Take a systematic approach to doing business and get your clients and contacts organized.

When it comes to building a successful business, true professionals understand the value of a systematic, streamlined approach. Efficiency and productivity are the hallmarks of an enterprise on the rise, and a database has the power to artfully organize your business’s details. What’s more, databases make it far easier to launch marketing campaigns and get in touch with clientele at any given time. If you’re just starting your own brand or team, take a look below to understand the whyand the how of database management, while learning how this tool can modernize your day-to-day workflow.

Get Answers Quickly

With a database, you can compile all the relevant information regarding your business, its vendors, and clientele in an easy-to-access way. I prefer Contactually for my customer relationship management system, but there are many great options available. Say you’re planning a direct mail campaign targeting locale clientele—having a database makes piecing together this information as simple as a straightforward search. I like to categorize mine based on how I know the person. I also make note of when I spoke to a person last, as well as how many contacts I make each day and week. You won’t have to go digging through past invoices or emails to find, gather, and record the information you’ll need. With just a few keystrokes, you can summon all the relevant data you require.

Save Yourself Time with Automation

CRMs not only catalog relevant user data but also can, in some cases, automate certain tasks. Perhaps you’d like to send out a weekly email to a certain subset of clients or to generate a report based on quarterly invoicing; you can program certain database management systems to complete menial tasks that would otherwise take up valuable energy of your own. As the information you manage in your database grows, your management system will need to evolve too. So, make sure the system you choose is upgradable and flexible. Luckily, database management systems are an increasingly popular tech offering—with more and more capabilities added to each new generation.

Unleash the Power of Analytics

Data analytics is a rapidly growing field that uses compiled data to analyze (and often predict) consumer behavior and satisfaction, among other metrics. If you take advantage of a database’s full capability, you no longer have to guess whether your last direct mail or social media ad campaign was worth its cost. Instead, you can enter response data into your database and generate insight that’s tailor-made for your business. Contactually has a relationship score right on the dashboard, which I find to be very helpful. While the idea of managing your database, or entering this information, might seem like an extra task, it actually saves time, money, and aggravation in the long run. You’ll have a hard and fast source of data to turn to when it comes to planning budgets, marketing campaigns, year-over-year growth, and more.

In many ways, databases have been around for a long time. Rolodexes and spreadsheets were the industry standard for so many years because they effectively took guesswork and disorganization out of the equation. CRMs are the 21st century way of cataloging your business with the ability to harness data for your benefit. By investing in a database management system, you’ll be treating your business like a true business—gathering your details with care, organization, and vision for the long term.

Author: Brandon Doyle, ABR, e-PRO, is a second-generation real estate pro with RE/MAX Results in the Twin Cities. He is also coauthor of the book M3—Mindset, Methods & Metrics: Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. Learn more about Doyle at www.doylerealestateteam.com.