Businesses rise and fall based on the data they collect and how they use it. Data is amassed continuously, from contact information to website visitors to email clicks. Unfortunately, this also means that data is continuously degrading on a daily basis as well, a concept known as data decay.
Just like neglected muscles or a forgotten container of leftovers, data that is forgotten or ignored will also not only decline in effectiveness, but also pose a risk to anything that comes in contact with it. HubSpot reports that email marketing databases naturally decay around 23% annually. B2B contact data can decay even faster: as much as 70.3% per year. That means that with no intervention, a database with 10,000 contacts will be down to only 3,000 usable contacts by the end of a year. It also means that organizations run a high risk of unknowingly making plans and decisions on bad information—unless there is a clear understanding of the data decay risk and a plan to combat it. But while data decay is inevitable, it is also able to be combatted.
Download this free ebook to dig deeper into:
- The top causes of data decay, and the data at the most risk
- Identifying different types and impacts of decay
- Four steps to identifying and combatting data decay
- How to build a good defense with dynamic data