Do you have un-dead records lurking in your SFA or CRM system? You know the ones: they don’t have email addresses or phone numbers or have incomplete addresses. 
Maybe they haven’t been touched by human hands in two or three years. If they were fish, they’d smell really, really bad. What should you do with them?
To market or sell effectively you need accurate information at your fingertips. Account and contact records have little value if critical data is missing or they have withered on the vine from neglect.
Companies hold on to this useless data for a number of reasons:
- They paid for lists – once upon a time – and think every record must be an asset.
- The contact asked for a quote – three years ago – so he might still be a prospect.
- They’ll get around to getting the data updated – someday.
- They plan to have an intern call everyone to update the records (this will take only 217 weeks to complete).
Believing in any of the above is magical thinking. If you purged your database of The Walking Dead right now, how many deals do you really think would be lost?
This data housecleaning is like going through your closet every each fall and giving the clothes you haven’t worn recently to Goodwill. Seriously, are you ever going to fit in those slacks again? While maybe it’s possible to lose three inches around your waist, you’re far less likely to resurrect a dead contact.
When the “freshness date” of contacts records is relatively current it may be worth investing in a data scrubbing service. If your goal is to add missing zip codes, phone numbers, and SIC /NAICS codes, a data appending service such as the one offered by Dunn & Bradstreet could be well worth the investment.
“In the business world, incorrect data can be costly. Many companies use customer information databases that record data like contact information, addresses, and preferences. If for instance the addresses are inconsistent, the company will suffer the cost of resending mail or even losing customers”. – Wikipedia
Do you think your time and money is best spent by trying to breathe life into dead records? Or are your resources better utilized by committing to improve your lead management system so that your valuable data stays that way?
In general I agree with you. For companies with exceptionally long sales cycles, it’s possible that it could still be viable, but I’d like to hope that some contact had been made during that time! Another reason to keep older records, after validating that the company is still around and the contact is still there, is for future outreach. Knowing what went before, who connected with whom, and what had been discussed can be helpful to renewing a relationship. But the stuff that’s dead and gone? Not too many instances where keeping it around is helpful. Although it’s surprising how many managers are comforted by having as many records as possible in their databases, whether there is value to them or not. Go figure!