If you’re already settled in with your customer relationship management software, you may not want to think about incorporating address validation software—after all, it takes time to train your employees on new software and money to purchase it. However, Experian address validation and similar solutions integrate with existing CRM software, such as SalesForce and SugarCMS, so you don’t have to retrain your entire staff. In the end, address validation software can save you time and money and increase your sales.
Accurate Customer Data
Whether you’re using customer relationship management software for B2B or B2C practices, having accurate data is vital. Address verification software provider QAS reports that up to one-third of your customer data becomes outdated within a year. When you’re working on a personal relationship with your customers, particularly B2B customers, you can’t have 30 percent of your records inaccurate. Address validation tools address this concern and mitigate the problems directly within your CRM software.
Salesforce and SugarCRM are two popular CRM packages that have address validation add-ons available. Ideally, your address validation software includes both domestic and international options. You might not work on an international market currently, but if you expand, you want to have that feature available to you. While you can use separate address validation software, it’s a lot less hassle to get an add-on that works with the software and graphical user interfaces you’re used to using.
Customer Loyalty Programs
Customer loyalty programs can help build your customers’ confidence in your brand. However, if you’re sending them mislabeled mailers, if the coupons get to them too late or your communication about these programs never gets to your customers at all, you’re going to have a problem keeping them interested. Address validation tools, when used with your CRM software, allow you to identify the unique interests of a particular segment of your customers.
Perhaps you want to send one mailer to families, with another mailer going to customers who have purchased electronics in the past three months. The CRM software identifies the customer demographic, while the address validation software makes sure the addresses are up-to-date. These tools allow your business to have a good focus on the different demographics your customers represent, as well as their particular buying patterns.
Customer Support Calls
Customer support is another area that extensively uses customer relationship management software, whether it’s included in the ticketing system or as part of the overall CRM application. If your customer service representatives need to schedule technician visits or other on-site support, they need to have up-to-date address information. Otherwise, the technicians might not find the address in their GPS, and you’re going to have a rather angry customer on your hands.
Have you considered using address validation applications alongside your customer relationship management software? What benefits have you seen with this practice?
This is a guest post by Ken Masuda. Ken runs a successful neighborhood auto shop and writes from home on the weekends.
Zestee 