{"id":1187,"date":"2020-07-24T15:48:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:33","slug":"why-and-how-to-regularly-clean-your-crm-platform-s-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/why-and-how-to-regularly-clean-your-crm-platform-s-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Why and How to Regularly Clean Your CRM Platform\u2019s Data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If your desk becomes too cluttered, important documents inevitably go missing. Fail to weed through your inbox occasionally and it becomes difficult to separate the email messages that require action versus those that can be ignored. A calendar is only useful as long as the schedule of meetings and appointments remains accurate. <\/p>\n

We routinely ensure we clean up and double-check what\u2019s happening in all of these areas of our work, and the quality and usage of your CRM platform should really be no different. <\/p>\n

In the initial stages, deploying a CRM<\/a> means an organization may stay focused on simply driving adoption across a sales team and other employees. There will be training sessions to conduct and new habits to encourage and reinforce. This is a key phase, because you want to ensure you see return on investment (ROI) as quickly as possible. <\/p>\n

The true benefits of CRM, however, are long-term ones. It could allow your team to become more collaborative, more proactive, quicker to act and better at evaluating the success of a particular sales strategy. <\/p>\n

What sometimes stands in the way of those benefits is a lack of regular auditing and cleansing of CRM data<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s obvious that outdated or erroneous data will scuttle potential deals and overlook new opportunities with customers, CRM audits are one of those tasks that are easy to let fall through the cracks. <\/p>\n

Think of it almost like going to the dentist: we get our teeth cleaned because we know if we don\u2019t, the risk of decay \u2014 and pain \u2014 is a real possibility. <\/p>\n

The difference with a CRM platform is that it takes more than one person to maintain good data hygiene. And all those responsible, from managers to reps, are often heads-down dealing with urgent tasks that an audit could always be put off. <\/p>\n

Rather than jeopardize the health of your CRM (and therefore your entire sales operation), treat audits and data cleansing as a standard procedure that gets seamlessly woven into your regular processes. Make a quarterly appointment to kick it off, and stick to it. <\/p>\n

The good news is that this is not an arduous process. Here\u2019s what to do: <\/p>\n

Key Elements of an Audit<\/h2>\n

Even before you dive into the data itself, there are a number of areas you\u2019ll want to consider as you assess the value you\u2019re getting from your CRM over time. These include: <\/p>\n