Campaigns that reach the right people
Contacts without recorded consent, segments built on old data and results each tool counts its own way. How to spot and fix the most common data quality problems in marketing.
The 5 most common problems
In marketing, bad data multiplies: it goes out to thousands of people at once.
Contacts without recorded consent
There is no record of when or how each contact gave permission, or bought lists are mixed with subscribers. It is a GDPR risk and it hurts email deliverability.
How to spot itShare of contacts with the date, source and wording of their consent stored.
The same person in several tools
They are in the CRM, the email tool and the ads platform with different details. They get the same message twice, or unsubscribe in one tool and stay in another.
How to spot itMatch normalised emails across tools and check unsubscribes that were not applied everywhere.
Segments built on old data
Job title, company or interests from years ago. Segmentation misses and personalisation sounds odd.
How to spot itShare of contacts not updated or engaged in the last 12 months.
Campaigns tagged any old way
Each campaign uses different parameters or names (“LinkedIn”, “linkedin”, “LI”), so you cannot tell which channel works.
How to spot itDistinct source and medium values in analytics, and leads arriving with no source.
Results each tool counts its own way
The ads platform, web analytics and the CRM report different numbers of leads or conversions.
How to spot itCompare leads by channel across tools every month and note why they differ.
Recognise any of these?
Measure your area with the free checklist: 20 checks with automatic scoring.
Download the checklist →Which indicators to track
Eight indicators for your database and your campaigns. Thresholds are a starting point: adjust them to your business and review them every quarter.
| Indicator | How it is calculated | Starting threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Consent recorded | Contacts with consent date, source and wording ÷ contacts you write to | 100% |
| Unsubscribes applied everywhere | Unsubscribes applied in every tool within 48 hours ÷ unsubscribes | 100% |
| Duplicate contacts | Repeated emails ÷ total contacts | below 2% |
| Inactive contacts | No engagement or update in 12 months ÷ total | below 30% |
| Email bounce rate | Bounced emails ÷ emails sent | below 2% |
| Leads without a source | Leads with no channel or campaign ÷ leads | below 5% |
| Correctly tagged campaigns | Campaigns following the naming convention ÷ campaigns | above 95% |
| Difference between tools | Lead difference between ads, analytics and CRM ÷ CRM leads | below 10% and explained |
Where to start, in three steps
Each step links to the guide and, where there is one, to the ready-made template.
Measure your database
Export the contacts from each tool and calculate duplicates, recorded consent and inactive contacts.
Get consent and naming in order
Write down which legal basis you use for each send, agree how campaigns are named and make every unsubscribe reach all tools.
Clean up and keep watch
Merge duplicates, review or remove inactive contacts and compare leads by channel across tools every month.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep writing to old contacts?
It depends on the legal basis they were collected under and what they were told at the time. If you cannot show when and how they gave permission, the prudent course is to ask them to confirm or stop using them. For your specific case, check with whoever handles data protection in your company.
Why do leads in the ads platform and the CRM not match?
Each tool counts with different rules: attribution windows, repeated conversions, blockers or forms that never reach the CRM. They will not match one hundred per cent, but the difference should be stable and explained.
What is a campaign naming convention?
A written rule to tag source, medium and campaign the same way every time; for example, all lower case and “linkedin”, never “LI”. Without it, channel reports cannot be compared.
Does deleting inactive contacts not shrink my database?
It lowers the number, but it improves deliverability, cuts the cost of tools that charge per contact and makes results more reliable.
Where does your data governance stand?
The free assessment tells you what to prioritise in five minutes.