CRM data cleansing is the process of identifying and fixing errors, inconsistencies, duplicates, and outdated information in customer relationship management (CRM) systems to improve data quality. For sales operations teams, having clean and accurate CRM data is crucial for maximizing sales performance.
Common data issues that need cleansing in CRMs include:
- Duplicate records – Multiple entries for the same customer reduce data accuracy. Sales ops will need to merge/delete duplicates.
- Incorrect or missing contact info – Bad phone numbers, emails, addresses damage lead follow-up efforts. Sales ops must verify and update details.
- Outdated records – CRM data decays over time. Sales ops should review stale records and update if needed or archive inactive contacts.
- Inconsistent data – Data entered inconsistently across fields/accounts (e.g. company name variations) complicate reporting. Sales ops must standardize data formats.
- Irrelevant records – Contacts no longer associated with an account waste space. Sales ops should remove irrelevant entries.
- Incomplete records – Missing data fields make records less useful for sales targeting. Sales ops should fill in gaps appropriately.
By routinely cleansing CRM data, sales operations creates complete, consistent and up-to-date information. This improves sales team efficiency by maintaining data integrity and maximizing the value derived from CRM systems. Quality data strengthens lead management, account scoring, pipeline tracking and forecasting — providing sales ops teams with the insights needed to optimize processes.
