It’s that time of year when many companies clean their files, organize their data, and clean out the old in preparation for the new. The last fiscal quarter (if your company is on a calendar year) closes out the books in many companies and places a reference point in the year for year-to-year comparisons. This is a great time to add one simple task to your system: a CRM checkup, cleanup, and tune up.
What is a CRM checkup? It’s essentially a data update, or a time you set aside to clean up duplicate, misfiled, and incomplete records. Much of the work can be completed internally, but some, such as identifying customers who have moved and updating their forwarding address with post office information, is easier to accomplish using a third-party database vendor or list vendor.
Let’s take a look at some of the essentials of a CRM checkup.
- Review records. You can run basic reports to find incomplete files and records in your database. You can also review customer files and compare names to find potential duplicates. When running such records, be sure to manually review any potential duplicates. Some will be easy to spot: XYZ Company matched to XYZ Company may be a clear duplicate. But others, such as James H. Black at XYZ Company, James Black, and Jim Black may all refer to the same person. You may need to do some detective work to ascertain whether or not an item is in fact a true duplicate or whether your company just happens to have a lot of Mr. Blacks as contact people. (Stranger things have happened!)
- Update customer communication preferences. Another task that you can tackle during your cleanup project is to update customer preferences. If you do not already track customer communication preferences, it may be wise to add fields now to do so in the future. Customers increasingly expect companies they interact with to remember and utilize their chosen communication preferences. If someone prefers a phone call over an email, it is both courteous and good service to place that phone call. It is also wise, since they may not answer emails swiftly. To update customer preferences, consider sending a short, simple email out to your customers asking them to confirm their choices and offering them the option of changing any at this time. A little courtesy goes a long way to improve customer service.
- Remove defunct records. Customers come and customers go, and some companies go out of business. Designate someone at your company to update records annually, and collect information on companies that have stopped ordering, stopped doing business with you or who have gone out of business. It will not pay to send marketing or other communications materials to such companies.
The end of the year is a time when many people make resolutions, or promises to do things differently. Perhaps it is time to make a resolution that you’ll take better care of your database this year. Your CRM system adds great value to the company’s objectives, but it can only be as valuable as the data it contains. Clean, updated information is the key to a successful CRM system.
BAASS and CRM Systems that Work – for You
At BAASS, we work with companies to provide them with a CRM solution that fits their business needs. We listen to your business challenges and design solutions to help you overcome these challenges. Whether it’s business intelligence data, CRM, HR, ERP, accounting, or other needs, we can help. Contact us or call 1-888-650-5544.
