Business

How To Launch A Successful Master Data Management Initiative

Published

3 years ago

January 5, 2023

Adding master data management (MDM) to your business’s digital transformation journey is an excellent way to reduce duplication errors and improve data accuracy. While there are many advantages to using MDM within your company, launching a successful initiative can be intimidating. To learn more about establishing a successful MDM initiative, check out the following steps:

Establish Clear Goals

If your team isn’t sure what your data is intended to do, it will be difficult for your organization to be successful. Effective master data management requires clearly-defined goals and objectives that articulate how MDM will help your organization reach its desired end state. Take time to consider your team’s data goals and establish specific objectives.

Your company’s goals should be well-defined and created in collaboration with stakeholders. This collaboration throughout the company will ensure everyone is on the same page and can work together to achieve a successful initiative.

Create A Data Governance Model

It’s crucial to develop an organized system for your master data management initiative, so it’s best to create a data governance model to ensure data accuracy and consistency. This model should include a detailed data strategy management plan, including roles and responsibilities.

Data governance models usually involve appointing a leader responsible for managing the initiative and ensuring that it adheres to established policies and procedures. Additionally, this model should outline how team members can access and use the data and how it will be maintained and updated over time.

Define Metrics And Measure Progress

The success of your MDM initiative should be measured quantitatively, meaning you should develop a list of metrics that define improvements in the accuracy and consistency of your data. Defining these metrics will help you track your progress and make necessary changes to ensure the initiative is successful.

It’s important to note that metrics are not only used for measuring success but can also be used to identify areas where more work is needed. By regularly assessing your data management initiative, you’ll be able to make improvements and more accurately measure progress.

Test Your Data

It’s essential to test your data to ensure that it is accurate and complete. Use automated processes such as data validation, checksums, and other testing methods to ensure your data’s accuracy before it goes live. Testing will help you avoid costly mistakes due to inaccurate or incomplete data.

Once you have successfully tested your data, it’s time to move forward and launch the initiative. Be sure to communicate any changes clearly, and ensure that the team is all on board with the new system before launching.

Monitor And Adjust

Master data management initiatives are not set in stone and should be monitored regularly to ensure that they continue to meet your organization’s needs. Monitor the metrics you established during the initial launch phase and adjusted them as needed. Keeping a close eye on data will help you stay on top of any changes or trends and allow you to adjust the initiative if it becomes ineffective.

Additionally, don’t be afraid to learn more about your data. Make changes or adjust the initiative as needed. If specific goals aren’t being met or the data is not performing as expected, consider making adjustments to help your team get back on track.

Establish Ongoing Maintenance

Finally, it’s crucial to establish a process for ongoing maintenance to ensure your data’s accuracy over time. This plan should include designing strategies that will streamline the maintenance and update of master data, such as automating specific tasks or setting up alerts when changes need to be made. By establishing a process for ongoing maintenance, you’ll be able to ensure that your data remains accurate and up-to-date.

Ongoing maintenance also requires regular audits to ensure that any changes made do not negatively impact the data. Establishing a risk management process can help you identify and address potential issues before they become too large.

Final Thoughts

By following these steps, you’ll be able to create a successful master data management initiative that will help your organization make the most of its data. A well-managed MDM initiative will ensure that your data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date – all of which are essential for making informed decisions and running a successful business.

Business

Scaling Success: Why Smart Habits Beat Growth Hacks in Modern eCommerce

Published

1 month ago

July 26, 2025

Matthew Wiles

There’s a romanticized image of the eCommerce founder: a daring risk-taker chasing the next big idea, fueled by late-night caffeine and last-minute inspiration. But the reality behind scaled, sustainable brands tells a different story. Success in digital commerce doesn’t come from chaos or clever hacks. It comes from habits. Repetitive, structured, often unglamorous habits.

Change, a digital platform created by eCommerce strategist Ryan, builds its entire philosophy around this truth. Through education, mentorship, and infrastructure, Change helps founders shift from scrambling for quick wins to building strong systems that grow with them. The company doesn’t just offer software. It provides the foundation for digital trade, particularly for those in the B2B space.

The Habits That Build Momentum

At the heart of Change’s philosophy are five core habits Ryan considers non-negotiable. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of sustainable growth.

First, obsess over data. Successful founders replace guesswork with metrics. They don’t rely on gut feelings. They measure performance and iterate.

Second, know your customer deeply. Not just what they buy, but why they buy. The most resilient brands build emotional loyalty, not just transactional volume.

Third, test fast. Algorithms shift. Consumer behavior changes. High-performing teams don’t resist this; they test weekly, sometimes daily, and adapt.

Fourth, manage time like a CEO. Every decision has a cost. Prioritizing high-impact actions isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Fifth, stay connected to mentorship and learning. The digital market moves quickly. The remaining founders are the ones who keep learning, never assuming they know it all.

Turning Habits into Infrastructure

What begins as personal discipline must eventually evolve into a team structure. Change teaches founders how to scale their systems, not just their sales.

Tools are essential for starting, think Notion for documentation, Asana for project management, Mixpanel or PostHog for analytics, and Loom for async communication. But tools alone don’t create momentum.

Teams need Monday metric check-ins, weekly test cycles, customer insight reviews, just to name a few. Founders set the tone by modeling behavior. It’s the rituals that matter, then, they turn it into company culture.

Ryan puts it simply: “We’re not just building tools; we’re building infrastructure for digital trade.”

Avoiding the Common Traps

Even with structure, the path isn’t always smooth. Some founders over-focus on short-term results, chasing vanity metrics or shiny tactics that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Others fall into micromanagement, drowning in dashboards instead of building intuition. Discipline should sharpen clarity, not create rigidity. Flexibility is part of the process. Knowing when to pivot is just as important as knowing when to persist.

Scaling Through Self-Replication

In the end, eCommerce scale isn’t just about growing a business. It’s about repeating successful systems at every level. When founders internalize high-performance habits, they turn them into processes, then culture, then legacy.

Growth doesn’t require more motivation. It requires more precision. More consistency. Your calendar, not your to-do list, is your business plan.

In a space dominated by noise and novelty, Change and its founder are quietly reshaping the conversation. They aren’t chasing trends but building resilience, one habit at a time.