Sometimes my office thinks I've gone off the deep end with the focus I have on the amount and integrity of the data we track...particularly that in our CRM - Customer Relationship Management system.  But in many ways it is by far the best tool we have. I swear I could get along without our accounting package if forced to, but not our CRM. There are a number of really good CRMs out there. Of course everyone knows Salesforce.com, because they practically invented Cloud CRM, but there are many others that might suit you better. Here's the deal... if you're not using one or you have one you're not happy with, hold a mirror up for yourself and say one of two things; "It's not my fault. Our company thinks Outlook is a CRM." or "It's not my fault. I can't get others here to use it correctly."  And while you have the mirror up, tell yourself there really is a tooth fairy!  

The fact is that most any CRM will work well, so long as the people who use these "magical" applications realize and respect that they are nothing but databases that without the right processes and rules of use in place, they are useless. Data is just data and CRMs are terrible tools for furthering sales, marketing and service interactions when put in the hands of the wrong people. Sometimes it seems the people who established the CRM, are the same ones who would give a set of golf clubs to a monkey.

It takes management to have a successful system. It takes management to know what's being put in the systems and what's being left out due to laziness, poor training or worse yet, both. And it takes strong will for management not to "cave" to the complaints made by employees who don't want to do the extra work for the good of the overall organization. CRMS are useless if there's not someone assigned to enforce rules for entering new opportunities, updating old data and ensuring that everyone stays committed to a long-term vision for keeping their customers and prospects informed and well taken care of. A CRM is a powerful tool for growing a company's profits and increasing its value, but only if there's administration that keeps it on track.

So is your CRM system non-existent or terrible?  Are you positive that you've got the CRM that fits you best and you've incorporated basic processes and technologies first, and then progressed by adding more automation, collaboration and processes? If not, you might think about starting over, and you can. You can achieve incremental success without a lot of pain, but it'll help a lot if you understand there are four basic levels of effectiveness, each with a very different timeline.

Level I - Apprentice: Keeping Track of Stuff. At this level, be happy that you're getting essential data collection - contacts are being entered consistently. At this point, it's all about creating and maintaining rules for inputting data - "garbage-in, garbage-out" has never been more important.  You must maintain data integrity and the only way to do it is to make sure everyone knows what the rules are and you're going to have to enforce them. Keeping track of all important conversations, meetings and written correspondence with customers is ground zero. It's common to have employees who have different interpretation of "What's important." Spell it out, write it down and have examples. Everyone has to believe that the data you collect is a vital corporate asset and treat it as such.

Level II - Professional: Working Together and Taking Care of Customers Better. At this level you have everyone aligned and working in the best interest of the customer and the company at large. No "non-players" are allowed and there can be no deliberate misuse or lack of use. At this point you will have some integration with other systems such as accounting. You'll know when you've reached this level because prospects, customers and anyone who interacts with your company can feel the high quality of those interactions. Reaching this level shows that you know that customers expect organizations to know who they are, how long they've been doing business with you, what products they've bought, what service issues they've had and how they want you to deal with them.

Level III - Expert: Best Practices Competitively in Action. Everyone wants to play. This level is all about processes and automation. By now you've learned the basics of what works and what doesn't and you have a number of repeatable processes that anyone can follow. You'll have unique processes for how prospects and customers interact with you and you can get a good handle on measuring the CRM's value. Don't kid yourself; implementing this into your daily operations will take time. But you'll know you're at this level when the right people in your organization take action at the right time to close deals, increase awareness and ensure customer satisfaction. New employees start off on a better foot - a clear measure of success and productivity.

Level IV - Master:  Performance Guidance Coasting Along. This is where you put measuring to work. You've done the work and your company is aligned around the customer; everyone in the company is working together, sharing information and tasks based on expertise. Now you need to access the information to measure and monitor performance daily, weekly, monthly and over the long term. Congratulations, now it's all about diligent maintenance.

Wow!  I probably went into way too much detail.  Especially if you consider yourself or your company happy with spreadsheets and something like Outlook.  But I hope you'll take some of this to heart!  I'd love to know that your data isn't just a bunch of ....