Experian survey shows three in four businesses that improved data quality exceeded business objectives in 2021 including operational resiliency, customer experience management and digital transformation
Three in four businesses that improved data quality in 2021 were able to exceed business objectives, a new survey has found.
The latest Experian Global Data Management Report was based on a survey of 905 data practitioners across the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Roles stretched from IT to customer service, operations and c-suite. It found 75 per cent of those who improved data quality over the past year exceeded business objectives stretching from customer experience lifts to improvements to talent and data security.
For example, by being data-driven, 95 per cent of Australia and New Zealand respondents either saw or expected to see improvements in operational resiliency, while 91 per cent saw or expected digital transformation improvements. Nine in 10 cited better decision making as an outcome of data-driven practices, and 90 per cent saw business resilience lifts. Overall, 87 per cent said digital acceleration has made them more reliant on quality data and insights.
The top business priority for A/NZ respondents over the next 12 months is improving customer experience (57 per cent), with 39 per cent agreeing poor data quality having a direct impact on these ambitions. Across respondents, 91 per cent saw an agile data management program delivering customer experience benefits, and 88 per cent said being data-driven helps them stay on top of customer needs and market trends.
On the flip side, 80 per cent of A/NZ businesses said inaccurate data hurt their ability to respond to market changes throughout Covid-19 so far. Across respondents, 27 per cent felt their business’ data could be inaccurate and one-third admitted their CRM data is not great.
A big challenge is keeping up with changing customer behaviours, sentiments and actions. For instance, 68 per cent of respondents said their contact data is decaying faster than ever, a source 89 per cent agreed was more important than ever in reaching customers effectively. Adding to the issue is the fact respondents are managing up to 20 databases, making a single customer view an ongoing challenge.
When it comes to the direct impact, 39 per cent said poor quality contact data had a negative effect on customer experience, and 34 per cent said it slows down their ability to understand who their customers are.
Top sources of contact data are email, identity data, location / delivery point data, phone data, social media handles and identifiers and address data.
“The majority of local businesses surveyed understand the role data quality and management plays in improving the customer experience and almost half plan to upgrade their CRM or ERP soon,” Experian A/NZ general manager for data quality and targeted, Steve Philpotts, commented. “If we think about ecommerce businesses as an example, accurate address information helps deliver packages quickly, which is a critical component of the customer experience and driving repeat business.”
Not surprisingly, data management remains a hot area of employment investment, with Experian’s report showing 85 per cent of businesses hiring data roles. Top of the priority last for next six months are data quality analysts, data analysts and data engineers.
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