Digging Out From All That Data
Last week I spoke to a registered user to our site who was not receiving our email newsletter, 1to1 Weekly. After some searching, we realized that her account was linked to an old email address. And when I say old, I mean old. It was an "erols.com" address, which is a company that died along with the dial-up modem. This is one example of how data can get away from you pretty easily, even at a company that proactively stays on top of it.
Today's lead article in 1to1 Weekly discusses the topic in detail. Many companies that want to deliver relevant and personalized service to customers think they need to collect every bit of customer information possible. That's not the case, according to data experts.
"Fear is driving companies to keep too much data; they're afraid their competitors will have more information and they'll lose value," says Eric Bradlow, professor of marketing, statistics, and education at the Wharton School of Business and editor-in-chief of the journal Marketing Science. "Once you've determined which variables within customer data predict behavior, you don't need the rest. Many companies say, 'If we can keep it we should,' but if it's useless, what's the point?"
What has your experience been with data? Are you overwhelmed? Have you made any decisions to pare down the information you have?
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