Small businesses worldwide now operate in the digital space, leveraging various apps and software to streamline their operations. One such solution is the digitization of contact management, which propels sales, marketing, and other processes forward.
Gone are the days of manual contact management, where names and phone numbers were jotted down on notepads or business cards stored in a rotary card holder. Today, smartphones and PCs play a crucial role in managing, sharing, and storing important business contacts.
However, simply adding a new contact to an electronic address book is not enough. It is imperative for businesses to adopt comprehensive contact management systems that offer advanced features and functionalities to maximize efficiency and productivity.
Best Practices for Managing Personal and Business Contacts
#1 Clean your data
The digital universe is vast and experiences a doubling in size every two years. A significant portion of this data, however, holds no value for anyone.
When dealing with big data, the primary challenge lies in determining the data’s worthiness. In the context of contact management, undesirable data includes duplicates, outdated or incorrect information, and details that violate privacy regulations such as GDPR. It is crucial to ensure that contact data is appropriately handled in these cases.
#2 Avoid creating duplicates
They and their employees likely use multiple devices on a daily basis – such as smartphones and personal computers. Apart from the devices, they also navigate various apps, online services, and communication channels daily, all of which can be utilized to connect with new prospects and partners. These devices and apps simplify the process of adding new contacts on their respective platforms, resulting in the accumulation of duplicate entries under different names and labels.
Now imagine everyone in your company doing the same. Chaos can run amok quite quickly if you’re not careful, and even worse, this can jeopardize your operation in many ways. Not only will confusion run the office, but your employees will have a difficult time handling contacts. They will struggle to communicate with prospects without making mistakes like reaching out to the same people twice, forgetting to reach out at all, or pushing the wrong kind of message to the wrong person.
#3 Keep records of conversations
Recording calls are useful for various tasks: as a reminder, to prove agreed tasks, to create documents based on a conversation, etc. It can be either a regular iPhone phone recorder or a full-fledged call recorder tool. To organize an efficient and convenient recording, you can use the iCall Recorder iOS app – one of the most practical and powerful applications in its category. This iPhone call recorder app supports high-quality recording, includes a free trial version, allows you to easily share recordings, and has the ability to sort them. iCall for personal purposes, as well as small and medium businesses – is the ideal solution.
#4 Use a centralized database
Contact data plays a crucial role in every department of every business. The challenge arises from the variations in contact detail collection methods across different departments.
Sales teams commonly utilize customer relationship management (CRM) systems to organize their data, whereas marketers gather contact information such as email addresses via lead generation applications and email marketing platforms. HR and support departments also have unique systems for contact management.
#5 Sync your data
Maintaining customer data across various cloud-based applications and services can often prove to be a formidable task. However, the challenge can be addressed by implementing a centralized and synchronized database.
While it is generally advisable to limit the number of applications used in a business to only those necessary for completing the tasks at hand, it is not uncommon for organizations to find themselves utilizing multiple tools. For instance, a business may rely on Mailchimp for conducting email marketing campaigns, HubSpot for managing customer relationships, Zendesk for customer care, and ClickSend for SMS marketing purposes. As each of these applications employs different methods for collecting contact data, it is inevitable that diverse data formats and structures emerge, resulting in a fragmented data landscape.
#6 Filter & segment contacts
Contacts have distinct requirements and expectations, underscoring the significance of a thoroughly segmented and categorized contact database. By employing intelligent filters and lists, related contacts can be grouped together, facilitating customized interactions. This strategy guarantees the timely delivery of relevant information to the relevant contacts, precisely when it is required.
#7 Add custom fields & notes
One method for efficient contact organization involves the integration of custom fields within each individual’s record. This facilitates the consolidation of all pertinent information into a centralized location. Additionally, users are provided with the ability to store additional details as notes, which can be conveniently accessed within the contact records whenever required.
Conclusion
Contact management is not a one-size-fits-all solution – each organization has its own unique requirements for managing contacts. It requires time and effort to identify the optimal strategy that aligns with the needs of the business. However, the investment is worthwhile. By adhering to the following seven best practices, businesses can establish a contact management system that guarantees utmost efficiency and productivity.
