Building the Foundation for a Data-Driven Company

Bad data can thwart the best-planned digital engagement initiatives. According to Gartner, poor data quality costs companies an average of $15 million each year. With an industry-wide focus underway to improve customer reference data¹, life sciences companies are looking to invest in building a data-driven culture. Doing so can drive significant business value.

The pillars of an effective data foundation

Here are four key considerations for becoming a more data-driven organization.

1. The right data ownership – companies need to identify, promote, and empower data owners who understand how to generate actionable insights from data.
2. A requirement for data-driven decision making – executive sponsorship and training may be needed to support a shift away from “gut feel” to data-driven analysis.
3. The right infrastructure and governance – an effective integration strategy is essential, leveraging not only internally sourced data but also third-party data from a trusted partner.
4. Make it easy for the sales team – your data infrastructure should empower your reps with fast and efficient access to accurate data.

Partnering with an external data provider can save millions

Field force effectiveness can be significantly improved by partnering with a customer reference data provider and integrating quality data directly into your CRM system. With the data governed externally, you can free up valuable resources and reduce the burden of in-house database management.

Case Study – Veeva OpenData Business Value Summary (Excerpt)

A global top 20 pharma company assessed the business value of switching to Veeva OpenData, based on the potential reduction in the volume and duration of data change requests (DCRs), the reduction of bad sales calls, and the opportunity for incremental sales calls. They estimated that the resulting efficiency gains would lead to annual savings of $26.5 million globally for their commercial team.

For a more in-depth look at how to become more data-driven, read our eBook on Four Foundations of a Data-driven Company.

^{1. Source: Veeva European Customer Reference Data Survey}