What does Database mean to you?

The word database can mean different things to different people. To some a database is their collection of names, addresses and telephone numbers of contacts for their business be it either on a spreadsheet, an address book, entered in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution or as a batch of business cards in a box somewhere.

For others a database is a list of stock available for sale or any list to do with their business.

According to Wikipedia, a database is an organised collection of data. The data is typically organized to model aspects of reality in a way that supports processes requiring information.

If you have multiple databases you sometimes find that information is duplicated or you cannot find the data you are looking for. Here at Convallis Software we are specialists in the development of bespoke databases and can help you get your business databases organised.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you, we offer a free initial one hour consultation (depending on location) to discuss your personal requirements.

What businesses can use a CRM?

When I go out networking and to other businesses about what we do, when I mention CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions I often get asked 'Well what kind of businesses use that?' and 'Why have a CRM?'

We have many different business sectors using our ConvallisCRM product. These include sports clubs, retailers, cleaning companies, a pyrotechnic company and holiday cottages. These businesses have a varying number of employees and users of the system.

If you are just starting out in business you may think that you do not need a formalised system of recording your contacts, maybe you keep a box of business cards, a record in a notebook or a spreadsheet. Over time this will become uncontrollable and you could potentially lose some essential information. Getting a CRM system in place early on allows you to keep control of your records from the start in one central location and reduces the need to do something later on when your data may be starting to become out of control.

As your business grows you might end up taking on more staff. A CRM allows you to add additional users (you may have to pay for additional user licenses) to enable everyone in your business access to important client data. This reduces the need for multiple contact spreadsheets - sometimes duplicating data more than once - not very efficient I hope you agree.

Going back to the original question, 'What businesses can use a CRM?' personally I think any size business would find a use for a CRM to help keep accurate records and to have a central database for all their contact data, I say this as we have businesses from one single user to 50 users using our CRM.

Is Your Database Up to Date?

Have you ever thought about how often you look at the information contained on your database? I ask this question as whilst going through a prospects list in our CRM for some particular marketing that a few of the contacts I have have either closed the business, moved premises or moved on to pastures new.

It's essential when you are selecting your contacts for marketing that the details you hold are correct and up to date, it won't look very professional if you end up sending an email or letter to an out of date contact or wrong address. To check my contacts I used a combination of web search for the company and LinkedIn for the person. Results were very interesting, most of the information I had was correct apart from a couple of address changes or company websites that re-directed to a 403 error or this page no longer exists. At least now with the information I have I will be fairly confident in ensuring that the right message gets to the right person.

In conclusion, it's worth checking and keeping your database up to date and check the following information to make sure it's correct:

• Name - is the person still at the company? If not is there an up to date contact on the website, otherwise it might be worth calling to find out.
• Address - has the business moved?
• Website - is the business still trading?

If you don't have a database why not take a free trial of ConvallisCRM our customer relationship management solution available as either a desktop or cloud solution?

Just One Reason to use a CRM

Example from ConvallisCRM - keeping accurate records

A recent phone call I received from a life insurance company has prompted my to write this post as it is something I feel quite strongly about.

Just after lunch ABC Healthcare called (I'll keep them anonymous) asking to speak to me. I asked what they were calling for and they were trying to sell me life insurance. I wasn't interested but mentioned that they had called a couple of weeks ago asking the same question and my answer hasn't changed since then. Just after the call the other week I also had a call from a charity asking me if I would like to purchase life insurance from the same ABC Healthcare, of course I said no and told them that ABC Healthcare had already been in contact with me.

What this tells me is that ABC Healthcare doesn't seem to have any sort of accurate record keeping of contacts with people on their database (I don't know how I got on their database but that's a whole new conversation!). If they use a customer relationship management (CRM) solution such as our ConvallisCRM they can keep a record of calls and interaction with people on their database and not waste mine and their time by repeating a sales calls that I said no to very recently. It makes me wonder what types of systems do these companies have in place, from experience many companies have multiple databases containing duplicate records so one person working there will not necessarily see what someone else has been working on and repeat an action. Databases need to be centralised and organisations should have systems in place so that everyone can access the same data, maybe within some sort of authentication as to what they can do with the data, read-only, change data etc.

If you would like to have all your contact data in one place please take a look at ConvallisCRM, we offer a free 30 day trial of the desktop version but are also able to offer a cloud solution from only £20 + vat per month. Please contact us if you would like to find out more.

About Us!

We are an award winning (Best Business Start-up, North Devon Awards 2008) IT company based in Devon bringing together a professional team of developers, designers and associates that are dedicated to helping you get the best from all of your IT investments.
Established in 2006, we have a track record of assisting clients from all over the south west and beyond to get the most from their IT, whether it be  bespoke software/database development, ConvallisCRM , Microsoft Office 365 and Cloud solutions, web solutions  or general advice and consultancy. We are Microsoft Partners and some members of the team are Microsoft Technical Specialists. We have an ongoing programme of training and keep up to date with all the latest technical developments.
We recognise that there are many IT suppliers you can work with, but while a lot of companies will do the bare minimum, we pride ourselves on our customer-centred approach, where your happiness is paramount and our interest doesn’t evaporate as soon as you’ve signed the contract.