Industry news

ROI the key to data initiatives

A new report from Experian QAS finds that with budgets under increasing scrutiny, marketers looking to secure funds for data quality initiatives must prove the business case for them.

Experian QAS has issued a report, 'Contact data management: the wise investor'. The report warns that while organisations across the world are continuing to invest in data management, projects will come under increasing scrutiny, and individuals should be prepared to demonstrate clear return on investment. The report looks at global investment in data. It also includes insight and advice on how to secure budget, prioritise projects, keep selected projects on the agenda and measure return on investment.

It draws on research commissioned by Experian QAS, and carried out late last year by market research firm Dynamic Markets among 2,020 individuals working in organisations in nine countries across the world. The research produced some interesting, and worrying, findings, the fact that less than half of organisations interviewed could confirm they have a strategy in place to govern overall spend. "It's naive to think that current market conditions are not changing the way that organisations invest in data quality," says Experian QAS UK Managing Director, Stuart Johnston. "I predict that both smaller projects and critical initiatives such as 'single customer view', where the outcome will be improved customer intelligence and communications, will continue to attract funding. Those connected to compliance will also go ahead. Technology upgrades and 'nice to have' projects that won't deliver ROI within the same year of investment are likely to be put on hold."

Key UK findings from the research include:

• Three out of four businesses plan to invest the same or more in data quality initiatives in the next six months
• Only 9% plan to decrease spend
• 96% do not completely trust their contact data in terms of it being clean, accurate and up to date
• The three main reasons for the lack of trust were insufficient internal resource, lack of data strategy, and lack of budget
• 55% didn't have a data strategy or were unaware of one
• Only 10% claim that their main focus for growing their business is pure customer acquisition

Jonathan Hulford-Funnell, Global Managing Director for Experian QAS, adds: "Pitching to the board for investment is not an easy task. We don't expect you to be mind readers but we do expect you to consider what's on our minds. You must ensure that your project ties in with wider business objectives. Topics that are currently hot on boardroom agendas are how to strip out cost, how to make customers 'sticky', and how to improve efficiencies. Data can play a key role in all three."

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