There is a saying that we use in Marketing - Bad data in, bad data out.
When a client asks post mailing - how come some of the addresses, both email and direct mail are incorrect? I respond to them with the following questions -
What criteria did you use to add them in the database? Are the files being uploaded, QC'ed before they are entered? Has someone made sure the raw data is clean before adding it to thousands of other records in YOUR database?
The response is usually "I am not sure." Which tells me that the person going through the contacts before they are imported into the database either weren't trained properly on what steps to take to clean the data and upload it properly, they weren't sure about how to clean it and finally, didn't think it was their place to make such decisions. This is a problem in all companies when job responsibilities are not fully written out.
From experience, I recommend to anyone, both client and company I work for or with to only allow trained professionals to even touch the database so that data goes in clean and comes out the same way. This could mean that the database Admin only allows certain people capabilities to enter and change new data and others to only be allowed to log in and view the data to use in reports or to review records.
I have personally trained people on the exact steps to follow to enter records, clean data and run exports to assure the right, clean information is coming out. Otherwise you get donors and customers complaining that their salutation, address or name is written incorrectly. And that is not the content you want them to notice first.
Is it?