Building a customer database is something that takes time, but once you’ve got it, it’s a powerful tool to possess when marketing and subsequently remarketing your business.

Many businesses tend to focus on growing their database but forget the vital concept of constantly and consistently cleansing their data to keep it as up to date as possible. For example, how many of your records are still in business? Changed ownership? What about a new point of contact?

A lot of businesses will automatically resort to purchasing new databases when leads and business dry up, ignoring the goldmine of data they’re already sitting on.

By regularly cleansing your database you can ensure that your data is relevant, up to date, qualified and ultimately useful. When looking to market to your database, cleansed data will almost certainly net you a higher success rate than your old, decaying data.

It’s as simple as that – just imagine how many opportunities most businesses are passing up on?

In order to maintain your data, you will need to remove entries that are no longer relevant and update the relevant contacts that you wish to keep. People move on, new people come in, they change telephone number or change email address.

You name it, it can all change and you need to be sure that your database reflects the most up to date and timely information available.

Otherwise your database will be ineffective and will just take up valuable storage space.

Data cleansing also opens up a great opportunity to re-engage with dormant or lost customers, for example; our contact centre recently worked through a client’s database of 7,392 customers that had not been touched since they took over another site.

We had 5,578 contacts that we managed to contact after the invalid numbers and customers with no number attached were removed.

Of those we spoke to, 2,790 customers had their details updated and subsequently 1,327 of these customers opted to receive a sales voucher to visit the dealership for a discounted service and re-engage with the brand. Needless to say, the exercise was a raging success.

Just think what most businesses could do with 1,327 previous customers back through their doors? How many opportunities could you squeeze out of a freshly cleansed database?

If you would like to find out more about data cleansing and it’s benefits, visit our webpage here.