Is Your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System Doomed To Fail?

"Right, People. Let's blast out that mail campaign we've been planning for so long."

It's time to put your trusty CRM software to work; to let it earn its keep. You run a search of people and companies you want to target.

You soon realize something's wrong when your list is far smaller than anticipated. A quick check reveals many profiles/categories have not been filled in, impacting your search results. Further inspection shows numerous records are incorrect; others are riddled with typos. And that's just for starters.

With a sinking feeling, you realize that last push isn't going to happen in a hurry.

Time for some Damage Control or Preventative Maintenance.

Fortunately one of the most common reasons cited for the high failure rate of CRM systems - poor data quality - is also one of the easiest to avoid.

Your CRM software is only as good as the information it contains. As the old programmers motto goes 'garbage in, garbage out'.

So how can you avoid incomplete, incorrect, irrelevant or out-of-date and generally unfit-for-use data from permeating your CRM software?

You need to gather your key CRM users together and thrash out a DATA CAPTURE PROCEDURE document, defining the rules of use.

Spell out:

? Who has what rights to the system; who can Create, Insert, Modify or Delete records, assuming your software supports all these functions? Forward this information to your system administrator to action.

? Decide on a procedure to check for any duplicates before creating a record. Depending on what 'de-duping' or 'data scrubbing' features your system has, this might require some simple searches before starting a new record.

? Do you allow abbreviations or acronyms? For example: IBM, or I.B.M, or International Business Machines Inc. or Incorporated and so on. A policy on ensuring consistency of input will help to avoid duplications in future.

? Are records going to be created in Upper and Lower case and when are CAPS acceptable?

? By when do you expect records, notes and so on to be created or updated? Same day, on return to the office?

? Check to see whether your Postal Services have specific requirements. Ensure your data meets these criteria.

? Is the primary address of clients to be created as a postal or a physical address?

? Make sure everyone checks spellings if they are unsure and do not trust spellchecker! When in doubt, ask the client ? they'll respect that. Is it Clark with an 'e'; Shawn, Sean or Shaun? One certain way to get your mail binned is to spell someone's name incorrectly.

? Also confirm the kind of corporation e.g. LLC, Inc, PTY Ltd. and so on.

? Make rules for creating new profiles or User Definable Fields (UDF) (or whatever your specific CRM software calls them.) Place a lot of emphasis on this. Every time a new UDF is needed, it should first be approved. Otherwise duplicates will permeate your database e.g. Lead Source: Yellow Pages, YP, yelo pages.

? Ensure that email addresses are put in correctly. Basic but common mistake!

? Set up procedures, if not supported by your software, of how to create records from inbound emails.

? If applicable, are you going to use Mandatory/Forced fields?

You might as well address the issue of Backups while you are about it.

? Who is the responsible person for backing up your databases/s? Who covers for them when they are absent or unavailable?

? How frequently are backups to be done? Diarise!

? How are backups done e.g. by the Grandfather, Father, Son method.

? Ensure backups are made on good quality CD's or whatever format you are using. It's no good doing a backup, then finding on attempting a Restore that it doesn't work! It is also a good idea to copy backups onto more than one data format.

? Where are the backups to be stored?

? Are the backups secure? This is important for both security and practical reasons.

Once your Data Capture Procedure Document is finished, get everyone to sign it off as READ!

As standard practice, ensure that document is handed to all new employees at your company.

Refer back to this document for possible revision every three months or so.

Try this: select a couple of records - both good and bad - every week, to put on the overhead at staff meetings. Make sure you don't unduly embarrass anybody but watch this become the light-relief highlight of your meetings! People learn best when having fun!

What if your database is in one unholy mess?

Has the rot set in so deeply that your database needs a complete overhaul? Turn this seemingly insurmountable task into an opportunity to you. This is an excellent excuse to re-establish contact with your clients and let them know you care. You can always put lapses down to data crashes but tell them you have fixed the problem!

Importantly, help your staff understand what you need from the data to facilitate more accurate marketing and reporting and hence the success of your business and their careers.

By creating a sense of pride and ownership in the company database, you are nurturing the essential process of buy-in, necessary for the success of your CRM initiative. Don't compromise this critical tool by allowing your CRM software to be infected by inferior data.

About The Author

Perry Norgarb has specialized in Small Business CRM solutions for the last 15 years.

Contact him or find out more about CRM, Contact Management and other Sales Tracking software tips and solutions for small businesses at: http://www.smallbizcrm.com.

You are free to re-publish this article as long as this bio box and copyright remain intact. © 10 December, 2004.

---

Loyal Customers Take Commitment

In today's competitive world of retail, many stores are implementing external marketing programs designed to attract new business.Unfortunately, the cost can be very high with little return... Read More

Become a Customer Enthusiasm-Guru!

One thing all successful small business owners have in common is the knowledge that their business is based on enthusiastic customers. Despite their multi-tasking titles of bookkeeper,... Read More

5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By

Whether online or off, if you plan on running or maintaining any type of credibility within your business, there are some guidelines that are safe to say... Read More

Writing The Book On Great Customer Service

Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up near my small book store. Already I can see my business starting to decline. Is there anything... Read More

Stay - Say - Pay

Would you like to have customers that stay with you and don't buy from your competitors? Customers that say nice things about your business to other people;... Read More

More Customers - Watch those Little Things

Two situations, two perfectly acceptable experiences, but in one case, an excitement about great service and in the other case, just OK.The LaptopI have a laptop which... Read More

How to Succeed in Business Without Compromising Your Integrity

I spent some twenty years in the corporate world, for much of it I was not particularly interested in spirituality. It was a world where profits reigned... Read More

Service Equals Performance Equals Service

Service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party... Read More

Dealing with Disgruntled Customers

No matter how hard you try, in business you simply can't please everyone. You could have a highly trained customer service squadron and an award-winning product, but... Read More

We Sell For Less and Our Stores Are a Mess!

What kind of image do you present when marketing your products? Are you professional and well organized or does your store/site/whatever scream, "sloppy!," to those who matter... Read More

How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus

Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I just include... Read More

Tips for Curing Bad Customer Service

Bad customer service is everywhere these days - unmanned front desks, surly servers, clueless staff, employees talking on the phone, and managers who refuse to acknowledge a... Read More

You Bever Know Who Youre Serving

You Never Know Who You're Serving when customers turn irate.I think of myself as a reasonable person. It takes a lot to upset me, but upset I... Read More

4 Tips Toward Overcoming Bad Customer Service

Customer service is the pits, you say. You are not alone. One of the biggest gripes from consumers today is the poor service they receive at the... Read More

Handling Customer Complaints

Even the best business will receive an occasional customer complaint. Knowing how to resolve these complaints will help you gain loyal customers who will then refer others... Read More

Empowering Customer Service Vital

It never fails to amaze me how many companies have employees who are empowered to offer former customers wonderful incentives to lure them back, yet their customer... Read More

Handling Difficult Customers - 8 Strategies

In any business our customers are one of our most important assets. Unfortunately there are days when not all customers want to be friendly or pleasant. On... Read More

Whats For Lunch?

As an entrepreneur, I'm always intrigued by small businesses, home-based or not, that exceed the expectations of their customers in a big way.Let me tell you about... Read More

Making Your Contacts Work For You

The best way to explain this concept is to tell you a story. While calling for lease purchasing property, I spoke with an older widowed woman. I... Read More

Are You Putting Technology Before Your Customers?

Which is more important the technology or the customer?The one thing about the online world you can be sure of is change. It seems like every day... Read More

And The Difference is... Attitude

I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As the person who was going to check me in approached, he smiled (which shocked me) and said,... Read More

Customer Satisfaction and the Service Business

The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service business is a direct one. Customer satisfaction measurement, however, is a much more complex matter. Customer satisfaction... Read More

Breaking the Ice and Winning Over the Client!

Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every business strategy and tactic available to man, from how to make a great presentation to strategies for... Read More

How Not to Get Stiffed, Improving Your Collection Procedures

Some businesses have slow paying customers or past due balances because they didn't "train" their customers in the beginning.It is important that your customers know your credit... Read More

Renewing Customer Loyalty

Every business loses customers, but not many do much about getting them back. And that is a big mistake. Studies show that the average business looses 20... Read More

At Your Service: The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service!

Customer service is an integral part of our job and should not be seen as an extension of it. A company's most vital asset is its customers.... Read More