Is Dirty Data The Death Of A CRM?

Why Is Dirty Data The Death Of A CRM?

Dirty data: just hearing those two words together makes you want to wash your hands free of it! And you should. It doesn’t matter how effective your CRM is, once dirty data seeps in it can cause huge problems and disrupt your carefully laid out processes. Yikes! That’s not something any business wants to experience. So, how do we prevent it? Let’s take a look at exactly what dirty data is and how you can avoid it to ensure youroperating as effectively as possible.

What Is Dirty Data?

Just as the name suggests, dirty data is quite literally the death of a CRM. The entire goal of a CRM is to automate your processes, so everything is streamlined, and messages are aligned at different stages of the customer cycle. Add in some incorrect data and suddenly those messages miss the mark and result in a loss of leads. The last thing you want. 

In the any company, there is a huge volume of data and processes to be automated on a daily basis. From existing customers changing staff or contact details to prospects at different stages of the buying cycles, it’s a lot to keep track of. Pipedrive has been designed as easy to use and simple to keep on top of from a data perspective. There are a a host of handy features to help you get the most out of your processes. It’s an effective way to automate everything and get ahead of the game. But, what happens when the data that is fed into it is incorrect? You got it: it’s dirty data.

What does good – or should we say ‘clean’ data look like? Clean data is up to date, contains the minimum of details i.e. phone and email. It doesn't contain duplicates and it contains current information. Not data that is 5-years old. It means your text messages, emails, phone calls, contracts and contracts all go to the right person at the right time. Allowing the salesperson to pick up from the last point of contact and continue the personal conversation with the customer about their specific needs..

Without it, you’ve lost those meaningful interactions with your customers. So, how exactly do we avoid dirty data?

Scan, Notes, Activities, Repeat & Look (SNARL)

It may sound like we’re sending you back to school with this piece of advice, but if there’s one thing you take from this article, it’s scan, notes, activities, repeat. A sure-fire way to keep that data as clean as possible.

How exactly does this simple mnemonic work when put into practice? At Motii, here’s what we recommend:

1. Scan: when you’re working inside a record, before you close out of it you want to scan the details pane to check whether there’s any additional information you can add or update.
2. Notes: now jot down a personal note that will help you engage with the client. For example: “Sam loves golf”. This will ensure you have a personal way to pick up the next conversation.
3. Activities: never leave the deal without creating a future activity. This is your point of follow up, which ensures you engage with the client in a timely manner and have a starting point for the conversation.
4. Repeat: repeat the process once more before closing out of the deal, just to make sure everything is in place.
5. Look: Use the universal search bar to check if the person, company or property already exists BEFORE entering a new one. Duplications create Dirty Data and a world of pain. So look first and maybe you'll find something in the vault that may even contain information that is valuable.

Other Ways To Avoid Dirty Data

The best method is prevention – at least in an ideal world. Going through your system as you work and making sure everything is up-to-date is the easiest way to avoid that pesky dirty data.

Of course, even despite our best efforts, it’s worth noting that dirty data does often manages to find its way into your CRM.

Set aside a ‘CRM Hygiene Day’ once a month to get on top of this. Go through records and deals, and get the sales team chatting about where each one is up to and whether or not the information is up to date. It’s about effective internal communication and is the perfect team building exercise to get everyone on the same page.

One very effective method is to have your buyers and sellers do the work for you and update your data by having them respond to a link in an email or SMS that allows them to update their information if they choose. Many prospects are happy to update their details in an effort to receive suitable information that is relevant to them.

For example by adding this option as a closing line to the bottom of all promotional emails, you can get a buyer to update their name, email, phone and other details - all in one simple web form linked to your CRM. Pitch it to your prospect as something that will help them

At the end of the day, good data is worth its weight in gold. You can have the most charismatic, outgoing salesperson on your team, but without the right data to guide them, leads and clients will be lost. Make it a priority in your business and keep that dirty data at bay. 

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