Royal Mail Data Services helps organisations meet the challenges of collecting, managing and using accurate customer contact and address data to improve business performance.

The third annual research survey from Royal Mail Data Services, the specialist data business of Royal Mail Group, reveals that poor-quality customer contact data could be costing UK organisations as much as six per cent of annual revenues¹.

This is despite recognition, among around 300 marketing, data and analytics professionals which took part in the study, of the importance of quality data. For the second consecutive year, they cite good-quality customer contact data as having the greatest positive impact on campaign response and conversion rates.

Furthermore, comparative analysis shows that specific data issues have continued to rise since 2014. Notably, duplicate data (which has increased 22 per cent in the last two years), incomplete data (up 13 per cent) and out-of-date data (up 12 per cent).

This year’s survey also revealed that 37 per cent of businesses lack any formal processes for cleansing their data. Nearly one in five (19 per cent) do not validate customer contact data at the point of data capture.

More than a third (38 per cent) of marketing, data and analytics professionals say their efforts to overcome these challenges and improve the quality of customer contact data are thwarted by legacy IT systems. This can also limit or even prevent the level of personalisation which marketing is able to deploy.

This year’s research report, The Six Per Cent Solution = How Better Customer Data Drives Marketing Performance and Business Growth, reveals that the average rate of churn has remained at 20 per cent per annum. It is not surprising that, as a result, customer acquisition remains top of the marketing agenda; 52 per cent of organisations say this is their biggest challenge.

Jim Conning, Managing Director, Royal Mail Data Services, comments: “Our study has revealed that poor-quality customer contact data directly impacts the bottom line. Especially as one in five customers need to be replaced each year. Marketers need to work harder to build value in the minds of their customers and stop them from moving on to a new brand or provider. Good-quality customer contact data is critical to tackling both these challenges.

“The lack of consensus within organisations about how to approach the data problem is holding them back. Breaking down silos and ensuring that marketing, data and IT work together to tackle the data-quality challenge should be top of the agenda for any business.”