Data hygiene: what it is, best practices & how to improve it

Data hygiene is a continuous process focused on maintaining the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of data to ensure it remains reliable and usable over time. As data decays at an average rate of 30% per year, organizations face challenges such as duplicate records, invalid information, and inconsistent formatting, which can undermine marketing efforts, personalization strategies, and decision-making. Effective data hygiene practices, including regular audits, standardizing naming conventions, and understanding data lifecycles, help mitigate these issues, leading to improved customer experiences, increased revenue, and enhanced data security. Automated tools and platforms like Twilio Segment can assist businesses by providing features such as data validation, shared data dictionaries, and universal tracking plans to streamline and enforce data hygiene protocols. Maintaining good data hygiene not only supports accurate and efficient operations but also ensures compliance with security regulations like GDPR and CCPA, ultimately protecting both the business and its customers.