Would you give a complete stranger the keys to your house and access to all your belongings? If the answers no (which quite obviously it would be) then you should then ask yourself the same question when it comes to your dealerships data. Your dealership data is one of the most valuable assets you have at your disposal, so it makes sense to protect it. Each day there are many threats to your data and only you have the power to put an effective procedure in place to ensure your data quality, integrity and security remains high.

Whether you access your data to update information, run a marketing campaign or gain an insight into your client base, every time your data is being maintained there’s a risk to its integrity, which could be easily compromised. An extra key stroke or an accidental button press can ruin client contact information. One thing is for sure, if a third party requests access to your data you need to ask yourself these important questions.

Do you know exactly how your data will be used?

As we all know, there is nothing more annoying than being cold called by a company you have never even heard of. You want to know exactly how they got your details. From a dealerships perspective, by handing your data over to another company for your marketing campaign, your data can be potentially used for other people’s marketing campaigns. The lesson to be leant from this is that you need a strict policy around data use by third parties is in place.

What will you do if your data quality is compromised?

You can pass the blame as much as you like, however when the data is incorrect it needs to be fixed. It’s very hard to pin down the exact time, location and person responsible for the data error – unless you have DMS that regularly record and stores your CRM and allows you to complete partial system updates. The fix to correct this data is going to come straight from your back pocket, this additional time and resources holding you back from other priorities. These are just some of the inherited risks associated with passing your data onto a third party.

Who should you allow to access your data?

Only your staff and DMS provider should be able to access your data as they understand the respect and integrity your data deserves. The way your staff uses the CRM information and contacts your clients is a reflection of your company, you need to ensure people are well spoken, professional and understand how delicate some contacts may be. Building a relationship with third parties must be formed on a foundation of trust; however the likes of call centres and other associated organisations still need to be carefully examined.

The final question you really need to ask yourself is, why does someone need to access your data? After all, without your data being accurate it is impossible to contact a customer for that exciting marketing campaign to bring in addition revenue. Data should be treated with respect, it needs to remain protected from any external threats whilst also being flexible to be used in the way desired and finally, your data needs to be secure.

The end result is data corruption will affect your bottom line, so who do you trust with your data?