The term “Data Hygiene” has become synonymous with running data against suppression files and nothing else which experience has shown is a very clumsy approach.

Acquiring new customers or donors is an expensive process therefore removing any record or even just excluding from any communications is something that requires due consideration.

Prior to matching any data against suppression files it’s important to first check for duplicates and categorise the records. As an example, what’s the point of matching a business address against a consumer suppression file!

Another common mistake is that records are suppressed as gone aways when the new address is already held.

Datahold have consistently demonstrated how Data Hygiene should be applied to ensure quality whilst at the same time minimising costs.