For most business owners, exciting moments occur when you land “the” client you’ve been working on, or your business is recognized as top in its field, or you take the next step in growth.
Less exciting moments may be employee evaluations, software upgrades, database clean up, inventory, equipment repairs… all those never-ending, regular, maintenance tasks that sometimes seem like a necessary evil.
Stephen Covey likens an unmaintained life to trying to use a dull saw to cut wood. It takes twice as much effort as taking the time to sharpen the saw before cutting the wood.
Which is more effective, a customer service rep hunting and pecking for information in a poorly implemented CRM system or when that employee is provided engaging and useful training? Having access to on-demand help instructions and web accessible videos is like adding frosting to the cake.
Which is better- salespeople with 10 appointments a day with no tangible result, or salespeople with 3 calls a day with qualified leads that promise to become long term business relationships? Activity is not the same as results…
Business relationship development can produce a wealth of information so this knowledge needs a CRM database as a data repository.
Although not as glamorous, maintenance activities in your CRM database system are vital to keeping business relationships healthy and successful.
- Do you have accurate email addresses and mobile cell phone numbers of your key contacts?
- Are imported web leads automatically de-duplicated before being added?
- Has someone unsubscribed from your newsletter and needs to be taken off your subscriber list?
- Did you meet a new person that is a future prospect but forgot to add her into your CRM system database?
- Have the contact roles changed? Recently we were calling on the company’s VP of Sales and noted that he is now the companys’ President. An important move from influencer to decision maker role in our SalesLogix CRM system.
This is all good to know information that helps others in your business be on top of their game. Accurate and accessible customer knowledge makes your employees look good and your business appears more professional.
CRM systems take proper maintenance to be the most effective in communicating information, building a strong interoffice community, and providing a basis to build strong business relationships. You can use them as a glorified address book or to-do list, but investing the time to learn the features and keep information fresh, customized, and updated, will provide the sharpest tool for your business.
What do you need to accomplish in your CRM system today?
