It’s officially that time again – time for politics to take over lunch room conversations and water cooler talk in the US. On August 6th was the first official GOP debate, which has already consumed the news cycles. Before you know it, in the United States, we’ll be heading to polls to once again cast our vote for the person we believe will best lead the US into the future.
As sure as I am that there will be people disappointed in the election’s outcome, it’s also certain fictional characters like “Mickey Mouse” will receive a number of votes to be the US President. It happens in every election, from pranksters and practical jokers that love to see the system break. It also happens to every marketer who collects contact data from any channel. While Mickey has virtually no chance to secure the presidential win, he likewise is not interested in your marketing messaging or your products. Yet, if you look closely, I bet you’ll find his email address in your database, as those same practical jokers tend to input his name when you ask for their email addresses.
We all know the importance of accurate data. We rely on it to make business decisions, and it’s the foundation of our operations. Accurate data is also absolutely critical in this new age of engagement, where positive customer experiences are king. Yet, according to a recent study by Acuant, a mere 17% of companies have fully automated the collection and verification of customer data. With this kind of gap, it’s clear that there is inaccurate and unreliable data in your systems.
Below are the three most critical customer data points that you need to verify before you use the data on an ongoing basis:
Today, email is what we rely on to communicate in the business world. It’s the way that we use to reach our customers, prospects, and partners. The top destination in 2015 for marketing dollars is email programs, according to eMarketer. Like those presidential election write-ins, if left without a verification method, you’re sure to find mickeymouse@gmail.com in your customer database. Getting rid of those false email addresses brings down your bounce rates and keeps your sender reputation safe.
In addition to emailing customers, prospects, and partners, we also send them mail. Just like those customers are unlikely to have a fictitious mouse as part of their email address, it’s also highly unlikely that every one of them live at 123 Main Street. Yet, this inaccurate address data exists throughout customer databases, ensuring that at least some of your mailings are going nowhere without address verification.
Throughout every department, we still use the telephone to correspond. Whether it’s in a B2C setting with a customer service center or a B2B setting with a direct sales team, having accurate phone numbers that we can rely on is essential. In spite of this, there are still numerous instances of 555-555-5555 in customer databases.
All three of these key customer contact data points can be validated with Informatica Data as a Service. Whether you are trying to prevent bad email addresses, inaccurate addresses, or invalid phone numbers from making their way into your database, there is a solution designed to help you. If you are unsure if this inaccurate data is in your system, contact our team today to schedule a free data test, and ensure that the Mouse isn’t receiving your next promotional email.
To learn more about Informatica Data as a Service, please register to attend our upcoming webinar on August 18th, 2015.
- 9:00 am Eastern: http://infa.media/1IkMxZB
- 1:00 pm Eastern: http://infa.media/1IkMyfT
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