Data is only as powerful as its accuracy.
Clean data is crucial to the success of a real estate brokerage: accurate internal data secures transactions, while accurate property data facilitates them. According to a new report from Experian Data Quality, the “Global Data Management Benchmark,” 52 percent of businesses across industries guess or use “gut feelings” to make data-driven decisions, primarily due to inaccuracies.
The heart of the issue is inconsistency, according to the report. Eighty-two percent of businesses do not have a sufficient system for managing data, such as a dedicated staff. Quality control is often relegated to the IT department—in fact, IT departments exercise the most influence on data management in 62 percent of businesses. What’s more: 70 percent of businesses believe an IT department should not have data management responsibilities.
“Business units want to take control of their data assets and leverage data for specific departmental purposes like reporting or analytics,” explained Thomas Schutz, senior vice president and general manager for Experian Data Quality, in a statement on the report. “The IT department may not always know the context under which certain data was created or acquired, nor do they know the intended uses for that data down the road.”
Eighty-five percent of businesses, the report shows, saw improved customer service, specifically through communications, by reassigning data control. Seventy-three percent currently believe dirty data is infringing on their ability to serve customers.
“Businesses talk a great deal about being data-driven, but most lack the trusted, reliable data they need to effectively leverage information to drive new initiatives,” Schutz said. “Good data is good for business. We know that when we help organizations make improvements to their data, they see positive results; however, organizations need to develop an understanding of their data assets and speak a common language around data so the necessary investment can be made in a holistic data management practice.”
Source: Experian Data Quality
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