Avoid These Top 5 CRM Mistakes

Keeping data clean is essential to a healthy CRM; however, there are some mistakes businesses make that could cost them time and money. These are a few pitfalls to avoid while performing your spring data cleansing.

Not Using a Key

The key to syncing data and keeping it clean is… a key. These are unique identifiers used to separate records and can be used to match to a source for updates. For instance, many use email addresses as a key when syncing data to their email service providers (ESP); however, these may change over time. First name/last name/company could be problematic if any of those change. A better solution is to find something more stable like a numeric code if your data source provides one. CSG codes every company and personnel with an exportable 10 digit identifier making updates simple.

Infrequent Updates

Did you know since 2020, over 20% of all employees have changed jobs? That means 1 out of every 5 of your contacts is no longer there. Update your datasets even more frequently than you have before. CSG now recommends updating your CRM at least once every 3 weeks, including removing old contacts no longer in your accounts.

Not Backing Up

Making regular back ups of your data is not sufficient; you should be doing this before running any major changes to the system.

Duplicating Records

One of the main benefits of using standard keys is to avoid creating duplicate records. If there is no a key, search for duplicates of emails, social handles, or a combination of company, first name, and last name. Many CRMs include a simple feature for deduplication; you may need an external program, workflow, or to use Excel to run mass searches to flag potential “dupes”. Remember to always search for duplicates before adding or updating your databases.

Inconsistent Formatting

This is another challenge facing databases today. If you are working without a schema for your data, spend the time to create one. When your data is not consistent and it’s time to create marketing campaigns, calling lists, or updating; those inconsistencies can create problems that could take hours to fix. CSG takes the extra steps to cleanse and format our data to ensure your uploads are as seamless as possible.

We know that cleansing your data is not an easy task, yet having a healthy database is critical to growing your business. Investing in experts like Chain Store Guide to do it for you is an excellent solution for having consistent data hygiene.