​​​​​​​​​​​WiseBlog: ​​​​​​​Five Tips for More Effective Use of CRM

1. Establish Rules for Adding Contacts

Manual Contact Entries

For contacts added to the system manually, it's important to establish rules for how information is entered into the system. Everyone who adds contacts to the CRM should know what information needs to be input to keep the CRM data current and rich.

Contacts Accumulated through System Automations

Collecting contact data is a crucial part of the customer relationship management, marketing, and sales processes for many companies. Information is collected through various interaction points, such as data collection forms, event registrations, and e-commerce purchases. Effectively utilizing this data requires careful planning and process management. In these instances, it's important to ensure that all necessary information (but not superfluous information) is asked from the customer and that the system is marked with tags where necessary for customer information.

2. Appoint a CRM Manager(s)

Practice has sometimes shown that having a CRM manager(s) is a good way to keep the customer management system data as high-quality as possible. The duties of a CRM manager can include entering new contacts into the system. This ensures that information is always entered in the same way. Regular (ongoing) cleaning of the system is also part of the CRM manager's duties.

3. Encourage Completing the CRM

Although a large part of the customer history in, for example, WisePlatform is automatically transferred to it (e.g., e-commerce purchases, sent offers, marketing emails, finalized agreements, sales and purchase invoices, various registrations, responses to surveys and customer studies), some data (e.g., calls, meetings, briefings...) needs to be manually entered into the system.

The primary goal of CRM is to provide additional value to its users. Therefore, it is important that the data is accurate and correct. Discuss the purposes and goals that your company uses the CRM for and how it benefits different departments. When the system's purpose and its benefits are clear in the minds of the staff, its use will not be questioned.

Staff can be given various incentives and rewards to encourage them to use the CRM more actively and to add necessary actions to it. For example, the company can reward the most active CRM updater every month. In this case, it's also important to remember the quality of the data entered!

Changing practices also moves towards more perfect CRM data: the company can adopt the practice of opening the CRM in every discussion about customers. In addition, in all meetings, information should be viewed only from the CRM and not from separate lists.

4. Understand That CRM Cleanup is Ongoing, Not Project-Based

Even if the data in the CRM is currently in prime condition, the fact is that information may become outdated in just a few months: companies change locations, their personnel changes, and revenue changes. Individuals move, email addresses and phone numbers change, and interests shift.

Outdated and incomplete information reduces the value produced by the CRM and the reliability of analyses made with it. Data from an up-to-date CRM can be trusted, and accurate actions and decisions can be based on it.

CRM cleanup should be part of the company's ongoing operations, as data "contamination" becomes increasingly difficult and labor-intensive to clean.

At the simplest level, correct any typos you notice in the CRM immediately and remove duplicates if they occur.

Customers can also be approached for updating their information.

5. Customize the CRM View to Your Liking

The usability of the CRM is also affected by its view. On the WisePlatform's business contacts and personal contacts pages, you can create a working view that suits you by selecting from the gear icon at the top of the page the features you want to be displayed.

This way, people working in different departments of the company can define the columns in the view that provide the most added value in their work.

Lasse Myöhänen
Chief Technology Officer

Lasse Myöhänen is the Chief Technology Officer at WiseNetwork. He's an expert in CRM systems and has led many of WiseNetwork's digital innovations. Lasse's knowledge has been key in advancing their technology and keeping WiseNetwork ahead in digital solutions.