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The clocks have gone forward and the daffodils are out. It is traditionally a time we Spring clean our homes, but what about your business?
This Spring, there are some big changes coming. If you are running a small or large business, you need to be on top of the data you store and gather, particularly with the change in the law around data protection. GDPR will be in place from 25 May 2018, and all companies have to change the way they deal with data. But before this, you need to understand the type of customers you want to attract.
Step One – Who is your ideal customer?
My White Paper on “Understand the importance of knowing your ideal client and create your own Avatar” is an ideal place to start.
You need to create an avatar for your business, to ensure that you are addressing the real problems or issues that your customers or clients face.
My guide helps you do three things:
- Learn why you need an Avatar
- Learn how to use an Avatar
- Create your own Avatar by using our handy guide.
Even if you have done this before, I would recommend doing this annually as your customers can change and evolve. You can learn something new every time you do the process!
Your business needs to be clear on who its ideal customer is to make sure your marketing messages, content creation and systems fit this persona.
Step Two – Look at your data
Once you know who your ideal customer is, you should do an audit of your data to see if it fits your avatar. When I talk about data, I mean your customer data or client information.
With GDPR coming into force, you need to make sure you comply with the law and think carefully about the information you hold about your customers, and have compliant protocols in place to be able to contact them with offers and a newsletter. You also need to ensure that a process is in place when gathering new contact data too. Find out more about GDPR and how it can be an opportunity for your business rather than a threat by signing up to my Lifting the Lid Off GDPR list.
If you don’t have pre-defined data input systems or have several people in your company entering data, it can lead to duplication, inconsistent data entries, or incomplete records.
Also, if a GDPR protocol isn’t put in place, and your records aren’t cleaned up, it could have serious implications for how you grow your business, not to mention you could be breaking the law.
Carrying out a data health check will help you on your GDPR compliance journey and let you know which areas of your contact database or CRM are lacking information. You can then decide which segments of data need to be enriched, and which contacts need to be updated, or re-categorised.
Once you have done a spring clean of your data, you can see what gaps you have, and come up with a strategy to improve that area of your business.
Step 3 – Last but not least, invest in a good CRM (Contact Relationship Management).
A quality CRM will allow your business to store data and manipulate it efficiently to reflect your customer avatar, saving you time and money. You may question the need for a CRM, but every business should have one, read my blog, or watch my YouTube video, to find out why they can help all businesses.
With a CRM in place, you can embark on a new financial year knowing that you have an effective way of communicating with your ideal customer and managing their data.
We have used CapsuleCRM for the last seven years to help clients improve their revenue, spend less, use their contacts productively, manage their work pipeline, and deliver their client work efficiently.
We can help businesses find their ideal customer avatar and then design and install a bespoke CapsuleCRM to suit their exact business requirements. We can also do a data health check on existing databases to ensure you have high-quality data.
To find out more email julia.blake@blakeconsultants.co.uk or call 01635 592020
