9 Customer Relationship Management Mistakes to Avoid

An up-to-date customer relationship management (CRM) system is the backbone of any thriving business in today’s digital landscape. A study by PEW research center finds that almost a third of Americans admit to being online "almost constantly," with 85% logging on at least once a day. This makes the digital space a convenient arena in which to connect with existing and potential customers.  

While CRM systems aid such interactions via premium data storage solutions and customer tracking information, no software package is infallible. We’ve all heard cautionary tales about customers receiving odd or irrelevant emails thanks to poor CRM data. From emails containing mistaken birthday wishes to those which accidentally reveal someone else’s order information, a CRM mishap could be costly to your business.

On top of the extra time and effort needed to rectify the mistake, substandard data could cause long-term reputational damage and can be costly. According to the Harvard Business Review, these “hidden” data issues cost US businesses trillions a year.

So, how can you avoid these costly data problems and secure a healthy future for your business?

In this guide, we explore how to avoid common data management mistakes and keep your CRM functioning effectively.  

Why is CRM data management so important?

Effective management of your CRM data will enhance business efficiency and ensure your marketing and sales staff can access vital data. For marketing campaigns to be successful, you must make certain that your company sends emails to the correct inboxes and that you pursue leads appropriately. Regardless of how much money you channel into high-end marketing campaigns, failure to invest in CRM data management could result in low traffic and conversion rates.

Your customer service team must be able to access information about customer orders and sales journeys quickly and easily. Delivering substandard levels of customer service could significantly damage your company’s reputation and present an impediment to growth. It may also increase staff turnover rates – no one wants to spend their day disappointing customers due to poorly collated data.    

Put simply, efficient CRM data management is crucial to the short- and long-term growth of your company. To help you proactively manage your data and avoid common mistakes associated with CRMs, we’ve listed a few pointers below.

9 common customer relationship management (CRM) mistakes to avoid

Generating a comprehensive and effective data management strategy can take time and effort. Here are nine common CRM data management mistakes to avoid, and what to do instead.

1. Failure to create a standard data management process

Many businesses make the mistake of operating in silos and underestimating the importance of following standard data management processes across departments. For example, marketing managers may instruct team members to only input customer email addresses when logging a new lead. This could cause issues later down the line when a customer service representative needs to find out more customer information, such as their date of birth or location. Alternatively, you could end up with multiple entries for the same customer, thereby causing confusion and frustration among staff members. Here are a few things to remember when establishing a standardized data management protocol:

• Unify on required fields: Avoid storing incomplete contact records on your CRM for extended periods. One of the best ways to do this is to determine what types of information you need to complete necessary actions and make them required fields on lead capture forms and within your CRM. Try to refrain from gathering too much data. While it may be tempting, it could reduce the number of customers willing to provide personal information and make data analysis complex.
• Standardize CRM naming conventions: Naming your records logically and systematically can be tricky. To avoid confusion, we recommend standardizing CRM naming conventions throughout your company. One of the best ways to prevent problems is to replace free text name fields with drop-down menus or multiple-choice fields. You can forego punctuation to avoid confusion and improve data quality. You should also decide how to use uppercase and lowercase letters, abbreviations, numbers, and any other grammatical variables that could alter your ability to accurately search the CRM database.
• Establish data entry and duplication rules: Record duplication happens when someone enters new information for an existing contact. While this may seem innocuous, duplicates can cause major confusion among colleagues and issues for customers. Receiving multiple emails from the same company can be annoying even in the best of times. To avoid duplicates, it is a good idea to perform regular data audits, automate data entry processes, and remind employees to actively avoid duplicating entries.

2. Forgetting to ensure that CRM data is clean and up to date

Stale and cluttered data sets could prevent your employees from doing their jobs and even result in compliance issues. Clean and update your CRM data at regular intervals. The best way to do this is via regular data audits. Broadly speaking, you should conduct an audit at least every quarter, although large companies may benefit from more regular data maintenance.

3. Failure to validate and enrich lead data in real-time

Collecting and retaining accurate contact information is the most important part of lead capture. The best way to achieve this is to design lead capture forms that absorb as much relevant contact information as possible. Key data points to collect include email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and even social media handles.

One of the greatest dangers associated with lead capture forms is the potential for spambots to clog up your system and alter your CRM data. You’re also bound to attract a few mischievous web users who want to input spammy email addresses and fake phone numbers. The solution? Use a lead capture form containing inbuilt security measures that ask users to validate their contact information via special codes or tasks.

Ensure leads remain “hot” by encouraging employees to enter CRM data in real-time. Whenever employees host a meeting or interact with a customer online, they should input any updates right away. This enables your team to validate in real-time that the data is authentic.

4. Not automating CRM data entry and lead capture

Automating your data entry processes represents the best way to maintain clean and accurate data about your customers. With a CRM data automation solution, you can reduce the time employees spend on mundane data entry while ensuring that records are kept up to date. You can also eliminate the potential for human error on the part of your CRM managers. If you’re plagued by duplicate and inaccurate customer records, automation represents a simple solution to your problem.

It is also worth noting that automation technologies can generate the valuable data and insights needed for businesses to personalize customer journeys and optimize their offerings. In the long term, this data will help boost revenue and retention rates.

5. Underutilizing your CRM system

Is your company signed up on hundreds of separate SaaS platforms? If so, you’re not alone. According to a SaaS Management Benchmarks report for 2020 by Zylo, the average company holds over 650 SaaS applications in its digital stack. With so many platforms to navigate, companies often find it difficult to organize customer data and ensure all employees have access to comprehensive information.  

Companies with multiple CRMs are particularly vulnerable to this issue, as employees cannot access a centralized source of truth. With a fractured and confusing data management system, employees often waste time trying to make sense of data accrued from different sources. They may also struggle to generate actionable insights from analytical tools. Say, for example, your marketing team wants to improve the relevance of their targeted offers. To ensure customers receive marketing materials tailored to their needs, marketers will require a range of accurate data sets, including information such as customer location, age, occupation, and more.

6. Overlooking valuable CRM integrations

Nowadays, it is possible to integrate a range of invaluable apps and tools into your CRMs. From calling software apps such as Zoom to social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, integrations will improve the functionality of your CRM and improve workflows for employees. When it comes to data management, you may wish to consider installing the following integrations:

• Prospecting software: Programs such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator could help improve your lead engagement processes, from identification through to conversion.
• Data collection programs: Data collection has never been easier thanks to survey generators such as Typeform and SurveyMonkey. Integrating these tools with your CRM will allow you to sync data received through forms into your centralized customer database.
• Customer success apps: Integrating customer success software such as Zendesk into your CRM will help you harness valuable behavioral information to boost future sales.
• Webform generators: Webform apps such as Mailchimp and Unbounce will help you capture leads and automatically sync them with your current contact list.

7. Failing to differentiate between responsive and unresponsive contacts

Most businesses store thousands of customer contacts in their CRM. It’s easy to develop a large pool of stale contacts that are unlikely to engage with your company in the future. Unresponsive leads do nothing but clog up your CRM system and waste precious employee time. As you know, there’s nothing more frustrating than crafting excellent marketing materials and communications that fail to elicit a response.  

8. Not tracking your lead sources

Where do the leads that make up your database come from? Are you better at gathering leads organically or via paid advertisements? If you’re not sure, you may not know how best to channel your marketing and sales resources. Tracking metrics regarding lead origins will help you identify your most lucrative marketing strategies, as well as the kinds of leads most likely to convert. With this information, you can optimize your sales and marketing budget and grow your business.

9. Failing to protect your data

Did you know that, according to a 2020 report by Risk Based Security, data breaches exposed around 36 billion records in 2020? With cyberattacks on the rise, it has never been more important to consider security in your data management strategy. Failure to adequately protect customer records could cause significant reputational and financial damage, so breaches must be avoided. Here are a few simple tips for protecting CRM data:

• Train your employees in privacy legislation: Teaching employees about GDPR and other privacy regulations will reduce the chances of customer data getting into the wrong hands.
• Establish a set of CRM security protocols: It is a good idea to establish standard procedures for password resets, assigning login access, employee onboarding, employee exit processes, and more.
• Select a secure CRM provider: Hackers are keen to exploit insecure CRM products, so make sure you invest in services offered by trusted providers. Make sure they offer unlimited data access, deliver smooth migration processes, and follow ISO 27001 standards.
• Look out for suspicious activity: Is your CRM experiencing unprecedented login activity or high traffic outside of office hours? If so, it is worth investigating whether you’ve experienced a breach.
  

Secure future growth with clear CRM best practices

By avoiding the mistakes listed above, you can ensure that your employees are armed with the accurate data they need to carry out vital sales, marketing, and management operations. Clear CRM best practices will maximize your company’s sales opportunities and secure future growth. If you’ve been hoping to offer personalized campaigns that will boost conversion rates, improving your CRM data represents the best place to start.