As the world moves from an industrial economy to an information economy, data becomes the main currency driving this economy and just as the dollar and the Euro can fluctuate in value, so to can the value of data.

Poor quality data can impact a company’s bottom line significantly. For reasons such as customers moving, it is estimated that 2% of records in a customer database become inaccurate after just a month. This is in addition to data entry errors and system migrations, among many other things that also contributed to data quality issues. In fact, it is estimated that U.S. businesses lose over $600 billion dollars in postage and printing cost due to inaccurate data.

Wasted postage on inaccurate addresses and the cost of printing these mail pieces are big parts of the loss companies suffer from poor quality data. But there are added problems associated with data quality, or lack there of, that are often overlooked. Maintaining a loyal customer base it key to keeping earning high, a loyal customer not only comes back, but also serves as a source of advertising through referrals. A flawed customer database increases the chances of a company offending a loyal customer by incorrectly addressing mail or misidentifying them on the phone. With so much global competition across many industries, simply referring to a customer as a Mr. instead of a Mrs. may be just enough to lose that customer for good.