Spring Cleaning Your Database

Birds are chirping, buds are sprouting, days are getting longer—Spring is in the air! And with Spring, comes Spring cleaning. But before you start scrubbing, organizing, and washing, look no further than your data. With an average 120 businesses addresses changing, 75 phone numbers changing, 20 CEOs leaving their jobs, and 30 new businesses being established every thirty minutes, it’s easy for data to become dirty and outdated.

Consider these 4 ways to freshen up your data:

1. Eliminate duplicate records: Removing duplicate entries in your database is arguably the most important place to start your cleaning. Run a search for duplicate records in your database, determine which have the most pertinent data, and merge them accordingly. Proactively scrubbing your data on a regular basis helps keep your list current with the most accurate information.

2. Keep records up to date: Without regular upkeeping, your data will continually decay. Frequently update customer data, including entries that need filling in or editing, and remove individuals who are no longer at the companies you are trying to reach.

3. Enhance your data: Add more depth to your customer list such as email addresses, phone numbers and demographics. Additional information helps to complete individual records and identify new opportunities. Work with a third party data provider that can add permission-based addresses or phone numbers to current customer and prospect lists.

4. Practice uniformity: Let’s face it – mistakes happen. Sometimes, something as simple as a typo can throw off hundreds of data entries. Manual data entry is prone to inconsistencies in the database. Uniformity is the key to a clean database, but also a challenge. Is the “.com” included in each address? Are all NJ, N.J. and New Jersey entries formatted consistently? Consistent, uniform formatting ensures a personalized direct marketing experience and reduces the probability of improperly addresses messages.

Interested in cleaning up your data? Redi-Data offers a full suite of list hygiene and data services to ensure your data is the highest quality.

Redi-Data…Turning the Best Data into Better Business