Integration Use Cases – Relationship One

November 14, 2020 Stan

Are you doing the “Batch and Blast” dance or the “Spreadsheet mambo?” Do you have data in several platforms or events happening where data is not fully captured? Are you using a perfectly configured CRM system to export data and load it manually into your Marketing Platforms alongside purchase data from a different platform? Sometimes it seems you need to be an excel guru – pulling in data from dozens of sources and manipulating it in hopes that you “vlookuped” correctly and sorted by the correct column. Then, if you’re lucky, the data is still relevant enough to pull into your Marketing Platform to reach your target Contacts in a timely manner.

Are you ready for your Systems to start working for you?

I want you to imagine a scenario where you have all your data in one location and your boss asks you for a list of customers who purchased a widget over the weekend. If all your data is integrated in one location you no longer need to clear your schedule, request information from a team of departments to produce results that are marginally useful because they are hours or days old. This can be you, if your data is integrated into your marketing platform correctly.

Statistics show that follow up to a customer should be within 24 hours. The ability to track customer data in real-time allows you to better send the right message at the right time.

Creating a single database that is your source of truth for all your independent systems can save you time and stress by knowing that you have a single place to view your data. No more spreadsheets just waiting for you to select the wrong column of data in your formula.

Here are some use cases to think about that may just help you find some time to learn a new dance and put away that spreadsheet for a little while.

Many companies today are using a Standard CRM system, a separate Accounting system and a Marketing platform containing crucial contact privacy data. All of these systems contain pieces of information related to the same contact or account. Why not bring all of this data into one system creating your “System of Truth.”

Evaluate each system for a common unique identifier
Conduct a Data Hygiene audit on each system
1. Remove duplicates
2. Evaluate field level formatting to standardize on one format

You may have Event data from Sales gatherings, Educational in person events, and online webinars that provide priceless prospect and nurture data. This is data that you don’t want to entrust to a business card making its way from a show into your database or a non-integrated iPad Registration making its way into your system in a timely manner. There are so many integrated apps and tools that can bring this data into your systems automatically, removing the chance of your paper business cards getting washed in the laundry or your iPad being left at the airport or worse yet, stolen from your car. Your Marketing system can be hard at work following up with those prospects while you are out celebrating or taking that much needed nap.

Having a Social Media presence is, for most companies, as common as having a cell phone these days. You should be putting a lot of thought into how you use these platforms so why not include your Marketing Platform in the workflow. Its sitting there ready for you to let it tap into this data.

Reporting is something you can never have enough of. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one platform you could rely on to create and manage these reports? One system that hold all the data from your company activities and interactions with your customers and future customers. Build those reports and manage them all in one platform.

I hope some of these ideas have helped you think of ways where building an integration could give you some time back in your life, learn a new dance or not but put those hard-working powerful systems to work for you. Let us know how we can help you brainstorm and make some of your ideas a reality.

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