How to Start Taking Advantage of Your Data

Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo
| 4 minute read
September 12 2018

Your organization, and organizations of any size, depends on the accuracy of its data to gain financial insights and improve marketing, sales and customer service. In fact, pretty much every department within your company will rely on data in some way. 

And if that data is inaccurate, hard to access or only tells part of the story, it can severely hamper operations across the business. Data errors can seriously impact relationships with customers, suppliers and business partners and result in significant financial loss.

And when you add to this the risk of data breaches, which can incur heavy financial penalties and loss of reputation, you can see that the very existence of an organization can be threatened by poor data management. So, while this bad data costs money then good data must make money. 

Promote a data quality culture with a data strategy

The cost of inaccurate data

As a survey of 1,200 UK, US and European organizations across a range of sectors and company sizes shows, bad data hits companies where it hurts – in the pocket.

  • 88% of companies said inaccurate data had a direct impact on their bottom line

… with the average company losing 12% of its revenue 

  • 42% say inaccurate contact data is the biggest barrier to multichannel marketing 

  • The average organization estimates 22% of all its contact data is inaccurate in some way

Where does your data come from?

The 1,200 organizations surveyed said they use an average of 3.4 different sources to collect customer contact data:

  • 73% collect data from their website

  • 60% collect data from face-to-face sales teams

  • 54% collect data from call centers

  • 47% of organizations collect contact data via mobile websites or apps

This means that data is coming into the company from multiple sources and generally in different formats – adding to the likelihood of inaccuracies or duplications.

And considering the rise of new generation technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, you’ll only find this list of data sources growing. 

Can you trust your data?

Which leads us to the next question – how much do you trust your data? 

A recent Global Data Management Benchmark report analyzed the responses of more than 1,400 data management professionals to try and understand how data is being used within organizations, and how the quality of that data impacts business priorities.

The report uncovered the following insights: 

  • 52% of organizations globally said a lack of trust in their data contributes to increased risk of non-compliance and regulatory penalties

  • 51% said it leads to a downturn in customer loyalty

  • 92% of organizations don't have a single customer view in place today

This last insight is startling, particularly when you consider the growing need to offer customers products and services specific to their needs. Without a trusted view of their history and engagement behavior, you may struggle to provide this.

Signs you have a data problem

At the very least, you should know how many customers you have. It would also help to have accurate contact details, a history of their interactions with your company and knowledge of their preferences.

Without this information, you’re going to be limited in how effectively you can communicate with them.

Do your employees have access to up-to-date, accurate data whenever they need it? Or do they spend time discussing whose spreadsheet is the most recent and correct? 

Do you have sufficient controls in place to ensure customer data is kept confidential at all times? Are all your employees aware of their role when it comes to protecting data or do they misuse corporate data or violate established data policies?

Does it take weeks (or months) to issue a report because metadata is not centrally managed? And do you have numerous reporting processes with contradictory rules and definitions?

If any of these scenarios ring a bell, then it’s clear you need to start looking at how you can manage your data more efficiently.

Identify the causes of your data challenges

Does your data live in multiple, siloed, legacy data systems? Do you have numerous sources of data? Does data cleansing and standardization only occur in isolated data sources?

Does your management team understand and appreciate the role of data governance and take time to regularly review data rules and processes? Is a culture of ownership and accountability of data promoted within your company? 

Can you identify the causes of your data challenges? Because once you’ve done this, you can start to take steps to master your data.

Begin to master your data

Before you can start changing your company’s attitude toward data, you need to look at the systems you currently have in place. Following this, you can begin to assess how to go about solving your data problems.

The technology you use to master your data should capture your existing information, wherever it’s stored, as well as new data as it comes in. And today’s master data management solutions don’t just manage this data, they also remove duplicate records and combine incomplete records for a particular customer, product, etc. to create a single golden record.

This golden record can then be used by everyone across your organization. You can even choose to make it available to your suppliers, partners and customers – you have control over who has access to what data.

And if records need editing, updating or deleting, you can make amendments to the relevant golden record, and these changes will be reflected everywhere. As you can imagine, the administration savings of this act alone are considerable.

Promote a data quality culture

Once you have your new master data management technology in place, you can begin to align your people and processes with your data strategy.

This includes introducing automated policies to ensure data remains consistent and data quality is standardized across your organization. You could also publish internal guidelines on the principles of data management, and develop and implement data training.

It becomes easier to promote this culture if you have clear data ownership roles and responsibilities in place, especially for critical elements of data. You need to create ongoing business rules for your data. Which leads us to data governance.

Establish governance of your data

Before you can begin to leverage data as an asset, you need effective data governance – and that means ensuring your people, processes and technology are all aligned with a strategy that meets legal requirements.

If your data technology and processes are taken care of, you can easily implement a governance strategy that fully covers the management and use of your data. For example, a clear and comprehensive audit trail of how your data has been acquired and managed is a minimum requirement of regulatory compliance, and master data management technology will give you that information. You now have the foundation upon which to build a governance policy that protects you as the data holder as well as the data subjects. 

You have control over which users can take what actions with what information, when, and what methods they can use. And once data governance is taken care of, you can turn your thoughts to monetizing your data.

 

Turn a risk into an asset

In summary, if your data is letting you down, it’s time to act before you face financial losses or compliance risks – or before your competitors start using their data to steal a march on you.

By implementing a data strategy that combines the latest master data management technology with a drive to improve your company’s data culture, you can achieve transformational change and financial success. 

For example, with comprehensive customer information available to anyone within your company who needs it, you can offer a more targeted and personalized service.

If you can eliminate the problems caused by inaccurate data, you’ll find that rather than adversely hitting your bottom line, your data will let you increase revenue and grow your business.


Topics: 
Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo

Always having a love for technology and what it can do for global enterprises and individuals, Nils Pedersen continues successful program deliveries in Manufacturing, Distribution, Retail, and Automotive Aftermarket. As VP of Product Strategy at Stibo Systems, Nils Pedersen is passionate about making it easier for clients to manage enterprise intelligence on a global scale, improve sales, and quickly adjust to changes in business requirements.

Discover Blogs by Topic

  • MDM strategy
  • Retail and distribution
  • Data governance
  • See more
  • Customer and party data
  • Manufacturing
  • Product data and PIM
  • Data quality
  • AI and machine learning
  • Supplier data
  • CPG
  • Financial services
  • Sustainability
  • GDPR
  • Location data
  • PDX Syndication
  • Customer Experience
  • Product Experience Data Cloud
  • Cloud
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Product Onboarding

Gen Z: Seeking Excitement Beyond Amazon

12/11/24

A Modern Guide to Data Quality Monitoring: Best Practices

12/10/24

CDP and MDM: Complementary Forces for Enhancing Customer Experiences

12/10/24

Using Machine Learning and MDM CBAM for Sustainability Compliance

12/3/24

How to Implement Master Data Management: Steps and Challenges

11/26/24

AAPEX and SEMA: The Automotive Aftermarket Industry’s Mega-Showcase

11/25/24

5 Key Trends in Product Experience Management

11/20/24

Building the Future of Construction with AI and MDM

11/19/24

Solving Retail Data Fragmentation: The Key to Consistent Customer Journeys

11/14/24

Live Shopping: How to Leverage Product Information for Maximum Impact

10/22/24

Why Data Accuracy Matters for CPG Brands

10/16/24

Why Choose a Cloud-Based Data Solution: On-Premise vs. Cloud

10/15/24

How to Use Customer Data Modeling

10/10/24

Navigating Change: Engaging Business Users in Successful Change Management

9/20/24

What is Digital Asset Management?

9/11/24

How to Improve Your Data Management

9/3/24

The Future of Master Data Management: Trends in 2023-2025

9/1/24

Digital Transformation in the CPG Industry

8/30/24

5 CPG Industry Trends and Opportunities for 2024-2025

8/29/24

What is the difference between CPG and FMCG?

8/27/24

Responsible AI relies on data governance

8/27/24

6 Features of an Effective Master Data Management Solution

8/15/24

Great Data Minds: The Unsung Heros Behind Effective Data Management

8/13/24

A Data Monetization Strategy - Get More Value from Your Master Data

8/6/24

Introducing the Master Data Management Maturity Model

8/4/24

What is Augmented Data Management? (ADM)

7/31/24

Data Migration to SAP S/4HANA ERP - The Fast and Safe Approach with MDM

7/30/24

GDPR Data Governance and Data Protection, a Match Made in Heaven?

7/17/24

The Difference Between Master Data and Metadata

5/26/24

Master Data Management Roles and Responsibilities

5/20/24

8 Best Practices for Customer Master Data Management

5/16/24

What Is Master Data Governance – And Why Do You Need It?

5/12/24

Guide: Deliver flawless rich content experiences with master data governance

4/11/24

Risks of Using LLMs in Your Business – What Does OWASP Have to Say?

4/10/24

Guide: How to comply with industry standards using master data governance

4/9/24

Digital Product Passports - A Data Management Challenge

4/8/24

Guide: Get enterprise data enrichment right with master data governance

4/2/24

Guide: Getting enterprise data modelling right with master data governance

4/2/24

Guide: Improving your data quality with master data governance

4/2/24

Data Governance Trends 2024

1/30/24

NRF 2024 Recap: In the AI era, better data can make all the difference

1/19/24

Building Supply Chain Resilience: Strategies & Examples

12/19/23

How Master Data Management Can Enhance Your ERP Solution

12/14/23

Shedding Light on Climate Accountability and Traceability in Retail

11/29/23

What is Smart Manufacturing and Why Does it Matter?

10/11/23

Future Proof Your Retail Business with Composable Commerce

10/9/23

5 Common Reasons Why Manufacturers Fail at Digital Transformation

10/5/23

How to Digitally Transform a Restaurant Chain

9/29/23

Three Benefits of Moving to Headless Commerce and the Role of a Modern PIM

9/14/23

12 Steps to a Successful Omnichannel and Unified Commerce

7/6/23

CGF Global Summit 2023: Unlock Sustainable Growth With Collaboration and Innovation

7/5/23

Navigating the Current Challenges of Supply Chain Management

6/28/23

Product Data Management during Mergers and Acquisitions

4/6/23

A Complete Master Data Management Glossary

3/14/23

4 Ways to Reduce Ecommerce Returns

3/8/23

Asset Data Governance is Central for Asset Management

3/1/23

4 Common Master Data Management Implementation Styles

2/21/23

How to Leverage Internet of Things with Master Data Management

2/14/23

Manufacturing Trends and Insights in 2023-2025

2/14/23

Sustainability in Retail Needs Governed Data

2/13/23

NRF 2023: Retail Turns to AI and Automation to Increase Efficiencies

1/20/23

5 Key Manufacturing Challenges in 2023

1/16/23

What is a Golden Customer Record in Master Data Management?

1/9/23

Innovation in Retail

1/4/23

Life Cycle Assessment Scoring for Food Products

11/21/22

Retail of the Future

11/14/22

Omnichannel Strategies for Retail

11/7/22

Hyper-Personalized Customer Experiences Need Multidomain MDM

11/5/22

What is Omnichannel Retailing and What is the Role of Data Management?

10/25/22

Most Common ISO Standards in the Manufacturing Industry

10/18/22

How to Get Started with Master Data Management: 5 Steps to Consider

10/17/22

What is Supply Chain Analytics and Why It's Important

10/12/22

What is Data Quality and Why It's Important

10/12/22

An Introductory Guide: What is Data Intelligence?

10/1/22

Revolutionizing Manufacturing: 5 Must-Have SaaS Systems for Success

9/15/22

An Introductory Guide to Supplier Compliance

9/7/22

What is Application Data Management and How Does It Differ From MDM?

8/29/22

Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Industry

8/25/22

Master Data Management Framework: Get Set for Success

8/17/22

Discover the Value of Your Data: Master Data Management KPIs & Metrics

8/15/22

Supplier Self-Service: Everything You Need to Know

6/15/22

Omnichannel vs. Multichannel: What’s the Difference?

6/14/22

Create a Culture of Data Transparency - Begin with a Solid Foundation

6/10/22

The 5 Biggest Retail Trends for 2023-2025

5/31/22

What is a Location Intelligence?

5/31/22

Omnichannel Customer Experience: The Ultimate Guide

5/30/22

Location Analytics – All You Need to Know

5/26/22

Omnichannel Commerce: Creating a Seamless Shopping Experience

5/24/22

Top 4 Data Management Trends in the Insurance Industry

5/11/22

What is Supply Chain Visibility and Why It's Important

5/1/22

The Ultimate Guide to Data Transparency

4/21/22

How Manufacturers Can Shift to Product as a Service Offerings

4/20/22

How to Check Your Enterprise Data Foundation

4/16/22

An Introductory Guide to Manufacturing Compliance

4/14/22

Multidomain MDM vs. Multiple Domain MDM

3/31/22

Making Master Data Accessible: What is Data as a Service (DaaS)?

3/29/22

How to Build a Successful Data Governance Strategy

3/23/22

What is Unified Commerce? Key Advantages & Best Practices

3/22/22

How to Choose the Right Data Quality Tool?

3/22/22

What is a data domain? Meaning & examples

3/21/22

6 Best Practices for Data Governance

3/17/22

5 Advantages of a Master Data Management System

3/16/22

A Unified Customer View: What Is It and Why You Need It

3/9/22

Supply Chain Challenges in the CPG Industry

2/24/22

The Best Data Governance Tools You Need to Know About

2/17/22

Top 5 Most Common Data Quality Issues

2/14/22

What Is Synthetic Data and Why It Needs Master Data Management

2/10/22

What is Cloud Master Data Management?

2/8/22

How to Implement Data Governance

2/7/22

Build vs. Buy Master Data Management Software

1/28/22

Why is Data Governance Important?

1/27/22

Five Reasons Your Data Governance Initiative Could Fail

1/24/22

How to Turn Your Data Silos Into Zones of Insight

1/21/22

How to Improve Supplier Experience Management

1/16/22

​​How to Improve Supplier Onboarding

1/16/22

How to Enable a Single Source of Truth with Master Data Management

1/13/22

What is a Data Quality Framework?

1/11/22

How to Measure the ROI of Master Data Management

1/11/22

What is Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS)?

1/7/22

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Data Governance Framework

1/4/22

Master Data Management Tools - and Why You Need Them

12/20/21

The Dynamic Duo of Data Security and Data Governance

12/20/21

How to Choose the Right Supplier Management Solution

12/20/21

How Data Transparency Enables Sustainable Retailing

12/6/21

What is Supplier Performance Management?

12/1/21

What is Party Data? All You Need to Know About Party Data Management

11/28/21

What is Data Compliance? An Introductory Guide

11/18/21

How to Create a Marketing Center of Excellence

11/14/21

The Complete Guide: How to Get a 360° Customer View

11/7/21

How Location Data Adds Value to Master Data Projects

10/29/21

How Marketers Should Prepare for the 2023 Holiday Shopping Season

10/26/21

What is Supplier Lifecycle Management?

10/19/21

What is a Data Mesh? A Simple Introduction

10/15/21

How to Build a Master Data Management Strategy

9/26/21

10 Signs You Need a Master Data Management Platform

9/2/21

What Vendor Data Is and Why It Matters to Manufacturers

8/31/21

3 Reasons High-Quality Supplier Data Can Benefit Any Organization

8/25/21

4 Trends in the Automotive Industry

8/11/21

What is Reference Data and Reference Data Management?

8/9/21

What Obstacles Are Impacting the Global Retail Recovery?

8/2/21

GDPR as a Catalyst for Effective Data Governance

7/25/21

All You Need to Know About Supplier Information Management

7/21/21

5 Tips for Driving a Centralized Data Management Strategy

7/3/21

Welcome to the Decade of Transparency

5/26/21

How to Become a Customer-Obsessed Brand

5/12/21

How to Create a Master Data Management Roadmap in Five Steps

4/27/21

What is a Data Catalog? Definition and Benefits

4/13/21

How to Improve the Retail Customer Experience with Data Management

4/8/21

How to Choose the Right Master Data Management Solution

3/29/21

Business Intelligence and Analytics: What's the Difference?

3/25/21

Spending too much on Big Data? Try Small Data and MDM

3/24/21

What is a Data Lake? Everything You Need to Know

3/21/21

How to Extract More Value from Your Data

3/17/21

Are you making decisions based on bad HCO/HCP information?

2/24/21

Why Master Data Cleansing is Important to CPG Brands

1/20/21

CRM 2.0 – It All Starts With Master Data Management

12/19/20

5 Trends in Telecom that Rely on Transparency of Master Data

12/15/20

10 Data Management Trends in Financial Services

11/19/20

Seasonal Marketing Campaigns: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

11/8/20

What Is a Data Fabric and Why Do You Need It?

10/29/20

Transparent Product Information in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

10/14/20

How to Improve Back-End Systems Using Master Data Management

9/19/20

8 Benefits of Transparent Product Information for Medical Devices

9/1/20

How Retailers Can Increase Online Sales in 2023

8/23/20

Master Data Management (MDM) & Big Data

8/14/20

Key Benefits of Knowing Your Customers

8/9/20

Women in Master Data: Kelly Amavisca, Ferguson

8/5/20

Customer Data in Corporate Banking Reveal New Opportunities

7/21/20

How to Analyze Customer Data With Customer Master Data Management

7/21/20

How to Improve Your 2023 Black Friday Sales in 5 Steps

7/18/20

4 Ways Product Information Management (PIM) Improves the Customer Experience

7/18/20

How to Estimate the ROI of Your Customer Data

7/1/20

Women in Master Data: Rebecca Chamberlain, M&S

6/24/20

How to Personalise Insurance Solutions with MDM

6/17/20

How to Democratize Your Data

6/3/20

How to Get Buy-In for a Master Data Management Solution

5/25/20

How CPG Brands Manage the Impact of Covid-19 in a Post-Pandemic World

5/18/20

5 Steps to Improve Your Data Syndication

5/7/20

Marketing Data Quality: Why Is It Important and How to Get Started

3/26/20

Panic Buying: Navigating Long-term Implications and Uncertainty

3/24/20

Women in Master Data: Ditte Brix, IMPACT

2/20/20

Get More Value From Your CRM With Customer Master Data Management

2/17/20

Women in Master Data: Nagashree Devadas, Stibo Systems

2/4/20

How to Create Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Success for CPG Brands

1/3/20

Women in Master Data: Anna Schéle, Ahlsell

10/25/19

Women in Master Data: Morgan Lawrence, Infoverity

9/26/19

Women in Master Data: Sara Friberg, Acando (Part of CGI)

9/13/19

Improving Product Setup Processes Enhances Superior Experiences

8/21/19

How to Improve Your Product's Time to Market With PDX Syndication

7/18/19

8 Tips For Pricing Automation In The Aftermarket

6/1/19

How to Drive Innovation With Master Data Management

3/15/19

Discover PDX Syndication to Launch New Products with Speed

2/27/19

How to Benefit from Product Data Management

2/20/19

What is a Product Backlog and How to Avoid It

2/13/19

How to Get Rid of Customer Duplicates

2/7/19

4 Types of IT Systems That Should Be Sunsetted

1/3/19

How to Reduce Time-to-Market with Master Data Management

10/28/18

How to Start Taking Advantage of Your Data

9/12/18

6 Signs You Have a Potential GDPR Problem

8/16/18

GDPR: The DOs and DON’Ts of Personal Data

6/13/18