Halloween is great for thrill seekers and horror fans, but make sure you’re engaging in the fun kind of scary, not the damaging kind. Bad data should be a terrifying concept to you and your credit union. Here are three bad data practices your credit union should exorcise this spooky season.
1. Silos
The first rule of any horror movie is never split up – the same can be said of data. Credit unions have a lot of data coming their way – make sure yours is storing it all in one central location. If your credit union has different methods of storing data in different departments, you won’t be able to get a clear picture of your membership, their habits and how they’re affecting your credit union. Commit to a single source of truth so your credit union can quickly and accurately make data-driven decisions.
2. Incomplete Data
You can’t solve a mystery without all the facts, and your credit union can’t make data-driven decisions with incomplete data. Make sure all member-submitted forms are completed and provide the relevant information; this may mean altering your existing forms to make more or all fields required, adding additional fields or periodically auditing for any fields that were partially or incorrectly filled in. With completed data on your credit union’s side, you can quickly make decisions or reach out to a segment of members with a new offer.
3. Duplicated Data
Leave the twins to The Shining – keep duplicates out of your data. Duplicated data happens when existing members take an action such as applying for a new product or signing up for an email list and are incorrectly tagged. These duplicated files can lead to skewed data and misinformed decision making. Make sure your credit union has a process in place for identifying and consolidating member information, so you don’t wind up with a doppelgänger situation.
Keep your credit union safe this Halloween by getting rid of these spine-chilling data practices. Investing in a Data Warehouse can help your credit union take steps towards making data-driven decisions to help your members and your business.
Bill Lehman is Chief Marketing Officer at Trellance.
