Get more out of your CRM system by staying on top of your data.
Have you ever found yourself making a follow-up call with a key client, only to find out that another team member has already been in touch with them?
Embarrassed, confused and frustrated, you go to your CRM system.
There, you find there are duplicate records for that particular client, and one of those records has already been assigned to another team member, duplicating the work being done.
This happens all too often. Clients and contacts can emails, phone numbers, even companies that are then incorrectly entered into the CRM. Inaccurate or incomplete data can so easily accumulate and hamper sales and marketing efforts, yet always gets overlooked and rarely addressed.
We already know the importance of adding clean data into your CRM, but how are you then going to maintain the data you have? We’ve narrowed down 5 quick tips that you can follow to ensure CRM data remain relevant and accurate.
1. Maintain complete data.
The problem:
Users can leave an account without completely filling in all the necessary information.
The solution:
Utilize your CRM’s functionality to set mandatory fields and blueprints to set processes that must be followed. Essential fields like Name, Company, Phone, etc will no longer be missed.
2. Avoid entering duplicate leads or contacts
The problem:
Multiple entries of the same individual are getting into your CRM, creating duplicates of the same person/company.
The solution:
Each individual has their own unique email address. Before importing your data into your CRM, perform a search that finds more than one of the same email address. This then gives you time to find duplicates and reconcile them before they enter your CRM.
Additionally, upon importation, your CRM should indicate and stop any duplicate emails entering the system by informing you if the email already exists. If this happens, you can simply update the existing record, rather than creating a duplicate.
3. Merge existing duplicate records
The problem:
Vital information is scattered across duplicate records within your CRM. Name, Company, and Phone are all the same, but from then on information, like notes and sources, are split between the 2 records.
The solution:
With Zoho CRM, you can merge duplicate records, that way no information is lost, just joined together with another record.
4. Maintain a Style Sheet
The problem:
It’s hard to create effective reports and filter records when there is a lack of consistency in the data. For example, a countries name can be entered in different formats: USA, US, United States of America. All meaning the same thing, but the system will pick them up and treat them as different meanings.
The solution:
For this there are 2 solutions:
- Follow a Style Sheet with a list of approved abbreviations and standardised data entry formats for address, company name, etc that all users must follow.
- Use the pre-defined drop-down fields to avoid human error and ensure exact criteria when filtering records.
5. Use Users Roles for security
The problem:
Data comes in from several sources and multiple users can access and change the information. Making sure everyone is producing the correct information is almost impossible.
The solution:
Set up User Roles to restrict what people see or do within the CRM system. This way, users can only change records that are relevant to them and their role within the business.
