10 Signs You Have a Salesforce Data Quality Problem (and How to Fix Them)

Your Salesforce CRM should be your organization’s single source of truth—the engine driving smarter sales, marketing, and service decisions. But what happens when that engine is fueled by bad data?

Poor data quality is more than a minor annoyance. It quietly erodes productivity, derails automation, skews reports, and ultimately damages customer trust.

At Winobell, we’ve helped businesses across industries tackle this invisible problem head-on. The good news? The first step to fixing it is recognizing the symptoms.

Here are the 10 telltale signs your Salesforce org has a data quality issue—and what you can do to fix it.

1️⃣ Duplicate Records Are Everywhere

The Sign: Sales reps contact the same person twice. Marketing emails go to multiple addresses. You see several versions of “ABC Corporation.”

The Impact: Wasted effort, confusion, unprofessional interactions, bloated database, and inaccurate reports.

How to Fix It:

• Set up matching & duplicate rules in Salesforce

• Use third-party deduplication tools

• Educate users on standardized data entry

• Implement proactive data governance practices

2️⃣ Incomplete or Missing Key Information

The Sign: Fields like “Industry,” “Phone,” or “Lead Source” are frequently blank, making segmentation and reporting difficult.

The Impact: Poor lead qualification, ineffective targeting, and fragmented customer profiles.

How to Fix It:

• Make key fields required

• Use validation rules and picklists

• Audit data entry regularly

• Customize layouts to highlight priority fields

3️⃣ Inconsistent Naming & Formatting

The Sign: You see “Google,” “Google Inc.,” and “Google, Inc.” listed as separate accounts. Phone numbers have 5 different formats.

The Impact: Inefficient search, inaccurate grouping, and challenges with merging and reporting.

How to Fix It:

• Establish data entry standards

• Enforce format consistency with validation rules

• Use tools for automated data normalization

• Standardize key fields using picklists or global value sets

4️⃣ Reports & Dashboards Can’t Be Trusted

The Sign: Your reports don’t align with what your teams are experiencing. Forecasts feel off. ROI dashboards are questioned.

The Impact: Poor strategic decisions and lost executive confidence in CRM data.

How to Fix It:

• Start with a data cleanse

• Audit field usage and report logic

• Standardize values that feed key metrics

• Tie dashboard KPIs to cleaned, validated data sources

5️⃣ Users Are Frustrated or Avoid Using Salesforce

The Sign: Sales teams revert to spreadsheets. Agents struggle to find info. Marketing users rely on exports.

The Impact: Low adoption, process inefficiencies, and wasted CRM investment.

How to Fix It:

• Clean up cluttered layouts and fields

• Improve training with real-life use cases

• Connect clean data to outcomes that matter (e.g., faster selling, better follow-up)

• Listen to user pain points and fix root data causes

6️⃣ You’re Working with Outdated or Stale Data

The Sign: You’re emailing contacts who left years ago. Customers are misclassified. Accounts show outdated statuses.

The Impact: Embarrassing interactions, wasted effort, and compliance risks.

How to Fix It:

• Regularly review, update, or archive old records

• Use email validation & enrichment tools

• Define and automate data aging and retention rules

• Create reports for "last activity" and "stale" record detection

7️⃣ You Rely Too Heavily on Spreadsheets and Manual Entry

The Sign: Teams export data to Excel for manipulation or manually enter repetitive data that could be automated.

The Impact: Human error, slow workflows, and loss of real-time visibility.

How to Fix It:

• Automate input using web forms, integrations, and flows

• Identify bottlenecks and implement workflow automation

• Reduce dependency on exports with dynamic dashboards

8️⃣ Marketing Can’t Segment Effectively

The Sign: It’s hard to build campaigns based on attributes like industry, region, or lifecycle stage due to inconsistent or missing data.

The Impact: Generic messaging, lower conversions, and underperforming campaigns.

How to Fix It:

• Audit segmentation fields

• Standardize values using picklists or enrichment tools

• Enforce completeness at record creation with field validation

9️⃣ Data Conflicts Between Salesforce and Other Systems

The Sign: Integration with ERP, marketing tools, or support systems leads to mismatches or syncing errors.

The Impact: Reconciliation nightmares, reporting discrepancies, and reduced trust across platforms.

How to Fix It:

• Define data ownership and field mapping across systems

• Standardize formats pre-integration

• Monitor with error-handling mechanisms

• Apply governance across your full system architecture

🔟 You’re Not Confident About Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)

The Sign: You’re unsure if consent is tracked correctly or if sensitive data is properly stored, secured, and deletable on request.

The Impact: Legal risk, financial penalties, and brand damage.

How to Fix It:

• Implement consent fields and tracking logic

• Create data retention and deletion policies

• Restrict access with role-based permissions

• Run a regular compliance audit in Salesforce

🔧 How Winobell Can Help

At Winobell, we specialize in Salesforce Data Governance and Quality Improvement. We help businesses clean, organize, and govern their Salesforce data for long-term success—turning your CRM into a source of strategic advantage.

Our services include:

• Data audits & cleansing

• Duplicate management

• Governance framework design

• Automation & validation rule setup

• Cross-system integration data alignment

• GDPR/CCPA readiness

📈 Don't Let Bad Data Cost You Growth

Want to find out how your Salesforce data measures up?

Let’s schedule a free data health assessment.

📩 Email us at support@winobell.com to learn more.