Shoddy data practices cost UK firms millions
Latest Experian figures reveal £1 in every £6 spent is wasted due to inaccurate data
Poor data quality is wasting £1 in every £6 spent from the average UK departmental budget, research from Experian QAS has claimed.
In total 90 per cent of companies questioned admitted to wasting departmental budget either through duplicated mailings, lost contacts and missed sales opportunities, because of inaccurate data.
Departments such as marketing, sales, operations and customer services report wasting 15 per cent of their budget on average, and in IT and data management this increases to 18 per cent.
More than 80 per cent of respondents admitted to having customer loyalty programmes, but two-thirds of these report that inaccurate data has had a negative impact on these programmes through lost custom.
However, the market watcher has claimed that companies which do invest in improving data accuracy believe they generate close to £1m in additional profit. Experian claimed that nine out of 10 firms that have invested in their data, have seen an associated increase in profits, with the average global figure hitting £943,106 – representing a 300 per cent return on average investment.
In the UK alone, the associated increase was £792,980. In total, 55 per cent of those questioned cited revenue generation as a driver for better data quality, and three quarters of UK firms have invested in upgrading data management systems in the past two years.
On average, large companies invested more than £500,000 in data development, medium sized firms £248,441 and smaller firms £141,795.
Joel Curry, managing director of Experian QAS said: “There is a growing body of evidence showing that accurate data is the key to competitive advantage. Companies that are able to rely on their data can use it to better understand their customers and target campaigns. It’s a fact that UK businesses are increasingly aware of, but as today’s research shows, this awareness needs to be translated into action and investment.”
He added: “Today’s research shows that many UK businesses are fully aware that data quality drives efficiency, profitability and growth. Those that aren’t are missing out on potential rewards that can extract every last penny of value from departmental budgets, deliver a 300 per cent return on investment and help to harness the insight into customers that drives engagement and sales.”