Audit and improve CRM data quality by identifying missing fields, inconsistent values, duplicate records, and stale data
Systematically identify and resolve data quality issues in your CRM to improve forecast accuracy, reporting, and automation reliability.
Based on Salesforce Data Quality Best Practices and RevOps Co-op Data Governance frameworks, focusing on:
| Claude Does | You Decide |
|---|
| Defines audit criteria | Which fields are required |
| Identifies data issues | Priority of fixes |
| Categorizes problems by type | Who owns cleanup tasks |
| Suggests remediation steps | Automation vs manual fix |
| Creates cleanup reports | Enforcement policies |
Help me create a CRM hygiene audit for [CRM System].
Key objects to audit:
- [Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Opportunities]
Critical fields for each:
- Leads: [list required fields]
- Opportunities: [list required fields]
Our main issues:
- [Describe known problems]
Audit this opportunity data for hygiene issues:
[Paste export or describe data]
Required fields:
- [List fields that must be populated]
Validation rules:
- [List rules like "Stage must match Amount > $0"]
Object Priority (typical):
Field Categories:
Check required fields by object:
Opportunities:
| Field | Criticality | Why Required |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Critical | Forecast, pipeline value |
| Close Date | Critical | Forecast timing |
| Stage | Critical | Pipeline reporting |
| Owner | Critical | Accountability |
| Account | Critical | Company linkage |
| Primary Contact | Important | Communication |
| Next Step | Important | Deal momentum |
| Competitor | Important | Win/loss analysis |
| Loss Reason | Critical (if lost) | Improvement insights |
Accounts:
| Field | Criticality | Why Required |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | Important | Segmentation |
| Employee Count | Important | ICP fit |
| Website | Important | Research, enrichment |
| Billing Address | Critical | Invoicing |
| Account Owner | Critical | Accountability |
Check for standardization issues:
| Issue Type | Example | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Picklist variations | "US" vs "USA" vs "United States" | Reporting breaks |
| Case inconsistency | "ACME" vs "Acme" vs "acme" | Duplicates |
| Format variations | "(555) 123-4567" vs "5551234567" | Automation fails |
| Null vs blank | NULL vs "" vs "N/A" | Filters don't work |
Identify likely incorrect data:
| Check | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Stale close dates | Past date, still open | Update or close |
| Amount mismatches | $0 in late stage | Verify pricing |
| Stage regression | Stage 4 → Stage 2 | Investigate |
| Impossible values | 200% probability | Fix validation |
| Bounced emails | Marked invalid | Remove or update |
Find potential duplicates:
| Match Type | Criteria | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Exact email | Same email address | 99% duplicate |
| Domain match | Same company domain | 80% duplicate |
| Fuzzy name | Similar company name | Investigate |
| Phone match | Same phone number | 90% duplicate |
Flag stale records:
| Object | Staleness Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Open Opportunity | No activity 30 days | Review with rep |
| Lead | No touch 14 days | Reassign or nurture |
| Account | No contact 90 days | Re-engagement |
| Contact | Bounced + 30 days | Archive |
Input:
Audit these opportunities:
1. Acme Corp - Stage: Proposal, Amount: $0, Close: Jan 15 (past), Owner: Empty
2. Beta Inc - Stage: Closed Won, Amount: $50K, Close: Feb 1, Loss Reason: "Price"
3. Gamma LLC - Stage: Discovery, Amount: $100K, Close: Mar 30, No activity 45 days
4. Delta Co - Stage: Negotiation, Amount: $75K, Close: Feb 28, Next Step: Empty
5. Echo Systems - Stage: Closed Lost, Amount: $200K, Loss Reason: Empty
Output:
## CRM Hygiene Audit: Opportunities
### Summary
- **Total Records**: 5
- **Critical Issues**: 4
- **Warnings**: 2
- **Clean Records**: 0
### Critical Issues (Fix Immediately)
#### 1. Acme Corp - 3 Critical Issues
| Issue | Field | Current | Required |
|-------|-------|---------|----------|
| 🔴 Missing | Owner | Empty | Assigned rep |
| 🔴 Missing | Amount | $0 | Deal value |
| 🔴 Stale | Close Date | Jan 15 (past) | Future date |
**Action**: Assign owner, verify if deal is active, update amount and close date.
#### 2. Beta Inc - Logic Error
| Issue | Field | Current | Problem |
|-------|-------|---------|---------|
| 🔴 Inconsistent | Loss Reason | "Price" | Stage is "Closed Won" |
**Action**: Either change stage to Closed Lost, or clear Loss Reason.
#### 3. Echo Systems - Missing Required
| Issue | Field | Current | Required |
|-------|-------|---------|----------|
| 🔴 Missing | Loss Reason | Empty | Required for Closed Lost |
**Action**: Rep must document why deal was lost.
#### 4. Delta Co - Missing Next Step
| Issue | Field | Current | Impact |
|-------|-------|---------|--------|
| 🟠 Missing | Next Step | Empty | No clear action |
**Action**: Rep should define next step for Negotiation stage.
### Warnings (Review This Week)
#### 5. Gamma LLC - Stale Deal
| Issue | Indicator | Value |
|-------|-----------|-------|
| 🟡 Stale | Last Activity | 45 days ago |
**Action**: Review with rep - is this deal still active? If yes, update. If no, close lost.
### Hygiene Score: 20/100 (Poor)
### Recommended Actions by Priority
1. **Today**: Fix Acme Corp (no owner = orphaned deal)
2. **Today**: Fix Beta Inc logic error (affects win rate)
3. **This Week**: Get Echo Systems loss reason
4. **This Week**: Update Gamma LLC status
5. **This Week**: Add Delta Co next step
### Process Recommendations
- Add validation rule: Amount required when Stage > Discovery
- Add validation rule: Owner required on all opportunities
- Add validation rule: Loss Reason required when Closed Lost
- Create stale deal report (no activity 30+ days)
Input:
Check these accounts for duplicates:
1. Acme Corporation, acme.com, San Francisco
2. ACME Corp, acme.com, SF
3. Acme Inc, acme-inc.com, San Francisco
4. Beta Technologies, beta.io, New York
5. Beta Tech, betatech.com, NYC
6. Beta Technologies Inc, beta.io, New York
Output:
## Duplicate Detection Report
### High Confidence Duplicates (Merge)
#### Duplicate Set 1: Acme Corporation
| Record | Name | Domain | Location | Confidence |
|--------|------|--------|----------|------------|
| #1 | Acme Corporation | acme.com | San Francisco | Master |
| #2 | ACME Corp | acme.com | SF | 99% - Same domain |
**Recommendation**: Merge #2 into #1
- Same domain (acme.com)
- Same location (SF = San Francisco)
- Name variation only (Corp vs Corporation)
#### Duplicate Set 2: Beta Technologies
| Record | Name | Domain | Location | Confidence |
|--------|------|--------|----------|------------|
| #4 | Beta Technologies | beta.io | New York | Master |
| #6 | Beta Technologies Inc | beta.io | New York | 99% - Same domain |
**Recommendation**: Merge #6 into #4
- Same domain (beta.io)
- Same location (New York)
- Name variation only (Inc suffix)
### Investigate (Possible Duplicates)
#### Possible Set 1: Acme variations
| Record | Name | Domain | Location | Confidence |
|--------|------|--------|----------|------------|
| #1 | Acme Corporation | acme.com | San Francisco | - |
| #3 | Acme Inc | acme-inc.com | San Francisco | 40% |
**Recommendation**: Investigate manually
- Same location, similar name
- BUT different domains (acme.com vs acme-inc.com)
- Could be: subsidiary, different company, or typo
#### Possible Set 2: Beta variations
| Record | Name | Domain | Location | Confidence |
|--------|------|--------|----------|------------|
| #4 | Beta Technologies | beta.io | New York | - |
| #5 | Beta Tech | betatech.com | NYC | 50% |
**Recommendation**: Investigate manually
- Same location (NYC = New York)
- Similar names (Beta Tech vs Beta Technologies)
- Different domains - likely different companies
### Summary
- **Definite Duplicates**: 2 sets (4 records → 2)
- **Possible Duplicates**: 2 sets (need research)
- **Unique Records**: Pending investigation
### Merge Checklist
Before merging, verify:
- [ ] All opportunities moved to master record
- [ ] All contacts linked to master
- [ ] Activity history preserved
- [ ] Custom fields compared
- [ ] Integration IDs noted (for external systems)
## CRM Hygiene Report - Week of [Date]
### Hygiene Score: X/100
### Critical Issues (Fix Today)
| Object | Record | Issue | Owner |
|--------|--------|-------|-------|
### Warnings (Fix This Week)
| Object | Count | Issue Type |
|--------|-------|------------|
### Trends
- Issues closed this week: X
- New issues this week: X
- Net change: +/- X
### Action Items
1.
2.
3.
pipeline-forecasting - Clean data improves forecastslead-scoring - Requires complete lead datadeal-risk-scoring - Depends on activity data