Using Data Cleansing can improve your Direct Mail Campaign

Why do you need to clean up data? Data cleaning has been going on as long as databases have existed, from the time when data was kept in paper-based systems, because it’s a fact of life that the accuracy of data decays over time. People move house, marry, divorce, change phone numbers and generally alter their personal information in so many different ways and on a regular basis. On top of that, the data you hold could also be incorrectly formatted, contain spelling mistakes or be incomplete. Of course, now that data is held in electronic formats, data cleaning is a quick and easy process and can be carried out on a regular basis and cost effectively.

• What are the benefits of data cleaning? Keeping your data accurate and clean has many benefits and helps businesses reduce their costs and improve efficiency. Regular cleaning of data ensures its accuracy, integrity, correctness, completeness and consistency.

• Reduces costs – by keeping your data up-to-date you can ensure you are contacting people who only have a genuine interest in your offer, be they active customers or qualified prospects. With an accurate list, you won’t be wasting money on direct mailing, for example, to people with no interest in your product, or who may not live at that address anymore. Depending on your size of list and frequency of marketing, this can represent a significant cost saving for your business.

• Better targeting – cleansing your data eliminates duplicates and improves the accuracy of your data, meaning you’ll be contacting the right people. Plus, with our industry-leading relocation files (as well as access to all other reputable files in the market place), we are able to ensure your mailings are delivered to the right individuals at the correct address.

• Improve marketing analysis – businesses rely heavily on data these days and so having accurate records is a must if you are to carry out effective analysis of your data – like response rates, lifetime value, next best product for example. Having analysis you can rely on means your team’s decision making and marketing strategies are effective.

• Improve productivity – using clean, accurate data ensures your team has the most up-to-date information to work with and is not wasting valuable time cleaning up data on an ad hoc basis, or using inaccurate details to contact invalid prospects or customers.

• Ensure compliance – with the introduction of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), data security and permissions are more important than ever before. Article 5, sub section D of GDPR includes clauses specifically designed to make organisations take all reasonable steps to ensure they maintain high levels of data quality (GDPR). Regular cleaning of your database ensures you have the most accurate data possible as well as keeping tabs on customer permissions, so you won’t contact those who have opted out. Having clean and accurate data will also help you avoid hefty fines for breaching of GDPR and other legislation.

Who needs data cleaning services? Any business that stores and uses customer data will benefit from using a data cleaning service. Data is one of the most valuable assets a company has, so it’s important that it’s looked after. And with data decaying at a rapid rate, that means regular data cleansing.

What data cleaning services does Print Strategy offer? Our experienced team has been helping our customers look after their data and use it effectively for over 20 years. So, you can be sure Print Strategy has the expertise to help you keep your valuable data in tip-top condition. As well as data cleansing, we also offer data profiling and data segmentation, all of which help businesses make the most of their data. Contact the team today and find out how our data cleansing service can deliver superb return on investment for your business.