In the vast landscape of data management, a challenge that plagues almost every institution dealing with business or individual data is the presence of duplicate records in the database.
Whether it's exact replicas or slight variations in the way contacts or businesses are stored, duplicate entries can lead to a plethora of issues that range from inconsistently formatted names and abbreviations in company names to unstandardized addresses and varied transactional data associated with these records. This complexity often results in an inaccurate representation of customer information.
You can overcome this hurdle by deduplicating your database and determining a master record, which will enhance data accuracy, improve operational efficiency, and boost customer relationships.
Identifying the Problem
Duplicate records in a database can stem from various sources, including merge systems, different databases, or responses injected from various campaigns. The variations in data can range from differently formatted names to unstandardized addresses or dates, making it a formidable challenge to identify and rectify duplicate entries. The repercussions of not addressing this issue can be significant, ranging from misrepresentation of a customer’s history with your brand and missing contact information to legal and compliance issues.
Golden Record Selection & Prioritization
The solution lies in accurately identifying records that represent the same customer and establishing a set of criteria or rules for identifying these records. This process involves choosing criteria to accurately match records. For example, you can choose what you want to match, such as a person’s name, a name and address, or maybe a telephone number or email address.
Once identified, the next crucial step is prioritizing the records and determining which one should be designated as the master record.
Record prioritization involves deciding which record should be kept as the master record moving forward. This decision is made based on you and your business - consider factors that are the most important, such as the most recently added record, the oldest record, or the record with non-blank data, and also take into account what you want to match.
Once the duplicate records are identified and you’ve selected your master record—the golden record— you can decide whether to maintain the master record as it is or update it with the most relevant data from matching records. This process, known as survivorship or record consolidation, is pivotal in ensuring the master record holds the best values in every domain or data type. For instance, should a master record with a phone number be updated with a missing email from another matching record in a different data set or database?
The End Goal: A Single Accurate Master Database Record
At the end of the day, the goal of this process is to achieve data harmony by consolidating the most accurate values for every domain or data type. This involves retaining essential data, discarding outdated, incorrect, or unwanted information, and summarizing all relevant details into a single, accurate master database record.
There are plenty of tools available to help you with data matching and consolidation. Melissa’s Data Matching solution MatchUp groups records, determines duplicates and has the ability to create a golden record with survivorship rules, so you can get a single snapshot master record of each of your customers.
In the era of data-driven decision-making, the importance of deduplicating databases and determining a master record cannot be overstated. It’s not just about cleaning up clutter; it's about ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the information that organizations rely on to drive their operations. By embracing golden record selection, institutions can navigate the complexities of duplicate records, streamline their databases, and ultimately make more informed and reliable decisions based on a harmonized and accurate representation of their data.
For more information about how Melissa can help you clean and deduplicate your data, visit www.melissa.com or call 1-800-MELISSA. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog for everything related to data quality!