Customer Data Quality Is the Primary Sales and Marketing Challenge According to a New Aberdeen Report

Why the Quality of Customer Data Can Drive Revenue Performance


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 11, 2007) - Organizations leverage customer information for business functions such as customer-centric business planning and strategies, aligning commercial offerings and customers and cross-selling/up-selling. However, many organizations report problems with the quality of their customer data according to a new study by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS).

The majority of firms cite competitive growth as a key driver for optimizing their customer data quality. Best-in-Class firms are three times more likely to report improvements in customer-related metrics than other organizations, 16 times more likely to report organizational improvements in managing customer data and seven times more likely to report revenue improvements.

Obtaining optimal customer data quality is a process-oriented undertaking; organizations cannot simply buy it off-the-shelf with a CRM solution. Organizations must deploy technological solutions through small-scale programs, such as pilot programs or point-solutions, and benchmark performance to refine their customer data management approach.

This study is made available to the public through the underwriting of: D&B and Infosolve

To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4011

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

© 2007 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
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Contact Information: Media Contact: Noel Le Aberdeen Harte-Hanks 617-854-5309 noel.le@aberdeen.com