"Data hygiene is a massive problem for companies today." Holden said it's difficult to keep accurate information on customers and potential customers, and added that as high as 70 percent of a marketing database will go stale in the course of a year because of contacts changing jobs or changing roles within a company.

Rowley echoed that data is a highly valued asset within all enterprises, and that companies should understand the challenge when cleansing, enhancing and consolidating data. 

He went on to say, "Data hygiene should be core to an organization's strategy, and it has to be conducted on a regular basis. Inaccurate data can have a detrimental impact on any business, and affect its credibility. It can also lead to decreases in productivity."

 

Kirkpatrick, David. "CRM and the Marketing Database: Data Hygiene, Behavioral Analysis and More."

          Marketing Sherpa. Marketing Sherpa LLC, n.d.