A customer relationship management (CRM) system is a great way to store information about your business’s customers. It helps you keep track of who your customers are, how they’ve interacted with your business, and even what you need to follow up with them about.
But a CRM system is only as good as the data you put into it. If your CRM is full of outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information, it’s not going to be nearly as useful as it could be.
To get the most out of your CRM, you need to follow good data management practices. Here are nine tips to help you keep your CRM clean and useful.
1. Make sure your CRM is user-friendly.
If your team can’t easily access and update CRM data, they’re not going to do it. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your CRM is user-friendly.
Choose a CRM that’s intuitive and easy to navigate. If you’re already using a CRM and your team is having trouble with it, consider switching to a different platform.
You should also make sure that your team is properly trained on how to use the CRM. If they don’t know how to use it, they’re not going to be able to keep the data clean and useful.
2. Create a formal data management plan.
To maintain a clean and organized CRM, you need to have a plan in place. Many businesses make the mistake of waiting until their data is dirty before they do anything about it. But, by that point, it’s usually too late.
Instead, create a formal data management plan that outlines how you will collect, organize, and maintain your data. This plan should include things like who is responsible for managing the data, how often it will be reviewed, and what tools and processes you will use to keep it clean.
In addition to having a plan for how you will manage your existing data, you should also have a plan for how you will handle new data. This is especially important if you have a lot of data coming in from different sources, like web forms, social media, or third-party apps.
3. Be consistent when entering and updating data.
One of the most important things your sales team can do to keep your CRM database clean and useful is to be consistent when entering and updating data.
This means that your sales team should be using the same terms, formats, and abbreviations when entering data into the CRM. For example, if your sales team enters the name of a city as “New York” in one record, they should not enter it as “NY” in another record.
In addition, your sales team should be updating the CRM database on a regular basis. This will help to ensure that the data in your CRM is accurate and up-to-date.
4. Regularly clean your CRM data.
Like all data, CRM data can become outdated over time. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as a customer changing jobs or a business closing. To ensure that your CRM data is as accurate and up-to-date as possible, it’s important to regularly clean it.
Data cleaning involves going through your CRM and identifying any data that is incorrect, incomplete or outdated. You can then take steps to correct or remove this data. This can be a time-consuming process, but it’s essential if you want to get the most value from your CRM.
One way to make data cleaning easier is to use automation. There are a number of data cleaning tools available that can help you identify and fix data quality issues in your CRM. These tools can save you time and ensure that your data is accurate and up-to-date.
5. Set up automated data capture.
One of the most effective ways to ensure the data in your CRM is accurate and up to date is to set up automated data capture.
This can be done in a number of ways, but one of the most common is to use a data enrichment tool that automatically updates and adds new information to your CRM.
By setting up data enrichment, you can ensure that your CRM is always up to date and that you have the most accurate information possible about your customers and prospects.
6. Create and enforce user permissions.
Not every user on your team needs access to all of the information in your CRM. That’s why it’s important to create user permissions and enforce them.
For example, you might want to give your sales reps access to contact information but not deal information. Or, you might want to give your marketing team access to contact and deal information but not company information.
By creating and enforcing user permissions, you can ensure that your team members only have access to the information they need. This helps to keep your CRM clean and organized.
7. Train your team on data management best practices.
Your CRM is only as good as the data that’s in it. If your team isn’t trained on data management best practices, you’re likely to see a lot of duplicate records, missing data, and other issues that can make your CRM less useful.
Make sure your team knows how to enter data into your CRM correctly, and provide regular training on best practices. This will help you keep your CRM clean and ensure that the data you’re collecting is accurate and useful.
8. Integrate your CRM with other tools.
Your CRM is a powerful tool, but it shouldn’t be the only tool you use to manage your data. By integrating your CRM with other tools, like your email marketing platform or marketing automation tool, you can keep your data organized and up-to-date across all of your systems.
Integrating your CRM with other tools allows you to automatically sync data between systems, so you don’t have to worry about entering it manually. This can save you a lot of time and help you avoid data entry errors.
It also helps you get a more complete view of your customers and prospects. When your data is organized and up-to-date across all of your systems, you can use it to create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
9. Check your CRM data against your sales and marketing strategies.
Your sales and marketing strategies should be constantly updated and refined, and your CRM data should reflect those efforts.
For example, if you are trying to improve your lead scoring, you should regularly review your CRM data to make sure you are scoring your leads correctly.
If you are trying to increase customer retention, you should review your CRM data to identify customers who may be at risk of leaving and then develop a plan to keep them.
By regularly checking your CRM data against your sales and marketing strategies, you can make sure that your efforts are aligned and that you are getting the most out of your data.
Conclusion
Data quality is critical to your business’ success. It can be the difference between a personalized sales or marketing experience and an impersonal one. It can also be the difference between a deal won and a deal lost. Use the tips above to ensure your data is clean and useful for your entire organization.
