You may have heard of CRM. It’s a vital aspect of any modern business. In fact, a whopping 91% of businesses with over 11 employees now use it!
For businesses to stay ahead of the competition, they need to understand what their customers are looking for. That’s where Customer Relationship Management comes in. With a good system in place, businesses can analyze and predict their customer’s needs and develop products and services to meet their needs.
Now, where does all of this valuable customer information come from? Data collection and database management solutions, of course. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have the expertise to manage their databases properly. That’s where database consultants come in! They can help you create an effective database that can be integrated into your management system to make your customer management more effective and targeted.
In fact, did you know that businesses that use CRM and other sales management tools can increase their sales productivity by up to 50%? That’s worth considering!
There are many benefits to outsourcing your database management solutions to a consultant or consultant agency, including:
- Time-saving
In any business, time means money, and database management is no different. Hiring an expert consultant means they only focus on that part of the business, and with the tools they possess, they can complete the project much faster than doing it in-house.
- Cost-saving
Hiring a team of employees takes time and money. Outsourcing your database project will save you money by not having to spend the time and money to onboard new employees.
- Scaling
It is much easier to scale up and down when working with an outsourced partner. Depending on the needs of your database project, you can easily scale up and down when working with a consultant rather than having to employ and dismiss employees.
- Expertise
These consultants have experience working with data projects of all sizes and bring expertise built up by all this experience. This is irreplaceable and very beneficial for your business. With the consultant working on your projects, you can focus on the actual running of your business.
CRM implementation with database consulting has assisted many businesses in taking a leap forward in their customer management. They understand their customers much better and can offer products or services that their customers want and will pay for. One such example is Mckinsey’s collaboration with Amazon. The two companies teamed up in 2022 and worked together successfully to tackle the next horizon of cloud transformation.
Choosing the Right Database Consulting Partner
Hiring a consultant or database services provider for your data projects can be one of the most important decisions you make for your business. Just like employees, you can choose the wrong one and end up paying for it. There are many database consultants out there, and finding the best one for your needs can be challenging. To assist you in this choice, we have listed some points below to consider when opting to appoint a database consultant or agency:
- Skill and expertise
It is important to research consultants that have experience in your specific industry or at least markets that have some relevance. Consultants with experience in your industry will just understand your business better, and there will be no need for training or onboarding such a person at the start of the project. The more expertise in your market, the better the outcome will normally be.
- Past Experience
This is the most important factor to look into. Any consultant worth their name should have previous work to show you as examples. Many database consulting experts or agencies have intellectual rights on the systems they design and require NDAs to be signed before viewing their work, but they make an effort and look into their historical projects. It will give you a good idea of what they can offer you and if it is what you have in mind.
- Location
Keep in mind database consultants work from around the world. Ideally, you want to hire a specialist that works from more or less the same timezone as your business. You don’t want to lose important business hours! Also, consider that specialists ask for different rates in different countries. So, it’s important to do some research to see where you can get the best level of skill and experience at an affordable rate. Saving money and time are key factors for any business!
Besides the above factors, there are also some specific skills and qualifications you might have to consider when choosing the correct data consulting partner for your business. It’s a very technical field, and skills such as programming and a keen eye for detail are non-negotiable. You can also take a look at their education. Any database consultant should at least have a degree in the IT field and also have some programming qualifications to assure you they have what it takes to take on your project!
The most important skill will be communication, as this is one of the basic principles of consulting, and you should never struggle to understand exactly what the status of your outsourced project is. Communicating and reporting any problems or progress is vital so you, the business owner, are always up to date with where the project is.
Implementing CRM with Expert Database Consulting: A Step-by-Step Guide
Ok, so now that you have decided to appoint a database consultant to help with database consulting services, what is the next step? Below is a detailed step-by-step guide of what can be expected.
- Preparing for the implementation
First and foremost, you need to ascertain what your goals are and set them. It is important to set realistic objectives with detailed descriptions for anyone to understand how and why you concluded what your objectives are.
- Conducting an assessment
Next, you will conduct an assessment of your available data and see where it falls short and how you can improve on the detail and availability of your data. The data annotation specialist will have all the tools necessary for this assessment and will guide you through the process.
- Database Design
Now that we know what our objectives are and what shortfalls we have identified, we know what to design our database for! Your database can be designed and customized to suit your needs and gather the data you are interested in, so this is a very important step in the process.
- Migration and Testing
Ok, so you have your database. It is now time to migrate the database into your CRM. After migration, you will test your new database and how well it works in union with your CRM. If any faults are picked up, they should be eliminated, and testing should be run again.
- Training and support
After it has been established that the database runs well within the Customer Relationship Management system, it is now time to train the team that will be using the system. There should also be a form of support after the system has been implemented, as faults or errors can be picked up during use, and you should be able to contact the consultant to assist in sorting these issues out.
- Measuring success and optimizing performance
Continuous improvement is the name of the game. Periodic audits should be completed to measure if the system is successful and where it has shortcomings. Business adapts, and so should your CRM.
Bottom Line
Database management is an essential part of business, and as with other technologies are leaning towards incorporating new techs like machine learning and artificial intelligence. As a business owner or manager, it is important to stay up to date with the new technologies that can help you grow your business and stay competitive. It is, therefore, vital to keep improving your systems and ensure regular audits are done to see how you measure up against your competition. The future is exciting, and with all this technology on our side, the sky’s the limit!
