The “Why” and “How” of Storing Client Information and Documenting Marketing Opportunities.

Here’s the deal: Knowing your customer is the bread and butter of any marketing strategy. 

The data that you can collect about your customers can be used to incredible effect—and we’ll touch on that in a bit. However, managing and storing that information can present its own challenges, especially since customer data can be scattered across multiple areas. 

And here’s the other part of the puzzle: Your sales team.

When you have excellent customer data, you and your sales team can use that information (along with many more data points) to create new marketing and sales opportunities. 

So, what does it take to do both? Why are they so important? And how can you start managing both processes effectively? Let’s dive in.

What Keeping Client Information Can Do For You

The biggest reason to store client information in the first place is to create a personalized customer experience. That can only happen when you know who your customer is.

That data lends itself to personalizing your website, the products and services that you offer, and even the way you continue to communicate with your customers moving forward. 

Think of it this way: If you read a novel cover-to-cover, you can speak about it (and to others about it) much easier than if you just skimmed the first paragraph. You’ll be better able to speak to your customers’ needs if you store and reference information about them and the decisions they make.

 You can learn more about how customers make decisions here.

There are also two big-picture reasons you’ll want to keep customer data. First, having access to client data provides valuable insights into market trends, preferences, and behaviors. The more client data you store and know, the more inferences you’ll have about the market overall, which you can use to tailor your marketing and sales strategies.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, client data is crucial for making informed, strategic decisions for marketing and sales. Suppose you know who’s available and looking for products and services in your category. In that case, you’ll be better equipped to target your clients appropriately and get more interaction from the right people.

Now that you understand the “why,” let’s cover how to manage and store client data.

How to Manage Client Information

Because client information can live almost anywhere—from Google Drives to emails to personal conversations and everywhere in between—you need to centralize where that data lives, so you can access it at just the right time. 

This is where Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can help. CRM software tracks communication and relationships between your team and clients, collecting scattered data and consolidating different forms of communication in one place. It’s your best bet for keeping an organized record of your client data, so you and your team aren’t left manually managing confusing spreadsheets and databases.

The other important factor to note is data security. Your clients’ information is in your hands, and the responsibility of keeping that data secure falls on your shoulders. Make sure you have a reliable backup and recovery solution in place to keep that information safe from accidental deletion, cybercrime, or even a blackout.

Finally, keep your client information up-to-date. Housing outdated data won’t help you make future-forward decisions. How frequently you decide to update your client information bank will be up to you.

Your next step is to use that valuable client information to document marketing and sales opportunities—and act on them.

Documenting Marketing and Sales Opportunities is a Big Deal

Marketing and sales opportunities happen when you have an “opening” to sell your product or service to the right audience, creating a lead. When you have the right customer data hand, you’ll find marketing opportunities easier to come by—so you’ll want to make sure you’re documenting these opportunities appropriately.  

In the same way storing and managing client data helps you more efficiently access that information, documenting opportunities enables efficient tracking, management, and conversion. In other words, it maximizes your chance of success in marketing and sales efforts.

But don’t be mistaken. Creating a marketing strategy as a result of those opportunities can take time. Here’s a resource that explains why slow-and-steady is the way to go.

In a nutshell, the detailed records of opportunities will give you insights you can use to create an effective, targeted marketing strategy—but you’ll want to collect plenty of data first before you and your sales team make their move.

And your sales and marketing teams will have a better time collaborating as a result of this ongoing exercise. Documenting opportunities takes effort from both parties, ensuring aligned, synergistic efforts. When your teams are in lockstep, your organization functions like a well-oiled machine. 

Finally, opportunity documentation allows for comprehensive performance analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

This is your chance to reach more potential clients to grow your revenue, so part of your performance analysis should involve uncovering competitor strengths and scanning for risks in the market that may cost you more down the line.

Related – From Impressions To Conversions: How To Track Your Marketing Effectiveness and ROI

So, how can you properly keep track of these opportunities to maximize usability?

What You Need to Keep Track of Your Opportunities 

Your marketing and sales teams have too many high-value projects to focus on managing opportunities day in and day out.

Use and invest in sales and marketing automation tools that can efficiently, systematically document and manage opportunities for you. These tools can work even when your team can’t, so you can rely on fresh, relevant information regularly.

As that information trickles in, make sure to standardize the documentation process, ensuring consistency, clarity, and completeness. It may take time to do this properly, so be sure to train the right teams on best practices for opportunity documentation.

Let them know what is most relevant to your organization’s goals and which opportunities are less like to succeed.

Keep in mind that not every opportunity will be especially worthwhile. In that case, analytics and reporting tools can help you monitor and analyze opportunity documentation, giving you insights and trends for more strategic decision-making.

When it Comes Down to it, You Need to USE Your Data 

Sure, you can do all the work to get client information and find every marketing opportunity under the sun—but if you can’t access and use that data, it could just be sitting around collecting metaphoric dust.

That’s why being able to manage your treasure trove of information is just as important as gathering it in the first place. 

Automation tools are an excellent resource here, but so is having leadership in place that understands the vision and knows which opportunities can garner the greatest profits. 

yorCMO is a great way to get a seasoned, fractional CMO at an affordable cost, so you aren’t just collecting and storing data—but actually using it.

Here’s how a fractional CMO can help you make the most out of your current approach and take the next step in creating a great approach.

Are You Doing it Right? 

The big question you might have come away with is:

Am I doing enough to store client data, document marketing opportunities, AND use that information to actually better my overall marketing strategy?

There’s a lot to keep in mind, so we’ve come up with a simple, 10-question quiz that will help you assess your marketing approach.

 Go through the questions, and then one of our fractional CMOs will reach out to you with a detailed report of how you’re doing and what you can do differently to make the biggest impact in the market.