When we mention data hygiene, what comes to mind?
Imagine using a soapy sponge to clean your hard disk. No? Maybe it’s just us, but that would be counterproductive. Data hygiene is a strangely termed yet crucial aspect of keeping a robust database in any event. Your data is useless unless based on factual information that you collect legitimately from genuine customers.
An email list might be a good option. What would you think if someone told you that they had 5,000 email subscribers but that their list was made up of bought addresses and that their bounce rate constantly remained around 30%?
Because of this, we know that 5,000 emails are nothing more than an insignificant number. That person’s list has a significantly lower genuine worth (engagement, conversion potential, etc.).
Data enrichment is a crucial element of data hygiene, even if a sponge isn’t involved. Data hygiene is all about keeping your data (especially your CRM data) clean, correct, and up to date.
You may use data enrichment to guarantee that your data wholly and correctly reflects your audience (also known as data appending). Accurate data is critical for salespeople because it helps us better understand our customers’ desires and requirements, enhance our customer experience, and tailor our sales efforts to meet leads and customers where they are.
A staggering 72% of firms feel that poor data quality harms consumer confidence and perception. You may also utilize enhanced data to develop targeted, tailored consumer experiences to boost trust and perceptions.
Cleansing vs. Enrichment of Data
On the other hand, data enrichment focuses on adding more data to your CRM, while data cleaning removes erroneous, irrelevant, or out-of-date information.
First, the database must be cleansed to create new, updated information offered by data enrichment; next, the database must be enriched to make room for the updated, additional information provided by data enrichment.
Even though increasing your database and email list is promising and remarkable, your information is of little worth if it isn’t being used to build your company.
What percentage of your consumers are interested in what you’re selling? Is your audience responding to your emails and other messages meaningfully? Is it still relevant no matter how you acquired your data (e.g., a contest or a gated offer, are those assets still relevant to your company and reflective of your goods or services)?
Is it time for cleaning if most of the following questions were answered no?  As an example of a real-world “cleaning” situation: Suppose: In the context of a conference speech, let’s pretend you’re delivering one. Even though your session has attracted 1,000 participants (hooray! ), you find that over two-thirds of your audience members are absorbed in their mobile devices, other materials, or even sleep.
Aside from the fact that it would be pretty upsetting and disturbing, it would be best for them to go so you can concentrate on the first few rows of attentive listeners—the ones who are more likely to ask questions and even hire or buy from you.
The same holds for your CRM data, including demographic, regional, and psychographic information. While collecting as much data as possible is not the primary purpose of your CRM, it is essential to focus on gathering the most accurate information that accurately portrays your prospects and customers.
When is it time to spend money on data cleansing? It’s time to tidy up the data if you see an increase in email subscribers but a decrease in interaction. Any additional information you use to establish contact with your prospects and clients is just as important.
In addition to monitoring the performance of your data, it is recommended that you do data cleaning at least once every six months. Data cleansing takes up more time than data used in more than half of firms. This isn’t a surprise when it comes to data accuracy and cost.
