I worked with a company once that changed its data criteria constantly. One day it was “we need to add x to our database to track for all companies.” The next month it was to add y. And so on and so on. This process became cumbersome, especially since there were about 250 users of the system and 35,000 company records to update this new field with information. It required a combination of internet research, data uploads from list companies, and user input.

When you are working with a sizeable amount of data, it is difficult to update information one field at a time. It takes a lot of time to go through each record and find the correct information to input. And if you are working with a list broker to get some of that information, by not knowing what additional fields you will need to purchase, you will begin to spend more than you should have if you had consolidated the information into one purchase. Lastly, you will begin to harass your users by asking them month after month for additional information.

Instead, develop a plan to gather information at once, instead of piecemeal. Create a committee consisting of a person from each necessary department (marketing, sales, business development, operations). Brainstorm together to figure out what necessary information, beyond what you already have in your database, you need to properly manage your clients and prospects. When you have that list together, then devise a plan to collect the information for each of the records in your system. Will you need user input? Can you gather most of the information from the Internet (if you are dealing with public companies, the answer is probably yes. Private companies are harder to collect key information online). Do you need to purchase a subscription with an online data tool such as Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet or idExec, or purchase information from them to append to your database? Whatever the means of finding the data, make sure you have a plan ahead of time to save you both time and money in your quest to fill in the information in your database.

This will make for more happy users of the system and upper management. It will also give you a better picture of each of your clients and prospects to better track and produce results for your business.

As a follow-up to this process, make sure you communicate the database changes you are making to all of your users. If they log in one day and see new fields, they may get confused and begin to stop using the system.