Stibo Systems - The Master Data Management Company

How to Get Rid of Customer Duplicates

Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo
| 2 minute read
February 07 2019

Being a master data management manager certainly means being in demand and at the center of attention. The reason is as simple as it is awe-inspiring: as a master data management manager, you’re leading the charge for providing high-quality data, developing the master data strategy and overseeing system acquisitions and integrations. You collaborate with a variety of stakeholders – planners, program managers, product developers, marketing professionals, supply chain managers, senior management and executives. If your organization has a chief data officer (CDO), it’s likely your work contributes to the decisions that person is making.

As a cross-enterprise facilitator, you need efficient tools that provide a quick time-to-value.

Through streamlining and consolidating master data, the master data management system supports an array of critical business operations and enables digital business initiatives.

Master data management systems play a major role in:

  • Mergers and acquisitions, where disparate data systems must be integrated
  • Managing traceability of products through increased data visibility
  • Achieving compliance with standards and regulations
  • Increasing supply chain capabilities and optimizing logistical processes

Critical as these operations may be, they are also ongoing long-term projects that should be measured under the total cost of ownership of a master data management solution.

If you seek rapid time-to-value for your master data management investment, start looking at mastering data from a more hands-on, results-focused perspective such as cleansing customer data in order to drive more effective customer experiences. This is an opportunity to achieve fast and tangible success and positive attention from the stakeholders.

Getting rid of customer duplicates 

De-duping and cleansing customer data

The value of having high-quality customer data and product data can’t be overrated.

Every customer is a physical entity that has a digital twin. Controlling that digital twin enables you to optimize processes related to products and provide exceptional customer experiences. For the same reason, bad customer data is particularly damaging for any organization.

Bad customer data has several negative impacts:

  • Duplicate customer data can weaken customer support; if several different customer records in the CRM system represent the same physical customer, your ability to provide accurate, differentiated service diminishes

  • Campaigns and newsletters miss their targets if customer data is not consolidated and names, addresses and shopping history are not aligned

  • Shipments may be returned if customer addresses are outdated – or worse, not returned leading to lost inventory and displeased customers

The overall problem is not just efficiency losses caused by the need for double-checking information and repeating processes. The much bigger problem is customer churn and the dwindling loyalty resulting from bad data.

Solve the issue of duplicated customer data with customer master data management

A master data management system for customer data can solve these issues in several ways. The master data management system doesn’t replace a CRM solution, it enhances the CRM by de-duplicating data through a matching and linking process and presenting a “golden record” based on the most trusted source.

Correct customer data is the foundation for a better marketing experience because it ensures a more personal experience and minimizes bounce rates. You diminish customer affinity if you fail to recognize their change of address or don’t get their name right. Customers today expect brands to know them in near real-time and to build rapport with them.

Customer master data management not only facilitates accuracy of records within the CRM, it also sources data from other systems and services, thus validating and enriching customer records. Improving the customer data quality with additional attributes is the foundation for optimizing the customer service by providing immediate access to a single source of truth that includes all of that customer’s encounters with the company, as well as their preferences.

To deliver success as a master data management manager, focus on having accurate, enriched customer data. This will quickly show results whether you’re in retail, banking, insurance, manufacturing, B2C or B2B.

The business case for improving customer data is based on the fact that it’s expensive to acquire new customers whereas retaining existing customers is much cheaper. Investing in customer retention is therefore much more likely to pay off.


Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo

Auria Moore has worked in the data space for over 20 years in a variety of industries. Her passion for driving value-based outcomes for customers is helping companies succeed in all aspects of their data management and digital transformation strategies.

Discover Blogs by Topic

  • MDM strategy
  • Customer and party data
  • Retail and distribution
  • See more
  • Data governance
  • Manufacturing
  • Supplier data
  • Data quality
  • Product data and PIM
  • AI and machine learning
  • CPG
  • Financial services
  • GDPR
  • Sustainability
  • Location data
  • PDX Syndication

Data Governance Trends 2024

1/30/24

NRF 2024 Recap: In the AI era, better data can make all the difference

1/19/24

Building Supply Chain Resilience: Strategies & Examples

12/19/23

How Master Data Management Can Enhance Your ERP Solution

12/14/23

Shedding Light on Climate Accountability and Traceability in Retail

11/29/23

What is Smart Manufacturing and Why Does it Matter?

10/11/23

Future Proof Your Retail Business with Composable Commerce

10/9/23

5 Common Reasons Why Manufacturers Fail at Digital Transformation

10/5/23

How to Digitally Transform a Restaurant Chain

9/29/23

Three Benefits of Moving to Headless Commerce and the Role of a Modern PIM

9/14/23

12 Steps to a Successful Omnichannel and Unified Commerce

7/6/23

CGF Global Summit 2023: Unlock Sustainable Growth With Collaboration and Innovation

7/5/23

Navigating the Current Challenges of Supply Chain Management

6/28/23

Responsible AI relies on data governance

5/11/23

Product Data Management during Mergers and Acquisitions

4/6/23

Master Data Management Definitions: The Complete A-Z of MDM

3/14/23

4 Ways to Reduce Ecommerce Returns

3/8/23

Asset Data Governance is Central for Asset Management

3/1/23

Digital Product Passports

2/24/23

4 Common Master Data Management Implementation Styles

2/21/23

How to Leverage Internet of Things with Master Data Management

2/14/23

Manufacturing Trends and Insights in 2023-2025

2/14/23

Sustainability in Retail Needs Governed Data

2/13/23

What is Augmented Data Management?

2/9/23

NRF 2023: Retail Turns to AI and Automation to Increase Efficiencies

1/20/23

What is the difference between CPG and FMCG?

1/18/23

8 Best Practices for Customer Master Data Management

1/16/23

5 Key Manufacturing Challenges in 2023

1/16/23

What is a Golden Customer Record in Master Data Management?

1/9/23

The Future of Master Data Management: Trends in 2023-2025

1/8/23

Innovation in Retail

1/4/23

5 CPG Industry Trends and Opportunities for 2023-2025

12/5/22

Life Cycle Assessment Scoring for Food Products

11/21/22

Retail of the Future

11/14/22

Omnichannel Strategies for Retail

11/7/22

Hyper-Personalized Customer Experiences Need Multidomain MDM

11/5/22

What is Omnichannel Retailing and What is the Role of Data Management?

10/25/22

Most Common ISO Standards in the Manufacturing Industry

10/18/22

How to Get Started with Master Data Management: 5 Steps to Consider

10/17/22

What is Supply Chain Analytics and Why It's Important

10/12/22

What is Data Quality and Why It's Important

10/12/22

A Data Monetization Strategy - Get More Value from Your Master Data

10/11/22

What Is Master Data Governance – And Why You Need It?

10/7/22

An Introductory Guide: What is Data Intelligence?

10/1/22

Revolutionizing Manufacturing: 5 Must-Have SaaS Systems for Success

9/15/22

An Introductory Guide to Supplier Compliance

9/7/22

What is Application Data Management and How Does It Differ From MDM?

8/29/22

Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Industry

8/25/22

Master Data Management Framework: Get Set for Success

8/17/22

Discover the Value of Your Data: Master Data Management KPIs & Metrics

8/15/22

Master Data Management Roles and Responsibilities

7/17/22

Supplier Self-Service: Everything You Need to Know

6/15/22

Omnichannel vs. Multichannel: What’s the Difference?

6/14/22

Digital Transformation in the CPG Industry

6/14/22

Create a Culture of Data Transparency - Begin with a Solid Foundation

6/10/22

The 5 Biggest Retail Trends for 2023-2025

5/31/22

What is a Location Intelligence?

5/31/22

Omnichannel Customer Experience: The Ultimate Guide

5/30/22

Location Analytics – All You Need to Know

5/26/22

Omnichannel Commerce: Creating a Seamless Shopping Experience

5/24/22

Top 4 Data Management Trends in the Insurance Industry

5/11/22

What is Supply Chain Visibility and Why It's Important

5/1/22

6 Features of an Effective Master Data Management Solution

4/30/22

What is Digital Asset Management?

4/23/22

The Ultimate Guide to Data Transparency

4/21/22

How Manufacturers Can Shift to Product-as-a-Service Offerings

4/20/22

How to Check Your Enterprise Data Foundation

4/16/22

An Introductory Guide to Manufacturing Compliance

4/14/22

Multidomain MDM vs. Multiple Domain MDM

3/31/22

Making Master Data Accessible: What is Data as a Service (DaaS)?

3/29/22

How to Build a Successful Data Governance Strategy

3/23/22

What is Unified Commerce? Key Advantages & Best Practices

3/22/22

How to Choose the Right Data Quality Tool?

3/22/22

What is a Data Domain?

3/21/22

6 Best Practices for Data Governance

3/17/22

5 Advantages of a Master Data Management System

3/16/22

A Unified Customer View: What Is It and Why You Need It

3/9/22

Supply Chain Challenges in the CPG Industry

2/24/22

Data Migration to SAP S/4HANA ERP - The Fast and Safe Approach with MDM

2/17/22

The Best Data Governance Tools You Need to Know About

2/17/22

Top 5 Most Common Data Quality Issues

2/14/22

What Is Synthetic Data and Why It Needs Master Data Management

2/10/22

What is Cloud Master Data Management?

2/8/22

How to Implement Data Governance

2/7/22

Build vs. Buy Master Data Management Software

1/28/22

Why is Data Governance Important?

1/27/22

Five Reasons Your Data Governance Initiative Could Fail

1/24/22

How to Turn Your Data Silos Into Zones of Insight

1/21/22

How to Improve Supplier Experience Management

1/16/22

​​How to Improve Supplier Onboarding

1/16/22

How to Enable a Single Source of Truth with Master Data Management

1/13/22

What is a Data Quality Framework?

1/11/22

How to Measure the ROI of Master Data Management

1/11/22

What is Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS)?

1/7/22

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Data Governance Framework

1/4/22

Introducing the Master Data Management Maturity Model

1/3/22

Master Data Management Tools - and Why You Need Them

12/20/21

The Dynamic Duo of Data Security and Data Governance

12/20/21

How to Choose the Right Supplier Management Solution

12/20/21

How Data Transparency Enables Sustainable Retailing

12/6/21

What is Supplier Performance Management?

12/1/21

What is Party Data? All You Need to Know About Party Data Management

11/28/21

What is Data Compliance? An Introductory Guide

11/18/21

How to Create a Marketing Center of Excellence

11/14/21

The Complete Guide: How to Get a 360° Customer View

11/7/21

What is the Difference Between Master Data and Metadata?

11/1/21

How Location Data Adds Value to Master Data Projects

10/29/21

How Marketers Should Prepare for the 2023 Holiday Shopping Season

10/26/21

What is Supplier Lifecycle Management?

10/19/21

What is a Data Mesh? A Simple Introduction

10/15/21

How to Build a Master Data Management Strategy

9/26/21

10 Signs You Need a Master Data Management Platform

9/2/21

What Vendor Data Is and Why It Matters to Manufacturers

8/31/21

3 Reasons High-Quality Supplier Data Can Benefit Any Organization

8/25/21

4 Trends in the Automotive Industry

8/11/21

What is Reference Data and Reference Data Management?

8/9/21

What Obstacles Are Impacting the Global Retail Recovery?

8/2/21

GDPR as a Catalyst for Effective Data Governance

7/25/21

All You Need to Know About Supplier Information Management

7/21/21

5 Tips for Driving a Centralized Data Management Strategy

7/3/21

Data Governance and Data Protection, a Match Made in Heaven?

6/29/21

Welcome to the Decade of Transparency

5/26/21

How to Become a Customer-Obsessed Brand

5/12/21

How to Create a Master Data Management Roadmap in Five Steps

4/27/21

What is a Data Catalog? Definition and Benefits

4/13/21

How to Improve the Retail Customer Experience with Data Management

4/8/21

How to Improve Your Data Management

3/31/21

How to Choose the Right Master Data Management Solution

3/29/21

Business Intelligence and Analytics: What's the Difference?

3/25/21

Spending too much on Big Data? Try Small Data and MDM

3/24/21

What is a Data Lake? Everything You Need to Know

3/21/21

How to Extract More Value from Your Data

3/17/21

Are you making decisions based on bad HCO/HCP information?

2/24/21

Why Master Data Cleansing is Important to CPG Brands

1/20/21

CRM 2.0 – It All Starts With Master Data Management

12/19/20

5 Trends in Telecom that Rely on Transparency of Master Data

12/15/20

10 Data Management Trends in Financial Services

11/19/20

Seasonal Marketing Campaigns: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

11/8/20

What Is a Data Fabric and Why Do You Need It?

10/29/20

Transparent Product Information in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

10/14/20

How to Improve Back-End Systems Using Master Data Management

9/19/20

8 Benefits of Transparent Product Information for Medical Devices

9/1/20

How Retailers Can Increase Online Sales in 2023

8/23/20

Master Data Management (MDM) & Big Data

8/14/20

Key Benefits of Knowing Your Customers

8/9/20

Women in Master Data: Kelly Amavisca, Ferguson

8/5/20

Customer Data in Corporate Banking Reveal New Opportunities

7/21/20

How to Analyze Customer Data With Customer Master Data Management

7/21/20

How to Improve Your 2023 Black Friday Sales in 5 Steps

7/18/20

4 Ways Product Information Management (PIM) Improves the Customer Experience

7/18/20

How to Estimate the ROI of Your Customer Data

7/1/20

Women in Master Data: Rebecca Chamberlain, M&S

6/24/20

How to Personalise Insurance Solutions with MDM

6/17/20

How to Democratize Your Data

6/3/20

How to Get Buy-In for a Master Data Management Solution

5/25/20

How CPG Brands Manage the Impact of Covid-19 in a Post-Pandemic World

5/18/20

5 Steps to Improve Your Data Syndication

5/7/20

Women in Master Data: Gwen Moilanen-Kollar

3/31/20

Marketing Data Quality: Why Is It Important and How to Get Started

3/26/20

Panic Buying: Navigating Long-term Implications and Uncertainty

3/24/20

Women in Master Data: Ditte Brix, IMPACT

2/20/20

Get More Value From Your CRM With Customer Master Data Management

2/17/20

Women in Master Data: Nagashree Devadas, Stibo Systems

2/4/20

How to Create Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Success for CPG Brands

1/3/20

Women in Master Data: Anna Schéle, Ahlsell

10/25/19

Women in Master Data: Morgan Lawrence, Infoverity

9/26/19

Women in Master Data: Sara Friberg, Acando (Part of CGI)

9/13/19

Improving Product Setup Processes Enhances Superior Experiences

8/21/19

How to Improve Your Product's Time to Market With PDX Syndication

7/18/19

8 Tips For Pricing Automation In The Aftermarket

6/1/19

How to Drive Innovation With Master Data Management

3/15/19

Discover PDX Syndication to Launch New Products with Speed

2/27/19

How to Benefit from Product Data Management

2/20/19

What is a Product Backlog and How to Avoid It

2/13/19

How to Get Rid of Customer Duplicates

2/7/19

4 Types of IT Systems That Should Be Sunsetted

1/3/19

How to Use Customer Data Modeling

11/15/18

How to Reduce Time-to-Market with Master Data Management

10/28/18

How to Start Taking Advantage of Your Data

9/12/18

6 Signs You Have a Potential GDPR Problem

8/16/18

GDPR: The DOs and DON’Ts of Personal Data

6/13/18

How Master Data Management Supports Data Security

6/7/18

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the GDPR

5/30/18

Understanding the Role of a Chief Data Officer

4/26/18

3 Steps: How to Plan, Execute and Evaluate Any IoT Initiative

2/20/18

How to Benefit From Customer-Centric Data Management

9/7/17

3 Ways to Faster Innovation with Multidomain Master Data Management

6/7/17

Product Information Management Trends to Consider

5/25/17

4 Major GDPR Challenges and How to Solve Them

5/12/17

How to Prepare for GDPR in Five Steps

2/21/17

How Data Can Help Fight Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals

1/24/17

Create the Best Customer Experience with a Customer Data Platform

1/11/17
Did you like this blog post?

Sign up to get the latest blog content in your inbox.