Gone aways are people who have moved address; in many cases when gone aways move they will not notify you that they have done so, leading to a breakdown in communication.
Gone aways are a key data decay catalyst in consumer databases, and when you consider around 1 in 10 people move each year you can appreciate that your company could hold incorrect customer data, which may not only be losing you custom, but contravening Data Protection law.
Gone aways have a profound effect on many businesses across many industries and for many different reasons.
- Attempting to contact a gone away at their previous address is not only a waste of time and resources but will reflect badly on your brand. The new occupier will naturally perceive you to be out of touch with your customer base
- It is a requirement under the Data Protection Act that all personal details held be current and relevant. Holding historic data could be considered a breach
- A gone away could be a valuable customer
These reasons make identifying and tracing gone aways imperative.
Locate Gone Aways
The first step in tackling your gone away problem is identifying genuine gone aways. The most efficient and cost-effective way of doing this is to carry out a thorough data cleansing exercise, which should include gone away suppression or flagging.
At Tracesmart Corporate our data cleansing solution utilises several key UK gone away suppression files – the Universal Suppression Service file from Royal Mail and Purity from Acxiom to accurately identify true gone aways.
Gone Aways Tracing
Once gone aways have been identified you may wish to trace them, the Tracesmart Corporate online tracing system holds fresh contact information for the majority of the UK population, enabling you to trace customers who have gone away.
We also offer batch tracing solutions for locating high volume gone aways in all vertical markets, as well as a complete trace outsourcing solution for non debtor tracing purposes.
Subscribe today and instantly relocate gone aways, or contact Tracesmart Corporate for more information.
