Blog · Data quality and reconciliation
The difference between a baseline, an account's own typical level from its own history, and a norm, what similar accounts do when the relationship is full, why the two answer different questions, has this account changed and how far is it from where it could be, which measures use which, surge and dormancy against baseline, gap and share against norm, the case where an account is at its baseline and far from the norm, and the rule that both are stated on the line that uses them.
Two questions are asked of every account: has it changed, and how far is it from where it could be. They have different references. The first is answered against the account's own history; the second against similar accounts. This guide sets out baseline and norm, which measures use which, the case where they diverge, and the rule.
| Baseline | Norm | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | The account's own history | Similar accounts, full relationship |
| Question | Has this account changed? | How far is it from where it could be? |
| Computed from | The account's own events over a window | The population's events in a cell |
| Needs | The account's history | The cell's members |
| Used by | Surge, silence, dormancy, quiet clients, forecast bias per rep | Gap, share of wallet, whitespace, products per customer, expected basket |
| Measure | Reference | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket surge | Baseline | Whether this account's volume changed |
| Dormancy | Baseline (own cadence) | Whether this account's silence is unusual for it |
| Quiet client | Baseline, with the desk's ratio | Whether this client's flow changed, net of the market |
| Share of wallet | Norm | How much of what similar accounts spend we hold |
| Whitespace | Norm | Which lines similar accounts hold |
| Expected basket | Norm | What kitchens of this type buy |
| Renewal timing | Baseline | Whether this partner is late for it |
| Segment norm movement | Norm | Whether the reference itself moved |
| Account | Baseline: weekly orders | This week | Surge or silence | Norm: spend per site | Actual | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4471 | 3 | 3 | Neither: steady | $95,000 | $30,000 | $65,000 |
| 2207 | 8 | 2 | Silence | $95,000 | $92,000 | None |
Account 4471 is exactly itself and a third of the norm: a growth account that has not changed. Account 2207 is at the norm and has gone quiet: a retention account that has. Each reference alone would miss one.
Account identifiers only.
Every line that uses a baseline states the window. Every line that uses a norm states the cell and the count. A line that uses both shows both.
Norm used for surge. Every small account is always "below" and the change is invisible.
Baseline used for gap. An account compared to itself is always at its own level.
Both unstated. A movement whose reference nobody can name.
New accounts scored on a baseline they do not have. One week of history as the reference.
Mapped once, the account's own history produces the baselines with their windows, and the customer master and the population produce the norms with their cells, and every line that uses either states it. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The norm guide covers the second reference, and the surge list guide covers the first in use.
No. A norm is drawn from a population of similar accounts, so that the question 'how far from where it could be' has a reference outside the account. An account compared to itself can only be asked whether it changed, which is the baseline's question.
The baseline needs the account's own history, twelve weeks or a year depending on the measure. The norm needs the population's, and enough members in the cell. A new account has no baseline and is measured against the norm only, with the baseline marked as not yet available.
Because a reader who sees a surge at an account below norm, or a gap at an account whose baseline just fell, needs both to read the row. Surge at a small account is a service finding; a gap at an account whose spend just halved is a retention finding. The two references together are the context.