What is Data Management? The Importance of a DBMS

What is Data Management?

If you’re running a business, an important question to ask is, ‘What is data management?’ Data management is the practice of obtaining, storing, organising and maintaining created and collected data. The process helps people and organisations use accurate data to drive informed operational decisions and strategic planning. Effective data management is fundamental to a company’s success because it helps to promote and maintain commercial growth.

Read our comprehensive guide to ‘what is data management?’ to further understand the core of this concept.

What is a Data Management Strategy?

Data management requires a strategic approach to collecting, organising, protecting, storing and using valuable information and data. A data management strategy aims to create and implement a well-planned approach in managing an organisation’s data assets.

The Importance of a Data Management System

Data is increasingly considered an asset that can be used to make better informed business decisions. It can be seen to improve marketing campaigns, optimise business operations and reduce costs while increasing revenue and profits. 

Businesses are subjected to an increasing number of regulatory compliance requirements, including data privacy and GDPR. With this, data management has soared further in importance. Companies are acquiring large and various volumes of data types, so without good data management, such information can become cumbersome and hard to navigate.

How to Manage Data

Data management is the backbone behind any marketing strategy. Follow these data management practices on how to manage data to ensure data quality:

• Outline your business goals: knowing what you plan to do with your data will help you collect only relevant data.
• Prioritise data security and protection: data protection and security must be a number one priority for your business’s data management. It’s vital for your company to follow the correct guidelines to ensure the privacy of your leads and customers.
• Focus on data quality: data needs to be regularly checked for accuracy. Old data can become outdated and irrelevant to your sales and marketing. 
• Reduce duplicated data: create systems that allow data to be updated when someone opts in more than once, or makes a return purchase, to ensure your data is clean.
• Identify demographics: look at client history and relevant patterns and use these patterns to develop strategic direct marketing plans across all media channels.

Understand Your Data

To target the right demographic, you must first understand your data. Here at Romax we offer a free data audit to assist you in planning your marketing message. Customer data deteriorates rapidly and unless it is maintained you may find it to be useless within three years.

You should identify consumers and businesses that won’t respond to your marketing communications, either as a result of them moving house or premises, individuals passing away or registering with one of the preference services.

The Effects of Poor Data Management

Poor quality data can harm your business, leading to inaccurate choices, poor customer relations and bad business decisions:

• Poor data leads to poor decisions: decisions are made based on information and data, and critical decisions based on poor-quality data can have very serious results.
• Missed opportunities: a business may miss a profitable opportunity that a competitor, with a greater understanding of data, may take advantage of.
• Lost revenue: communications may fail to convert to sales because the underlying customer data is incorrect. Poor data results in inaccurate targeting and communications.
• Mistrust: poor-quality data generates mistrust. Maintaining good-quality data can be the difference between compliance and incurring fines. Incorrect data means time, money and reputations can be lost, reflecting badly on your business and therefore lowering customer confidence.
• Business inefficiencies: poor-quality data creates ineffective business decisions resulting in expensive time to fix the consequences of data errors.

Use a Quality Data Management System

Good software is essential when creating a quality data management process for your business. If your data management system is too complex for your team, too large for your business’s needs, or not secure enough, it’s not going to work for you.

A quality data management system must give a clear and accurate insight into your leads and customer data: it should help you engage with your audience. Your system should be making the jobs of your sales and marketing teams easier by having clean and accurate data.

Hopefully, we have answered your question of ‘What is data management?’ and its importance. Here at Romax, we are accredited under ISO 27001 : 2005 Information Security Management System and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We adhere to a very stringent data policy that ensures data safety at all times.

Romax will work together with you to create powerful business messaging that boosts return on investment (ROI) and response rates via database management. For a experienced account management and quick turnaround get in contact today on 0212 368 5657/020 4571 3500 or email at hello@romax.co.uk