Data quality is becoming an important topic in the big data discussion

The advantages of big data have become well known in the past year and the buzz around the term continues to grow, according to MarketingProfs. As interest in advanced analytics strategies continues to balloon, so does the awareness of data quality.

Concerns about data cleanliness are gaining traction among marketing professionals, according to The Guardian. Address management and email verification services may go mainstream as marketers strive to have the cleanest data, which means information is verified and checked for accuracy. Establishing internal governance policies regarding the lifespan of entries and the fields that should be used can help advertising professionals use the information in successful big data endeavors. 

If companies don't run data through internal regulations first, they could run into one of five problems that are cited by MarketingProfs. If big data adopters are using bad data sources, they will find it difficult to extract data that's considered "good" or even "OK," the source explains.

The other major roadblocks listed in the article include asking the wrong questions to guide data analysis, failing to act on the insights that are discovered, missing the necessary tools and, finally, neglecting intuition. Although it isn't always grounded in facts, human instinct has been a linchpin in discoveries that revolutionized the world so far, and  completely foregoing internal hunches can actually lead decision-makers astray.