What is Data Decay?
Data Decay refers to the degradation in the quality and accuracy of data. Essentially what was once accurate data is now seen as old, low quality. For example, the newspaper on your kitchen table from last Saturday, old and outdated news. Or the tin of beans dated last month, past their best!
This isn’t to say that when we collect this data it is incorrect. When coming from inbound, intent signals, up to date database sources or referrals it will be accurate. But as time progresses, data becomes outdated. It is happening right before our eyes, and much quicker than you might initially perceive with many being blind to the implications it can have on an organization.
A recent study by Gartner states that globally data decays at a rate of 70% per year and 3% per month.
– Gartner
Does it Really Matter?
There is no other way for us to subtly convince you that data decay is important. In fact, it has the capabilities to break an organization, and quickly.
Let’s take this into the B2B world and apply it to your own CRM.
Every time a user changes their email address, the record in your CRM is now stagnant.
In fact, 25-33% of email addresses become outdated every year.
Every time an employee either gains a promotion or transitions to a completely new organization, your data is incorrect.
A recent study from the ONS found that 10.9% of people change their jobs each year, that is a 32.7% workforce shift over 3 years. For a CRM with 100,000 contact records, 32,700 of those are redundant after 3 years.
That’s a lot of out of date data you’re holding in your CRM. How could you smash your targets when almost ⅓ of your database is redundant?
Marketing and Sales
Rubbish in, rubbish out.
These departments thrive through accurate contact level data for prospects and leads, along with solid firmographic information such as employees numbers, industry data and headquarter location to name a few.
If your organisation becomes a victim to data decay effects, then teams will see a decline in momentum, morale and performance.
Want to learn how Data Decay can impact your marketing and sales teams and business performance? Download the FREE guide to find out!
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