Don’t you just LOVE data entry?

‘Love’ data entry? Really?

Well, it seems that rather a lot of us do. We must. After all, we keep doing it. Just stop for a minute and consider…

Do you keep all the information about your clients in just one place? If you do, you’re one of a fairly select band. (So well done!)

If you don’t, you’re more like the rest of us. Because most people have emails in one filing system. Contact details in another. And account details (as like as not) in a third. Meaning that they (or you) probably have the same data about a client stored in two, three or even four different places.

That’s a bit like having your knives in the kitchen cupboard above the cooker, your forks in the cutlery drawer, and your spoons in the fridge. For the most part, it doesn’t matter (though it is rather wasteful – of time, effort, and storage space if nothing else…)

But what happens when a client moves to a new address? Or when you want to connect two or three different pieces of information? (When did they last order? Did they email us – or did they phone? Perhaps they texted? Skyped? If they got in touch, who did they speak to? What did they order? Did they pay? Where did we send the invoice? And who did we send it to?)

Round about now all those different data systems are starting to look like a really bad idea. So what’s the answer?

Introducing CRM

CRM – short for Customer Relationship Management – is a way of pulling together all the data you hold about a customer so it’s always at your fingertips. And it’s a very good way to cut down on data entry, too.

Many accounting systems will connect directly with a reputable CRM system – meaning all your contact details are stored in one place. It’ll also cut down on searches, because emails and phone call records for each customer can all be kept together, in one place. So when Samantha the Super Salesperson is on holiday, other mere mortals will still be able to see what’s been happening with her clients – and what they’re expecting to happen next…

It also means you don’t miss out on sales opportunities. Because without a reminder or two it’s appallingly easy to miss a crucial follow-up call. That won’t, of course, matter if you happen to be Samantha the Super Sales Person – who can clinch a deal with your first contact.

But if you are, please spare a thought for the rest of your team. They might just need to make a few more calls…

If you don’t have a CRM system – but would like to cut down on your data entry and learn more about them – then we’d love to help.

As you’d expect, many of our clients use CRM. Meaning that our team has to know their way around all the best systems on the market. And they’d be delighted to share what they’ve learned.

Interested? Then do give us a call on 01638 741079. Or email us at admin@everything-answered.com.