Tuesday, May 1

Who's the Brain of Your Company? No, Of Course It's Not Your CEO, It's Your Database!

Sorry CEOs, data is the brains, not you!
We know that breaks your heart!
As much as we would like to think the brain of a company is its employees or the CEO (or at least the CEO would like to think that), they're not. Employees are definitely the heart and soul, but the brains of any operation is the database. From your current clients to your prospecting lists, the better organized and thorough the information in your database, the more effective and efficient your company will operate.  

Many executives underestimate the importance of understanding and maintaining an in-house database. But, how can you project your company's potential sales growth and new avenues for expansion without detailed, accurate, and current information on your clients and prospects? You can't. Moreover, if your just buying lists from data companies, don't you think similar businesses might have the same lists? . . no matter what the data company might claim. You want to keep your data in-house so that your list is unique.  So here are some tips for organizing and managing your database:

Educate All Your Employees
Education is always the key!
Your number one priority should be to train and educate ALL your employees how to access and manipulate data as well as ensuring they consistently and accurately keep up with all their records. Make some knowledge of databases a requirement for most positions; especially sales, marketing, and administration. If you train your sales staff to maintain their own records, then your information will be more accurate and more consistently updated. When 20 sales people take the extra few minutes to update their records daily, your data will always be more accurate, more up to date, and less time consuming than just having one "data guy" update everything once a week or month. 

Know What You Want to Know 
Before Searching
Find Your Criteria, Then Check Them Off Your List
As You Add Data!
Before beginning to gather information, you need to determine what information you want. What does your business need to know about your prospects in order to effectively market to them? Even if you are updating an old list that has been neglected, ask yourself what information is valuable on that list as is, what is worthless information, and what would be useful new information to add as you update the list? Additionally, what new prospects are in need of your product or service and where can you find them? There are endless criteria and information out there so this part really comes down to your business and market, but as logic will tell you; always establish what you are looking for before you start looking!

Be Too Specific
The Beauty is in the Specific Details!
When building a database, the more specific your qualifiers the better. Modern database software has so many variables for searching and sorting lists, so break down your qualifiers as best as you can, be specific. Don't just describe a business as "hotel." Is it a resort spa? A casino? A motel? Bed and breakfast? Do they have special services or themes? Are they year-round or seasonal? How many suites do they have? What is their annual sales volume? How many employees do they have? Think of any categories that might help your business market more effectively.

Standardize All Your Lists
Between multiple lists, try to maintain titles that can be applied to all the people or businesses to which you want to market, regardless of industry. Have a master list of current clients and clients you would like to gain. Then create smaller, specific lists for various campaigns. When making data lists use broad titles and then describe each individual entry using specific qualifiers. 


Ok, so we don't like it when people are all the same,
but the more similar data sets are,
the easier they are to analyze!
Sometimes, all you need in a title is "description."  Then, use more precise qualifiers; windows and blinds, restaurants - bar/late night, resort - ski and spa, etc . . . You want most titles to fit for any business your company might market too. Although for some specific lists this won't always work out, cogent headers are extremely helpful in organizing data. Additionally, while you want your qualifiers to be specific, they should be standardized. Most database programs sort lists based on keywords and won't always pick up on related words. For example, if your making a list of hotels, use one category for casinos. Don't list some as "casino" and others as "gambling resort."

Establish and Maintain Format
Keep You Data List Polished and Professional,
It Should Look Like Your Office,
Not Your Teenage Son's Room!
Make sure everything in each list is entered in the same format. It is critical, especially with very large lists, to keep everything uniform. I.e., don't put some phone numbers in using one format; (555) 555-5555, and others in as; 555-555-5555. Likewise, addresses are notorious for having this problem on data lists. Before building or reorganizing a database, figure out where you want things like suite numbers, phone extensions, or name prefixes. Proper format will increase efficiency while updating data and allow for easier access to information. 




Once You Make It Clean, Keep It Clean

If your list is already out of hand, it is definitely worth investing the time to clean it up. The US Postal Service reports that approximately 2% of a typical data list deteriorates each month on average. That means in a year about 25% of your data is worthless if you don't maintain it. If you are marketing to this list, think of all the money you are wasting each month marketing to businesses or prospects that don't even exist anymore! 

Your Data is Just Like Your Laundry,
Keep it Clean!
Re-establish a baseline so that you can become more productive, rather than just let the mess continue to grow. You don't just let the laundry pile up endlessly do you? Of course not, you wash it (hopefully)! But, the longer you wait to do a wash, the longer doing laundry will take you. And, in the meantime, your running out of clean clothes! Just like the laundry, if your not constantly cleaning your data list, you'll eventually run out of worthwhile data. So try to avoid letting it get out of hand!

Just Like Your Bathroom,
Your Database Stinks When It Isn't Clean!
There are many companies out there who will maintain and clean your data lists for you, so if doing this in-house isn't in your budget, consider outsourcing this important job.

Customer databases are a time consuming and endless endeavor to build and maintain in-house. But, it is absolutely essential for any business to succeed.General lists purchased from data companies are never as good because they are rarely unique. A well-designed and maintained database is the foundation for strong customer retention and expanding your client base into new markets. 


Even if you need to shout it,
make sure it is known, DETAILS MATTER WITH DATA!
In short, database management comes down to one basic cliche rule: Attention to the details. A responsible, well-organized company understands the importance of details in establishing a culture where all employees understand and contribute to the database. If you can infuse this culture in your business at the database level, it will expand into all aspects of your business, and you definitely be pleased with the results!


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