’t risk getting beaten by the competition because the data you’re using hasn’t been updated for 5 years. 

Incorrect Data

According to the International Data Corporation, global data will grow up to 175 zettabytes in 2025. Most of the data we collect comes from self-reported sources, increasing the possibility of errors. That poses a really big problem for marketers since data is growing at such an unprecedented pace. At this point, businesses report that 22 percent of their contact data is inaccurate. 

Missing Information

Even with a lot of data sources to collect and tools to store them, businesses are still struggling with their consumer data. Whether the reason is due to challenges to connect online or browser settings of consumers, a lot of important data still goes down the drain. 

Difficulty in Finding Prospects

If you have difficulty identifying or understanding your perfect future customer, how can you find the right prospects? This is the result of having inaccurate or missing data — it limits your ability to attract your ideal customers. It also messes up your budget.

Lack of Insight

As data grows rapidly, businesses find it more and more difficult to organize and match the records they acquire from multiple sources. Because of this, providing correct and clean data has become a tall order. Even attempts to analyze data and create strategies to identify the best customers prove to be ineffective.

Privacy Issues

Changes in regulations, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), show how our world is becoming more protective of its privacy. In fact, in a survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, 34 percent of respondents said that data privacy is on top of their list

Solving the Database Problem

Set a standard for data acquisition and organization

If you start with an error, everything else that follows is wrong. Thus, you need to first define what your data standards are and make sure everybody adheres to them. The second most important step is to make sure the quality of your data from the point of origin. Key checkpoints should also be established to inspect data as it goes through the company’s systems and databases. 

Here are other steps you can add to ensure the quality of your data:

  • Create a unique identifier and corresponding data for each entity 
  • Set up standards for specific data fields to make data more usable.
  • Apply a strict data maintenance strategy to update the ever-changing information.
  • Implement a policy that requires everyone to search the database first before creating an account. It will prevent duplicates. 

Establish validation standards

Businesses that put a premium on quality control set themselves up for success. New data that comes in must go through a quality control process.  There are real-time validation tools that can help you with it. 

Create a customer data integration framework

Customer data integration (CDI) framework is the process of gathering customer data from a wide range of sources and organizing them so they can be shared easily across the organization. 

You can create your own or hire a third-party provider to set it up for you. By creating a plan for your customer data, you have a better perspective of the customer. Armed with that insight and information, you’ll be able to keep your business strategy on the right track. 

In Closing

You might have the best tools and the most talented team but if your data is incomplete and low-quality, you won’t get far. It will greatly affect not only your revenue but your business as a whole.

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