Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms exist to help you gather and organize data. CRMs let you automate much of that process, but you’ll always have to perform at least some tasks manually.
For that reason, you’ll want to have a data entry and management system in place that governs how your team handles those tasks. But how do you establish a system for data entry and management?
That’s just what we’re here to explain. Keep reading for more info.
What is a data entry and management system?
A data entry and management system is a process your company develops to regulate the way your team handles your customer data.
Why develop a data management system?
The reason to create a data management system is that without one, there could be confusion amongst your team over how to deal with your data. That could lead to mistakes and inconsistencies.
Establishing a system for data entry and management allows you to clear up those issues, determining who handles which data and what they do with it. That streamlines the whole data management process.
3 tips for establishing a system for data entry and management
Now that we’ve covered what a data entry system is and why it’s useful, let’s talk about how to create one. Every business will go about it differently, so we can’t tell you exactly what your system should look like. That said, we can list a few steps you’ll want to include:
The first step of creating your data entry system should be to delegate which members of your team will handle which duties. Who will enter the data? Who will manage that data once it’s in the platform?
Furthermore, you should clarify which tasks each person has. Multiple people may be managing your data, but who will manage it in what ways? Who will generate analytics reports? Who will work on cleaning and validating your data?
Finally, determine when each person should perform each task. How regularly should data be cleaned? What events should prompt someone to generate a report?
By answering all these questions, you can establish a very clear data management system.
2. Validate your data
The last thing you want in your CRM is faulty data. Unfortunately, data can suffer from all kinds of issues, including:
Inaccuracies
Duplicate data
Inconsistencies
Varying formats
All of the above errors can cause problems for your data analysis. That’s why it’s important to perform data validation and cleaning.
Data cleaning is the process of going through your data and removing all the errors you find. Data validation is where, when importing data into your CRM, you verify that there aren’t still any issues.
Some data validation can be done automatically, but sometimes you may want team members to check everything as well. Either way, your CRM data entry system should account for some form of data validation to ensure your data is accurate.
3. Perform data backups and testing
Another essential item to include in your data management system is backups and tests. This isn’t a one-time thing—you should do these tests and backups regularly.
The backups are fairly straightforward. You want to have all your data backed up for an obvious reason—you don’t want to lose all of it if something goes wrong with your CRM or your database. When you back up your data, you create a replica stored in a secure location that your team can access if needed.
Here are a few tips for creating a data backup you can use in case of a data breach:
Export your CRM data as a manual backup: One way to back up your CRM data is to export it from your system manually. You can then save the data in the cloud or on an external hard drive.
Pick a CRM that creates data backups for you: Your CRM data should make data backups simple. Look for a CRM that performs continuous backups of your company data on multiple servers so you know your data is in a secure location.
Testing, meanwhile, is meant to ensure that your CRM is working how it’s supposed to. You’ll want to regularly test the processes you’ve automated in the CRM to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to.
Nutshell is the ideal CRM for all your data entry and management needs
Looking for a CRM that will make data management easier for your company? Nutshell is the perfect choice. Our CRM is intuitive, easily navigable, and designed for small businesses like yours.
If you choose Nutshell as your CRM, you’ll also gain access to our top-of-the-line customer support for free with all plans.
To see what Nutshell can do for your business, just check out our 14-day free trial today!
