"Our CRM system sucks."

Probably the largest complaint I hear from folks who complain about their existing CRM application is the quality of data within it. Data quality is an enormous issue both during an implementation/conversion and after your system is live. With low-quality customer data, your CRM system slowly evolves into nothing more that a contact tracking system. With high-quality customer data, you are able to take advantage of some of the larger benefits that a robust CRM application is capable of delivering: targeted marketing, measuring campaign effectiveness, customer lifecycle, and selling add-on services to name a few.

Due to a less complex organizational structure, small businesses are uniquely positioned to ensure data quality within their CRM application. Here are a few tips to keep your data in shape:

1. Start clean - considering implementing a new Customer Relationship Management system? Make data cleansing a top priority when loading any pre-existing data into your new system. Without high-quality data, your expensive investment is immediately much less valuable.

2. Data Quality Tools - look for a CRM package or provider that allows your super users to merge records and helps to prevent bad data from being accidentally entered. Your employees will occasionally get a little sloppy and enter duplicate records. Functionality to allow your supervisors to clean up this data will be extremely valuable.

3. Training - Emphasize the importance of data quality when training your sales force and support staff. The data that they capture impacts all areas of the business. Acknowledge those who provide complete, high-quality data.

4. Appoint a data czar - Identify someone within your organization to take ownership of data quality. This person can work with employees to minimize duplicate entries, utilize available CRM functionality to clean up data, and identify any root causes if your data quality begins to slip.

The quality of your data is critical to the success of your CRM system. Give it the attention it deserves.