The data stored in a CRM is invaluable to sales and customer service professionals, but only if it’s of high quality and up to date. The sad truth is that more than 25% of data within a given company is likely flawed, according to Gartner.
Sure, most people probably don’t particularly enjoy data entry and might even consider it a waste of time, but inputting your data—and complete data—into your CRM upfront will likely save you time and resources in the future.
So what are some things you can do to help improve your CRM data?
1. Enter your data in real-time (or as close to real-time as possible).
You don’t want to wait until the end of the day to log interactions you had with a prospect during your morning sales meeting. It’s completely normal for people to forget things, and by entering your data in real-time, you can avoid potentially leaving out valuable information. We’ve made updating your CRM even easier thanks to our native mobile apps. Now you can update your CRM virtually anywhere from any device.
2. Remove duplicate records.
Having multiple records for the same contact can not only skew important data, but it can cause inconveniences for both sales reps and the customer. Try to identify duplicates and merge the data together, creating only one record for each customer. This will help ensure that the insight that you’re gathering from your CRM is accurate and effective.
Our interactive worksheet compares the benefits offered by Nutshell, your existing contact management solution, and any other CRMs you’re currently evaluating.
3. Missing data? Add it in!
Be sure to always include complete data. That means filling in all of the fields within your CRM. If you’re lacking information, that CRM data instantly becomes less valuable to sales and marketing professionals, and your visibility into who your customers are will remain incomplete. If you use lead capture forms for your marketing efforts, be sure to require all of the information that will need to go into your CRM.
4. Keep data up-to-date.
This is extremely important. Outdated information can cost a sales person valuable time and even a sale. Businesses and individuals often relocate or change contact information which would cause existing information to be inaccurate. It’s always good to continuously update your CRM database with the most up-to-date information you have.Remember, CRM is only as good as the data it holds. Get the most from your investment by inputting and updating your database with complete, accurate, and up-to-date information and you’ll soon identify more opportunities that will positively impact your bottom line.
🎉 New in 2022: Nutshell Forms now allows users to create beautiful, custom forms to be hosted on any website or landing page. All information captured by Nutshell Forms is beamed directly into the CRM, completely hassle-free. How will you use forms?
Thanks to Jake Hills on Unsplash for the steps photo.
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