| |
| |
|
softwarecatch.com
|
|
|
|
How To Create A Data Capture Procedure Checklist For Your Small Business CRM Software
Fortunately one of the most common reasons cited for the high failure rate of CRM systems - poor data quality - is also one of the easiest to avoid. Your CRM software is only as good as the information it contains. As the old programmers motto goes 'garbage in, garbage out'. So how can you avoid incomplete, incorrect, irrelevant or out-of-date and generally unfit-for-use data from permeating your CRM software? You need to gather your key CRM users together and thrash out a DATA CAPTURE PROCEDURE document, defining the rules of use. Spell out: ? Who has what rights to the system; who can Create, Insert, Modify or Delete records, assuming your software supports all these functions? Forward this information to your system administrator to action. ? Decide on a procedure to check for any duplicates before creating a record. Depending on what 'de-duping' or 'data scrubbing' features your system has, this might require some simple searches before starting a new record. ? Do you allow abbreviations or acronyms? For example: IBM, or I.B.M, or International Business Machines Inc. or Incorporated and so on. A policy on ensuring consistency of input will help to avoid duplications in future. ? Are records going to be created in Upper and Lower case and when are CAPS acceptable? ? By when do you expect records, notes and so on to be created or updated? Same day, on return to the office? ? Check to see whether your Postal Services have specific requirements. Ensure your data meets these criteria. ? Is the primary address of clients to be created as a postal or a physical address? ? Make sure everyone checks spellings if they are unsure and do not trust spellchecker! When in doubt, ask the client - they'll respect that. Is it Clark with an 'e'; Shawn, Sean or Shaun? One certain way to get your mail binned is to spell someone's name incorrectly. ? Also confirm the kind of corporation e.g. LLC, Inc, PTY Ltd. and so on. ? Make rules for creating new profiles or User Definable Fields (UDF) (or whatever your specific CRM software calls them.) Place a lot of emphasis on this. Every time a new UDF is needed, it should first be approved. Otherwise duplicates will permeate your database e.g. Lead Source: Yellow Pages, YP, yelo pages. ? Ensure that email addresses are put in correctly. Basic but common mistake! ? Set up procedures, if not supported by your software, of how to create records from inbound emails. ? If applicable, are you going to use Mandatory/Forced fields? You might as well address the issue of Backups while you are about it. ? Who is the responsible person for backing up your databases/s? Who covers for them when they are absent or unavailable? ? How frequently are backups to be done? Diarise! ? How are backups done e.g. by the Grandfather, Father, Son method. ? Ensure backups are made on good quality CD's or whatever format you are using. It's no good doing a backup, then finding on attempting a Restore that it doesn't work! It is also a good idea to copy backups onto more than one data format. ? Where are the backups to be stored? ? Are the backups secure? This is important for both security and practical reasons. Once your Data Capture Procedure Document is finished, get everyone to sign it off as READ! As standard practice, ensure that document is handed to all new employees at your company. Refer back to this document for possible revision every three months or so. Try this: select a couple of records - both good and bad - every week, to put on the overhead at staff meetings. Make sure you don't unduly embarrass anybody but watch this become the light-relief highlight of your meetings! People learn best when having fun! What if your database is in one unholy mess? Has the rot set in so deeply that your database needs a complete overhaul? Turn this seemingly insurmountable task into an opportunity to you. This is an excellent excuse to re-establish contact with your clients and let them know you care. You can always put lapses down to data crashes but tell them you have fixed the problem! Importantly, help your staff understand what you need from the data to facilitate more accurate marketing and reporting and hence the success of your business and their careers. By creating a sense of pride and ownership in the company database, you are nurturing the essential process of buy-in, necessary for the success of your CRM initiative. Don't compromise this critical tool by allowing your CRM software to be infected by inferior data. About the Author: Perry Norgarb has specialized in Small Business CRM solutions for the last 15 years. Contact him or find out more about CRM, Contact Management and other Sales Tracking software tips and solutions for small businesses at: http://www.smallbizcrm.com You are free to re-publish this article as long as this bio box and copyright remain intact. © 9 March, 2004.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Examining the Substance of Studio MX To all web designers out there, this article is for you! I guess you already heard about Studio MX (I think so!) - the ideal bundle for professional web designers, bringing together Dreamweaver MX for page design, Flash MX for animation and interactivity, and Fireworks MX for editing and optimizing graphics. With all these components, it certainly provides professional functionality for every aspect of web development. Windows x: Basic Windows "Security" Issues Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems like an interesting idea, the trick with this would be in getting the computer to take on part of the role of the human in the checking process.In all computer aided learning applications aimed at the very young, there is a danger that the computer may be seen as a replacement for a human instructor, however computer are notorious for not volunteering information or inability to deal with erratic behaviour. The End of Spyware? The US House of Representatives has recently passed the "Spy Act" - or to give it its full title - the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act. This aims to prevent software companies from installing spyware on users PCs without their knowledge, and anyone found guilty of breaching the act faces a fine of up to $3 million. Microsoft Great Plains version 8.5: Upgrade, Customization, VBA, Crystal Reports - Highlights Microsoft Great Plains is one of the Microsoft Business Solutions family ERP products: Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, Solomon, Small Business Manager. MBS also has Microsoft CRM - Client Relation Management software and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)Microsoft Great Plains 8. 3 Reasons Why Medical Billing Software is Leading the Way Since technology changes so quickly, it is hard to begin by saying "in the old days . . What to Do if All Screensavers Fun is Grayed Out? Finally, you have some time to personalize your desktop with an interesting screensaver. But wait. Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part IV In part III of this ISDN primer, we learned that PPP has two main methods of authentication that Cisco certification candidates need to know how to configure: PAP and CHAP.PAP has very few advantages over CHAP. ERP Software Financing: the Future? - Overview for Company Owner In our case - we serve Microsoft Business Solutions ERP and CRM products: Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Navision, Microsoft RMS, as well as we do customization and integration to these products. We would like to share with you our experience with financing through Microsoft Financial Corporation, the entity handling software financing for Great Plains, CRM, Solomon, Navision & Axapta. Free Software: How Not To Get More Than You Bargained For! I completed an experiment recently. I wanted to find out exactly what software I could get free on the Internet. Microsoft Great Plains - Payroll & HR Inexpensive Solution? Not Any More Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package for the US market. You should probably expect some issues when you have software development company to be bought by big player - in this case Great Plains Software was bought by Microsoft (Bill Gates was a friend to Doug Burgum - owner and leader of Great Plains Software - Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise). Protect Your Computer...and Your Business! We all take the computer for granted. I mean, all we have to do is switch it on and it's ready to go. Introduction To ISDN, Part II In the previous ISDN article, we looked at how and why one router dials another using ISDN. Just as important is knowing what keeps the link up once it is dialed. C++ Tutorials: 3, Program Flow (If, Else, While, For) Program Flow is what you think it is. How the program will flow. Making The Decision To Automate Your Software Testing Not every software testing project can or should be automated. Before your department accepts a new test automation project, you should establish a process by which projects are reviewed and either accepted or rejected. Free Microsoft Word Online Training Tutorial Resources Microsoft Word is one of the most popular office applications that provide many features such as word processing, web publishing and database creation. Tapping into these Word resources, however, is not always easy and straightforward, leaving users stumped and puzzled. Microsoft Great Plains: Customization Upgrade & Recovery - Visual Studio VB 6.0 Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics, eEnterprise has very long, about 12 years customization & integration history. In earlier 1990th - the customization tool was mostly Great Plains Dexterity, later on when Great Plains was successfully moved to MS SQL Server 6. Basic Steps To Optimize Your Internet Security After seeing many people complain about their weak Internet security I decided to write down some things that will help you for your Internet security.First, here are some tips to make windows safer :For basic security and update patches install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP or Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000. Brand Your Websites URL With a Favicon Have you ever noticed that when you look at your browser favorites menu or the address bar, some entries have their own little icon beside their URL?It's called a "Favicon" (a graphic file with a .ico extension) and it's placed in the root directory of the web site. String in Java Handling character strings in Java is supported through two final classes: String and StringBuffer. The String class implements immutable character strings, which are read-only once the string has been created and initialized, whereas the StringBuffer class implements dynamic character strings. Linux - Keyboard Or Mouse Just stress testing one of the latest Linux distributions. Been testing it for about two months.
|
|
Powered By: Free Work At Home Business Opportunity! |
| © 2006 |