All companies operate in their own way. They have their own business strategies, vision, mission and goals. Their manner of handling consumer data also differs from one another. Joshua Melick says that while some companies may manage their data better than the others, but on the whole, most of them have their unique brand of chaos when it comes to data handling. Bigger organizations do put a lot of hard work and resources in data collection and management, but their whole process is usually too convoluted.
Data is an invaluable part of most modern businesses, and plays a vital role in defining its growth and future prospects. Joshua Melick, however, mentions that unfortunately, many business founders do not properly grasp the value of data or the need of getting it right. Some of these individuals are not too technical and seem to think that data related hassles are not a thing their visionary mind should get concerned about. On the other hand, founders that are too technical may find data related issue to be too minor and beneath their level of expertise. But of these approaches of thinking are wrong. Any well-run modern business needs to have an adequately established data system. The CRM usually is that system.
Customer Relationship Management or CRM software helps in properly organizing the expansive of data a company has on both their current and prospective customers. Such tools aid businesses to effectively leverage such data to acquire insights that helps them to build optimal customer relationships. Customer data is vital for both the marketing and sales team of the company, and it can also be valuable for its decision-makers. If a business has a strong sales and support function, they would need CRM to complement in and deliver better results. Consulting companies, e-commerce business and a host of other types of firms also require CRM.
To make proper use of data, one needs to be clear about the systems they use for this collection, management, analyzes and storage. While it is better to use a lesser and more comprehensive systems for all such tasks, one can use multiple systems only if they are sure to not mix up the process due to the complications involved. It is important for a business to define clear ownership handoffs when trying to use multiple systems.
As per Joshua Melick, a lot of companies these days use Salesforce for their data management related tasks. This is a CRM tool that can help align a company team on how data will be collected, reviewed, and used to drive their business goals. However, while it’s a powerful tool, there are multiple disadvantages associated with Salesforce as well, especially for people who are forced to work manually. Even if a person bears the high expense involved in this tool, they have to deal with a cumbersome UI, and face issues in use cases like outside sales, high touch relationships, and concierge-level service.