Data is one of the most valuable assets of b2b organizations. If the quality and timely availability of data is undermined, it can hamper the lead generation process and thus impact the ROI. Such is the importance of data!
Data can be the internal decision maker for any b2b organization that is involved in lead generation and demand generation services.
Data, if it’s a limited resource within the organization it definitely needs scrutiny, filtering and polishing and it becomes all the more important to leverage and optimize this valuable resource that can impact sales and leads.
So what can one do to ensure that data quality is optimized? Take a look at these parameters of data that can literally decide the fate of your leads!
Here are some decision making factors that one cannot ignore when it comes to data-
- Accurate data- Data that is validated and filtered can bring in good results
- Data aligned with business goals- If you have quality data but it is not aligned with business goals and objectives it cannot get the desired results
- Relevance of data- Relevance of data can determine whom you are going to communicate with and what. This factor can save a lot of time and effort
- Trustworthiness- Data that is trustworthy or reliable is the real valuable data that can actually optimize your other efforts to elevate ROI
So before we move ahead to discuss the 3 most important practices to optimize data, let us see how one can get the best out of data-
- Define data well to know if you have what it takes to nurture those leads
- Get your business goals well defined too, because this is how you will know whether the data you are using is relevant and useful
- Get the data processes and systems in place as this can affect data cleansing, filtering, treatment and data-readiness before you use it
- Check the results of your previous campaigns that used particular data sets. The metrics of these results can tell you a lot about whether you are using the right data or not
- Last but not the least; create a data ambience in the organization. Let each function and all cross functional teams know the value of data before you optimize it
When everyone in the organization understands the importance of data and there is a proper ambience that exists to validate, guard and utilize data for the right audience, strategies and practices of data can further help in optimizing data-
Who governs data?
Some of the unobvious questions such as who governs the data in your organization can be the first step in creating good data solutions. Data governance is an equally important aspect as data cleansing.
Data governance says a lot about who is responsible for data maintenance, data cleansing and data relevancy and if all these factors are set to come under data governance in your organization.
A lot can come under data governance. Data policies if any or being accountable for all data solutions and outcomes, data transparency, relevance and other protocols need to be set for maximizing data efficiency.
The process of optimizing data starts with analysis and ownership.
Which parameters decide the quality of data?
So does each one involved with data know about the parameters on which the quality of data is going to get decided? It’s very important that both sales and marketing teams are on the same page when it comes to knowing and deciding certain quality parameters when it comes to data.
Each customer is unique and so is his business. Thus, data that is unique to that particular business can also be counted as quality data. Data cleansing, filtering and treating data for checking its relevance in time and in terms of target audience are important parameters to determine the quality of data.
Quantity data without quality cannot serve the purpose of your business objectives. Quality of data therefore is extremely important when it comes to any campaign that is being planned for lead generation or email marketing etc.
How does Data cleansing determine data success?
Data is often lying around in files, documents, database systems etc. sometimes for years. Everyone might think there is a lot of data available but all data is not useful data.
Data that is scrutinized, cleansed, filtered, treated to validate its relevance. It can help understand whether the people with the corresponding data are still with the respective organizations or are they still the decision makers etc. and more factors determine the real value of data.
Hence data cleansing is one of the most critical parameters or practices that can determine the quality of data.
Conclusion:
Data is a solution today and it cannot be ignored, taken for granted or left untreated. It has huge impact over the overall business and ROI of any b2b or any other organization for that matter. Trained personnel, creating an ambience of data matching, quality and quantity management are the other practices that can help optimize data solutions.