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The term Data Quality can mean different things depending upon the nature of one’s organization. When applied to customer address records, data quality can be summed up by the following requirements:
• The data is accurate. The address actually exists within the city, state and ZIP Code™ given. In addition, if a person or business is associated with the address in the record, that person or business listed is actually located at that address.
• The data is up to date. The name and address in any given record reflect the most current information
on that person and business.
• The data is complete. Each address contains all of the necessary information for mailing, including apartment or suite number, ZIP Code™ and, if needed, carrier route and walk sequence.
• The data is not redundant. There is only one record per contact for every address in a mailing list.
• The data is standardized. Each record follows a recognized standard for names, punctuation and abbreviations.
Every record that fails to meet the above standards of quality can lead to either lost revenue or unnecessary
costs. This is true regardless of the size of the enterprise; from a local florist to and multi-national conglomerate. In fact, data quality is probably even more crucial for the small to medium-sized business or organization than it is to the large corporation.
Not only does each customer potentially represent a much larger percentage of a small business’s sales volume but smaller businesses are generally expected to deliver a higher degree of personal service. Therefore, every misdirected or undelivered piece of mail has a greater impact on that business’s bottom line than it would for a larger enterprise.
Given these factors, organizations of virtually any size can benefit from a strong commitment to a data quality initiative, one that addresses immediate needs and provides flexibility to meet changing business requirements.
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