Best Business Practices: Keep References Organized

There are a class of business practices that's essentially ‘the way things are done’. Many times, those practices pertain to ethics, sometimes they pertain to personnel, and others have to do with marketing. Some of the practices are difficult to keep up with, but well worth the effort. For instance, keeping your business references organized is one way to make a difficult task much, much easier.

Honestly, keeping track of all your business contacts can be a real pain. We have to gather customer reference data from dozens of different input sources, and they all vary wildly. From personal meetings, phone calls, PDA tags and show or conference databases to trying to keep track of the stray handshakes and “Hi, how are you?” when you pass on the street. Integrating all that data into one place makes it a simple prospect to access it when you need. This means it is essential if we’re to be successful in maintaining that great professionalism we all want to achieve.

In order for us to do our jobs the best we can, having that information at our fingertips is vitally important. By putting the data into the system the instant we get it, we know it’ll always get done. When we put it off, it can “fall off the table” as it were, and important details can be lost. Whatever the source, whether it’s from the phone or on the ‘net from a contact site, from a show or event, or even off of business card or PDA beam exchange or even just a lead from a magazine or even a name mentioned in passing, integrating that info into the customer reference tool means we can find it again. This takes discipline, as getting sidetracked into another project or call is all too easy to do, but that discipline pays off in the long run.

Another practice to pursue assiduously is verifying and maintaining the database in a consistent manner. Regardless of how often customers contact us, or how often we contact customers, we have to have a consistent methodology in place. This is used to ensure our customer references are as up to date as possible. Having a customer’s name and a need to contact them is great, but if we can’t because our data is out of date, that is a customer lost. It can be embarrassing to have the need to call a customer back to ask for an email address or fax number simply because we didn't get it the first time. Simply take that extra 10 seconds to say “Is your email address still…” and “Is your fax number…..” This will at least save minutes later and may even save a lost sale from a customer who is disgruntled because you have to keep calling back for trivial information.

Even with the best maintenance, you can’t prevent losing a customer who changes jobs or moves on, but with multiple reference points like email addresses and cell phone numbers, your odds are a lot higher you’ll be able to reconnect to the customer at a later time. in today’s economy, simply because a customer changes jobs, that doesn’t mean they have to change vendors. By contacting customers consistently, whether there’s a need or not, means your database stays current.

This can definitely be a hassle, but your customer reference database is quite likely your most cherished asset and most powerful tool when it comes down to marketing and sales. While stuff like desks and chairs and offices can be replaced if you have a disaster, your client list is what your business is built on. Take good care of it, and it’ll take good care of you.

Today's business environment, any edge we can have to be more successful is an edge we have to find a way to get. Customer Reference Insights is a place to find the tools and customer reference system to get those advantages for yourself. Check it out!