October 2020
Clean It Up: 4 Ways to Clean Up Your Sales Data
There’s no need to wait until next spring to clean up your data!
Nothing puts a plug in your sales pipeline quite like poor quality data, limiting the abilities of your sales team by taking up precious time and resources. From duplicate data to outdated information, bad data can cost you both time and money. So how can you clean up your data? The Lunar team have 4 steps that can help you clear out the old, and bring in the new, whilst keeping everything clean in the long term.
1. Data Deep Dive
You’ll want to start your clean-up process with a data analysis session. Understanding the situation will help you figure out where you need to focus your efforts when sorting out your data.
- How is your data duplicate situation?
- Where is your data coming from?
- What’s causing any potential duplicates?
- How is the validity of your data?
Answering all of these questions will help you understand where to go from here, and more importantly what you need to do to prevent this in future. A bespoke CRM solution will help with this analysis with a detailed data analysis dashboard built with your needs and specifications in mind. Easily spot duplicates and where they came from, when they were created and figure out which data, if any, is missing.
2. Data Deep Clean
Dive right with the next step, cleaning up your database. The clean-up operation can require many different approaches, as many as there are different database issues. With a bespoke CRM solution you have all the tools you need for this operation at your disposal.
The first stage is to track down the data duplicates we’ve mentioned. This will lay the groundwork for the remaining clean-up, a critical step that cannot be overlooked.
Next, you want to complete any missing data in your database. You may be wondering how that’s possible, but with your CRM solution’s automation you will be able to keep a handy record of where your data has come from and fill in any blanks such as e-mail domains, website information and more by cross-referencing with other contact data.
Finally you want to check the validity of your data. Is it in date? Does this organisation still exist, or has that client updated their information? Useless data will only serve to clog up your CRM system, so you’ll want a bespoke solution where you can decide the data validity rules and constraints.
3. Data Maintenance
Nothing like doing a big clean only for something to make a mess of your hard work again. So you’ll want to keep on top of your data from here on out, to save time and money in the long run. With your bespoke CRM solution you’ll be able to automatically prevent data duplication, continually complete missing data by automatically keeping records on sales leads and set validation rules that will alert you to any useless or potentially incomplete data.
4. Data Enhancement
Finally, you want enhance your data as much as possible – your sales team will thank you. Save their time searching through external databases looking for additional contact information by ensuring your database has everything they need all in one place. Automated e-mail verification and other such steps can ensure your data is as accurate and up to date as possible.
These four simple steps will help you keep on top of your customer database, so that you can focus on growing your business and keeping your customers happy.
Ready to clean up your data with a bespoke CRM option? Get in touch to book a free demo with Lunar CRM, or find out more by exploring our website.