We Are in the Data Cleanup Business

Anyone working with data will tell you the same thing “$%^T in $%^T out”. I was not as crass as I could be by using the real word but I think you got the point. If you load your database with inconsistent, dirty, unformatted, or just plain bad data, that is what you have when you are ready to use it for campaigns and analysis. We don’t want to see clients, or anyone, struggle with problems that stem from bad data so we have decided to expand our services.

JWconsulting is now able to Scrub Your Data, run your lists through the National Change of Address (NCOA) processing at any level available, Merge/Purge, and Append Data Elements. Our goal is to give clients the best chance of success and good data goes along way to accomplishing that goal.

I was working for a company that did not feel that data cleanliness is important. It did not take too long to convince the powers that be to first dedupe the data, then scrub the data and last and certainly not least, purge data that was useless for the goal of the company. The whole process took a couple weeks and that company is now housing clean up to date data that they now use for Direct Mail and Analysis. The process took a little longer than needed and that is due to the normal approval processes and business as usual aspects of a company. The bottom line is that the data is now clean and better than ever.

What Clean Data Can Do For You

Below is a fictional representation of the difference between the cost of a direct mail package with and without clean data.

Direct Mail without NCOA Processing* – Quantity = 10,000

First Class Postage = $0.44 x 10,000 = $4,400

15% Postal Returns (this is due to moves or incorrect addresses in addition to some other issues outlined in the link) $660 in returned postage

Response rate at an average of 1% = 10,000 – 1,500 (returns) = 85 Responses

Total Estimated cost with cost of returns is $4,400 ($660 spent on return mail) with an estimated 85 responses

Direct Mail with NCOA Processing – Quantity = 10,000

Very low if any returns since the file was scrubbed and NCOA’d = Processing charge of $50

15% Postal Returns above will be removed or corrected during NCOA process with an estimated 9,250 deliverable records (7.5% removed)

First Class Postage = $0.35 (estimated) x 9,250 = $3,238

Response rate at an average of 1% = 9,250 = 93 Responses

Total Estimated Cost = $3,288 with an estimated 93 responses

The verdict

Saving on the same set of 10,000 records when cleaning and processing = $1,112

Increased Response Rate due to NCOA processing = 9% higher response with 7.5% less mailed

More Benefits of Clean Data

Below is a list of reasons to make sure that your data is clean:

• Data Enhancements – If you plan to append information such as demographics, psychographics, firmographics, behavioral information, or any other enhancement you can attach to your records. Match rates increase with clean data because it allows you to identify bad addresses, incorrect information, and possible omitted items from manually entering data.

• Deduping – When working with databases that consist of the combination of various sources and/or contain records that are manually entered, there is a strong possibility that records are duplicated. By standardizing data before either combining with your database or setting up a regular cleansing process, you will reduce or eliminate duplicates.

• Exporting Data – Clean data makes the process of exporting data much easier. When you have a standard layout and all records look the same you will have a much easier time working with partners, vendors, and clients because consistency in data is key. These days we export data for use with partner vendors for newsletters, email blasts, and leads for the sales team. Having data that is easy to read and export keeps everyone happy and reduces tension between the group that takes ownership of the data and the group that uses the data for their day-to-day activities.

• Internal Data Use – If you have ever had to export data for analysis and found that you have cities in your state field,  phone numbers in your website field and so on… you know the pain of inconsistent data and how a 20 minute process can turn into a 3 day project.

The Bottom Line

Data is at the heart of most marketing activities so treat it with the utmost importance. You wouldn’t let your kids run around dirty or date a person without good hygiene. Keep your data clean and you will see how much easier and efficient you can run your marketing campaigns, analysis, data imports and exports.

We can help with all of your data scrubbing, list hygiene, and Database Marketing needs. Take a look at our website www.jwconsultingco.com or send an email to data@jwconsultingco.com.