There is widespread uncertainty amongst UK organisations regarding the quality of data held about customers in the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) systems and the quality of data underpinning those systems, according to an online survey by DataFlux.
The online survey, which was conducted with UK-based IT and marketing managers, revealed that 48% of respondents are unsure of the quality of data within their CRM systems and another 13% are not confident about the overall quality of their customer data.
The survey revealed that 26% of respondent organisations operate two or more CRM systems, which can contribute to multiple, conflicting views of the customer; 47% of respondents surveyed have a single CRM system for the entire organisation.
When asked about the difficulties of maintaining more than one CRM system, 47% of respondents cited data de-duplication and data quality as the biggest challenges, with 23% believing inter-operability was the greatest frustration.
In addition, 32% of organisations currently have on-going systems consolidation initiatives and 33% are working to improve the quality of their CRM data.
DataFlux EMEA managing director Colin Rickard said the results of the survey demonstrate that UK organisations are missing an opportunity to extend the value of CRM initiatives with high-quality data. Accurate, trusted and complete customer data is the lifeblood of any modern marketing strategy and can protect the investments companies make in CRM technology, so that results meet expectations.
"While the study shows many organisations recognise the value of maintaining a single, integrated CRM system, there are still a significant number of organisations running with two or more CRM systems. Multiple systems can lead to data errors and adversely affect service levels and the potential to drive additional revenue through marketing," Rickard said.
