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Dec 2021 | Data Quality
By Posted by Vania Sigalas

A single, consistent view of customer data is powerful for any organisation

Companies experiencing rapid growth or with multiple legacy databases face a key challenge around linking disparate data sources to ensure they can adequately serve their existing customers and prospects.

A combined data and technology approach to Identity Resolution could give you the edge you need to help you better engage your customers and prospects, as well as differentiate against competitors.

If your goal is to implement a thoughtful yet transparent and flexible identity strategy, over which you retain an ongoing control, these three steps will help:

  1. Adopt a hybrid approach to matching
    Traditionally, organisations would approach understanding the relationships in their data by either engaging with reference data providers, such as credit bureaus that can deliver to them keying and linking reference datasets. Or they will look at technology solutions that can deliver a rule- based result. An alternative is a joint, hybrid approach.

    A hybrid approach combines reference data with rule-based methodology to deliver stronger outcomes in terms of the accuracy of matching as well as the matching levels. With a flexible and transparent approach, you are in control and can choose to dial up or down these levels to suit your specific business need.

  1. Clean your data and fill the gaps
    Ensuring that your data is of high quality with consistent formatting is a critical step in creating a customer view that is cohesive and accurate.

    By profiling your data and uncovering the inaccuracies within it, you will have the ability to identify invalid, duplicated, and incomplete records. Transform your data and resolve these inaccuracies by standardising inconsistent formats, validating emails, addresses, and phone numbers; and appending additional information to incomplete records.

    A solution such as a data append service is helpful for adding missing customer information. For example, a bulk data append could provide emails for customers you only hold the postal addresses for.

    Another path to a more complete customer view is enrichment. Enrichment will enhance your contact records with consumer attributes such as best date of birth, best address, demographics or buying preferences etc. This helps you develop a fuller, more detailed picture of your customer and you can tailor the approach to support your business need.

  1. Monitor and maintain the data
    The key to seeing high ROI on your identity strategy is to continuously maintain and monitor your data to ensure it remains accurate and fit for purpose. Whether that means integrating data management software to automate data quality control into your tech stack or a real-time data validation service or both, it’s important to be confident in the data insights you are leveraging for identity resolution.

Data management as part of identity resolution creates a trustworthy and holistic view of your customers, enabling you to streamline operations, minimise risk, and improve customer experience.