Without a centralized and shared knowledge base, you will find you have no actionable business intelligence.
Your CRM must be set up to convert the data you collect from your website and your digital network to provide you with the business intelligence you need to survive.
Organizing your Contacts
There are certain details that must be identified on every contact record.
- Contact names
- Every marketing email carries with it a personalization token and we won't email anyone unless we have their first name.
- Persona / Responsibilities
- Different personas will have different interests - for example, the CEO is going to be interested in different material to the Admin Assistant.
- Spelling and capitalization
- There is nothing worse than a misspelling of a contact name or addressing someone with their name spelt in upper case.
Time spent upfront organizing and cleansing the email contact list will pay back in dividends later.
Setting up Users & Teams
The second most important step necessary for getting the most out of your CRM.
- Each user will be set up in the CRM/Marketing portal with their own login credentials and permissions.
- Each user may be assigned to a "team".
- Each user's email account will be connected to the CRM portal.
- Browser extensions will be installed to enable real-time notifications.
- The HubSpot mobile App is recommended for all users.
One of the most important and useful features of CRM is the real-time notifications of contact activity.
Connecting your Email
Technology allows you to track every email so you know when it's opened and when a link is clicked.
- Once your email such as Outlook or Gmail is connected to your CRM you will receive comprehensive notification of activities.
- You send a proposal via email with an attachment - you will be notified when the email is opened and when the link is clicked.
- A hot prospect who doesn't open the email - not so hot!
- For the contact who opens and clicks - you know they are engaged.
- Every email by default is blind copied to the contact record in the CRM.
- Whether you send the email or a co-worker sends the email it is copied to the contact record.
- This is what we mean by a Central Knowledge Base - no more surprises about who said what!
The CRM provides users with a means to constantly absorb information about activities and thereby empowers them to take effective and timely actions.
Synchronizing Data
For each contact in your CRM with a valid company email domain, the company will be automatically created in the CRM.
- Automatically populates the CRM with:
- Website URL, street address, social media links, etc.
- Numerous insights such as company size, etc.
- Visit-to-lead conversions on your website that capture an email address are automatically added to the CRM contact database and synchronized to their associated company.
Clean data is a prerequisite for efficiency and leveraging technology for populating key data fields eliminates human error and increases efficiency.
Company-Wide Professional Email Signatures
Optimize the look of your email signature blocks and standardize them across the company.
- Decide the company format and implement it company-wide.
- Make sure to include:
- Links to social media and company website.
- Meeting link.
- Link to Google My Business for soliciting reviews.
- Duplicate signature in CRM as well as Outlook/Gmail and launch emails from whichever is more convenient - everything will sync regardless.
A few simple steps make a big difference and present your company as professional and capable.
