It happens all too often: A sales and marketing team gathers for their weekly status meeting and each person is armed with the same report showing different results. A debate ensues as to whose report has the accurate numbers. Attentions are diverted, time is wasted and productivity is lost.
How strongly can you trust your marketing intelligence? What should you do when your system becomes more of a liability than an asset?
There is one basic truth I know about information systems: When it comes to number crunching, the reports you build are only as intelligent as the data you input and the filters you create to organize it. When installing a CRM system, I try to do the following at a minimum:
1) Designate a system owner and set user permission levels for accessing and editing data.
2) Determine what intelligence needs reported to management.
3) Determine what data fields are needed to report on that create this intelligence.
4) Create your data fields in the proper, reportable format (i.e. if it’s a number, create a numeric field, not a text field).
5) Define your report filters based on the fields needed to report the intelligence.
6) Build standard report templates that everyone has access to but cannot change without consent from the system owner.
7) Communicate to staff using the system the importance of entering good quality data. Set required fields as needed.
What are your thoughts? How do you ensure your marketing intelligence is trustworthy?
Yea, you are still blogging!! Will share your blog with my new branding class tonight. Don’t quit!
Thanks Dr. Bret! I should probably do another once-over for typos
Blogging is great… very therapeutic! Let me know if you ever need a guest speaker for a class or event. Happy to share how helpful your class has been for me!