Quality and Integration of Customer Reference Data Need to be Significantly Improved, Says Survey

A new customer reference data survey from Veeva Systems looks at the current state of customer reference data within life sciences across Europe through the opinions and experiences reported by commercial data owners.

The Veeva 2020 European Customer Data Survey shows that the quality and integration of data need to be significantly improved. Some of the key findings include:

• Most (89%) say that customer data quality is a significant challenge for the businesses they support, with 41% in strong agreement with this statement.

• Over two-thirds of respondents (68%) report that their organization has customer data in multiple systems.

• 91% of respondents say that their organisation views customer reference data as a global strategic asset.

• Organizations are changing their approach to customer data, with 78% of respondents reporting that they are undertaking or planning a customer data enhancement initiative.

• Top data enhancement initiatives include improving data access and field force effectiveness (77%), gaining a 360-degree view of customers (77%), and enhancing data quality for accurate reporting /analytics (71%).

“There is increasing urgency throughout the industry to improve the accuracy of customer reference data to better support digital transformation efforts,” commented Rebecca Silver, general manager, Veeva OpenData. “Having a complete, full picture of the customer is key to getting the right insights and accelerating digital engagement.”

The majority of respondents (90%) say that field teams are challenged with aging and incomplete data. Most (89%) say that customer data quality is a significant challenge. Issues with poor data quality are likely driving data enhancement programs, with 88% citing data improvement as a top priority for their organization.

Over two-thirds have data that exists in multiple, unintegrated systems. This lack of integration makes it harder to access customer data. More than three-quarters cite difficulty matching all channels of data to get a single view of their customer interactions. Majorities (55%) report dissatisfaction enabling reps to engage new HCPs with real-time access to customer data.

Respondents show a lack of confidence in their organizations’ ability to manage customer reference data and implement successful data management strategies. More than half (57%) say their organizations lack an efficient data governance model and only 10% of companies surveyed strongly agree they are satisfied with their data governance.

Quality data is key to field performance, notes Veeva, “which explains why the majority of respondents (77%) are focused on better data access to improve sales force effectiveness.”

See further information here.