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Data Use andManagement Top Tips

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Introduction
In any modern business data plays a vital role in the equation for success.
This is evident across every department and at every level: from engaging
audiences via various marketing channels to helping sales people identify
opportunities and providing seamless customer service. Despite theenormous importance that data plays within companies it is often side-lined
and not given the priority it deserves. To get the best results, managing andmaintaining key information requires a structured and well-planned strategy.
Relevant, accurate, reliable and complete data is vital to help drive thedecision-making process, address the ‘New Customer Journey’ and provide agreat customer experience. It is equally important to be able to track and trace
who, when, where and why data is captured and used throughout the business.
Understanding the stages of data conditioning and the departments it is used
by, are key steps to forming a better understanding of business processes.
This is also vital in ensuring on-going regulatory compliance.
With data being integral to your business success we’ve compiled eight
top tips to help you navigate your way around your data and bring you data
management success.

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TOP TIP 1: One Single Version of the Truth
All departments from marketing, to sales, delivery, billing and productdevelopment gather and store data as they carry out their day to day
activities. It is common, however, for information to be stored in silos thatcan only be accessed by that specific department or individuals and informats that are not available to other parts of the business.
The first step to good data management is being able to store yourcustomer information in a way that gives access to all data via a single
platform and by definition create ‘one single version of the truth’.
Being able to access data from one place makes brings many
benefits, including:• Easier to capture, update and analyse information• Gaps in records can be quickly identified and resolved• Valuable insights to specific behaviours, e.g. responsiveness to aparticular type of marketing communication or sales offer• Customer issues and complaints can be dealt with more effectively.

E B O O K Data Use and Management Top Tips

“Silos represent the biggest
barriers to improving
customer experience andbest-in-class companies—
those with strong financial
performance and competitive
customer experiences—aremore likely to have broken
down those silos than areother organizations.”
Harvard Business Review.

3TOP TIP 2: Know Your Data
Amalgamating your data into this ‘single source’, however, is probably
the most challenging and daunting element of implementing good data
management practices. This is especially true if you already have a wellestablished business that holds large amounts of data in different places
and formats.
The first step is to undertake a Data Audit to understand what data you
currently hold and identify gaps. Then build your data strategy aroundyour business processes, activities and performance indicators, aligned toyour newly mapped customer journey. Keep in mind that the data always
needs to have a defined and appropriate business purpose for justificationof its capture.
The formats and platform you store the data within is another key
decision. Whether you see the need for a fully encompassing Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) solution or other option will determine
the extent to which you can fully realise the value of this critical businessasset and move forward with addressing the New Customer Journey andachieve ongoing business growth.

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TOP TIP 3: Update and Cleanse
Data integrity through data cleansing should be scheduled regularly to ensure thatyour business is performing at its optimum; inaccurate data will affect the quality ofyour decisions, communications and engagement with customers.
Avoid embarrassing mistakes such as sending products or direct mail to obsolete
addresses; people and businesses are on the move all the time, so your data needs
to reflect these changes.
Another prime example for accurate data is email marketing which relies on acorrect email address being attached to each target contact. Unfortunately, thisis often not the case, which greatly impacts on the delivery of ongoing customer
engagement and interactions.
Information needs to be updated with new intelligence, stripped of obsolete
elements and constantly enriched to help drive business growth. Don’t be afraid todelete old data.

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TOP TIP 4: 360° View
Having a single version of the truth becomes even more powerful if
all functions of the business are inputting and sharing data. Collecting
information on a customer or prospect from all touch points and accessing
it from a single source provides a comprehensive all-round 360° viewpoint
and understanding of your business.
This helps deliver more effective decisions and actions. For example, there
is little point in knowing that ‘Customer A’ usually responds to promotional
emails on the 25th and makes a purchase, if finance has not shared the factthat payments are always late and costly to chase.
Dynamic real time data from billing, to finance, to product development aswell as marketing and sales should be integrated and analysed in order toprovide a more holistic view of the customer. This approach allows company
decision makers to take the ‘pulse’ of the company’s performance andidentify function or process roadblocks.

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TOP TIP 5: Data InsightUnderstanding what channels the customer prefers to use to make queries
and purchases, when they typically buy and what specific series of steps
they take to get there, are all pieces of information that can be analysed togenerate more in-depth intelligence and understanding. Ensuring that yourbusiness is set up to capture customer behaviour, as well as record, track
and analyse it regularly, is critical to producing a view of the customer thatis up-to-the-minute and complete.
This type of intelligence can then be shared to refine the customer
experience. For example:•••“Data is growing fasterthan ever before and bythe year 2020, about
1.7 megabytes of new
information will be createdevery second for every
human being on theplanet.” Forbes Big Data
20 Mind Boggling Facts.

Specific product feedback can guide product development in design
improvement.
Customer service is able to respond to queries more rapidly andefficiently and the business is able to identify valuable market
segments to target in good time.
Typical buying behaviour and steps that lead to a purchase, once
grasped, are the key tools that empower marketing and sales people toalign their activities and approaches to their potential customer’s needs
and steer them towards purchase at the right time.

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TOP TIP 6: Performance Reporting
To share prospect and customer intelligence, monitor performance andidentify challenges, requires data to be evaluated and reported upon.
Analysing, manipulating and generating reports are an essential part ofdata management and use, but can be one of the most arduous aspects ofhandling data.
Dashboards enable users to view and manipulate their records quickly
and easily. ‘Dashboard’ is a term that is commonly used to describe anapplication interface that provides users with quick access to high level
information. These are usually available within a CRM to specificallyshow an overview of individual performance metrics through indicators.
The advantage of having a dashboard function is that the information isavailable in a quick glance format such as a graph or chart.
Dashboards are great time savers as you can tailor your settings to accessinformation with one mouse click, such as daily reports that would usuallytake a lot of time to pull together. In addition, it is also easy to export yourdata from your CRM to spreadsheets or other business tools for more indepth analysis and create reports that can be shared across your business.

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TOP TIP 7: Data Management Policy
Despite the best of intentions, without a regulated data management
policy in place, your business will be unable to guarantee data integrity. It
is recommended that you assign responsibility for its adherence to one ofyour team as Data Manager.
A policy needs to be provided in an easy-to-understand document withclear procedures, capture, naming conventions and data protection
requirements. This needs to be shared across the whole business withtraining undertaken to secure buy-in and understanding of the businessbenefits that can be achieved.
To mitigate issues, it is recommended to assign access levels to users
based on their training, role and responsibilities. In addition, an auditing
processes needs to be regularly undertaken to ensure compliance andidentify accountability for inaccurate data entry.

E B O O K Data Use and Management Top Tips

9TOP TIP 8: Prepare for GDPR
You may well have heard that updated data protection rules, known as theGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be coming into force inMay 2018.

The GDPR include
requirements around:This will impact any organisation that holds and uses ‘personallyidentifiable information’ on customers, clients, staff or partners.

• Privacy policies and transparency on use

As a legislative requirement this provides a great opportunity to address
your data management and use challenges across your business.

• Broader definition of ‘personal data’  

THE GDPR will help you to:• Formulate or improve your existing data policies and practices• Hone which data with real value you capture and use for improved
customer insight• Improve data cleansing and updating for improved accuracy• Improve data security and handling• Drive the adoption or improvement of business solutions such as CRM,
to help effectively manage your data.
Sound information handling makes sound business sense. With the clock
on countdown, it is recommended to become educated on the GDPR
requirements as soon as possible and assess what changes you need tomake to your current data management processes.

and management• Keeping of reliable, auditable records• Mandatory data protection impactassessments• Data breach notifications• ‘Right to be forgotten’• Data portability and restrictions on
international data transfers• Larger fines for breaching regulations –up to 4% of global turnoverFurther details available via The
Information Commissioner’s Office www.ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform

The GDPR may provide the impetus to implement some of the top tips within
this guide and help you deliver improved customer experience and satisfaction.

E B O O K Data Use and Management Top Tips

10NEXT STEPS
It’s evident that the data collected by businesses is a very powerful tool thatneeds to be managed carefully and strategically in order to unlock its potential.
Regardless of your commitment to better exploit the intelligence it can yield,
businesses will soon be forced to analyse their data collection, auditing andhandling systems to comply with GDPR requirements.
Now would be the prime time to review your current strategy and take theopportunity to optimise your data use and turn it into an intelligent, exploitablebusiness asset.
To help you further:• Take our Quick Quiz ‘Test Your Own Data Management Practices’ to 			identify the gaps in your data management and use practices• Have a chat with our CRM Experts to learn how Maximizer CRM can help 		
you better manage and use your customer data assets.
• Look out for our next Business Growth Challenge coming soon where we 		delve deeper into data and look at the business opportunities of the General 		
Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into effect on 25 May 2018.

E B O O K Data Use and Management Top Tips

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