Functions & Application Examples of CRM Address Management

1. What is the address management in a CRM system?
2. How does the address management in a CRM system differ from other address management methods?
3. What advantages does the use of CRM address management offer?
4. What functions are included in a CRM address management?
5. What challenges are there in the implementation of address management in a CRM system?
6. Which CRM systems are suitable for address management?
7. Conclusion

In a data-driven world, Customer Relationship Management tools, briefly CRM tools, play an increasingly important role for the success of a company. The heart and prerequisite for a well-functioning customer relationship management is the so-called CRM address management.

But what is meant by CRM address management and what functions, advantages and application examples are there? Our guest author Sören Hüttenberger will answer these questions in this article.

What is the address management in a CRM system?

Address management refers to the uniform storage and sorting of the collected address records of your company. These address records usually include at least the name, address, email, company and job title of your contact persons. In addition to this, these address records can be enriched with further data, so that you can find all important information about the contact.

The management of these data records is part of and the basis of a CRM tool and enables your company to create, segment and use contacts company-wide. Thus, address management is the foundation of good customer relationship management and sets the course for all further communication measures.

Component and basis of a CRM tool

How does the address management in a CRM system differ from other address management methods?

While the address management in a CRM system is scalable and can depict complex data records, most other address management methods cannot. The great advantage of an address management within a CRM system is the possibility to represent complex object relations and to enrich them with further information. Thus, most 'simple' address management methods only have one object, for example 'contacts', so that no object relations (e.g. assigned contacts and companies) can be depicted. This means that you collect a list of contact persons and the associated companies are not taken into account.

Collection list of contact persons

Complex object relations can be presented in a CRM system in a simple and clear way. This is due to the fact that there are several objects here, which can be connected with each other. In most CRM systems, the following objects (denomination can vary from system to system) exist

• Contacts
• Companies

A big advantage of CRM address management is the possibility to expand data records beyond common information such as name and address with further information. Thus, not only address data is recorded within a CRM system, but also information about activities, purchased products etc. Contact details are also captured. These data can include information about marketing, sales or service measures, so that the complete company communication with the contact or the company can be recorded in the respective objects. This leads to the conclusion that not only properties about the contact or the company can be stored and segmented, but also all further information that was collected within the marketing, sales or service measures.

This means that the big difference between a CRM address management and other address management methods is the networking and enrichment of different objects with each other.

What advantages does the use of CRM address management offer?

By using CRM address management, data records are recorded in a structured way and can thus be made accessible and usable for all. This leads to the possibility of benefitting from the following advantages:

Cross-team cooperation

With a CRM address management, your employees from different areas can cooperate and have access to a common database. This allows the expert knowledge of individual experts to be optimally used, leading to better coordination and more efficient work within the different departments of your company.

Real-time data access

With a CRM address management, contacts can be quickly and uncomplicatedly accessed at any time and from any location, so that you can update your data immediately after a meeting. This opens up the possibility of being able to make the right decisions everywhere and at any time.

Complex object relations

While in alternative address management methods often only contact data is entered, CRM systems can consider more complex databases. Thus, in most CRM systems not only the contact is recorded, but also the associated company and all marketing, sales and service activities. This leads to the fact that the complete sales process and all communication measures are recorded within the CRM system.

Better data protection

Since personal data is also always stored with the address management, the GDPR must also be complied with. With a CRM address management, the consent of the contacts for the storage and processing can be recorded and documented. In addition, email subscriptions can be managed, so that targeted marketing measures can be implemented. By using a CRM system, communication with the contact can be implemented quickly, securely and reliably in accordance with the GDPR.
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What functions are included in a CRM address management?

The functions of an address management in a CRM vary from system to system. However, there are some functions, which every CRM system should include:

1. Contact management

Contact management is the primary task of a CRM system. Here, the data of all contacts or companies that flow into the CRM system, from initial contact to conversion, are recorded and organized.

In addition to classic 'objects' such as 'contacts' and 'companies', more objects such as 'deals' or 'tickets' can be added. A CRM system should always allow to add further objects in order to depict company processes as precisely as possible.

2. Activity tracking

Another important function is activity tracking. This allows the different members in the sales process to access all communications made between a contact and your company. This keeps all sales staff involved on the same page, allowing for a perfectly coordinated sales process. In addition to the sales activities, marketing and service activities can also be tracked in many CRM systems, providing a comprehensive history. Of course, this information can also be very useful for the marketing or service department.

3. Lead nurturing

Lead nurturing is another important function of a CRM system. The goal is to address the contacts at the right time with relevant information and thus support the transition from one phase of the sales funnel to the next. Lead nurturing is only possible if activity tracking and proper contact management are in place. On the basis of the information provided, the contacts can make an informed decision - no matter in which phase of the buying decision process they are currently.

In addition to these core functions, a CRM should also have the following features:

4. Automations

Automations are very important in many CRM systems, as recurring tasks can be automated with them. This means that your employees can focus on the important tasks and are not occupied with recurring time wasters. In addition, automations help to maintain your own CRM system and track tasks, so that no activities are forgotten.

5. Analysis

A CRM system allows you to analyze and evaluate your existing contacts and companies as well as all other integrated objects. This means with a CRM system you get a deep and detailed insight into the behavior and structure of your customer, as well as current trends and forecasts. Also, reports can be created, which can be used as a summary of your sales process and your marketing and service activities, so that all important stakeholders can be updated regularly.

6. Interfaces

Depending on the CRM system used, not all company activities are automatically integrated. Therefore, it is important that a CRM system has an open interface through which important information from external databases can be transferred into the CRM system. A CRM system only becomes strong when all important information converges in one database, so that it can be evaluated and used there as a whole.

What challenges are there in the implementation of address management in a CRM system?

One of the major challenges in the implementation of address management in a CRM system is the quality assurance, maintenance and processing of this data. Most of the time, the data collected with alternative address management methods is outdated, chaotic or incomplete. This contact or company data would not provide any additional value for you in the implementation into a CRM system. After all, with old and poor quality data, a CRM system with all its functions has no advantage for you. For this reason, the data must be analyzed before the implementation into a CRM system.

This means that they have to be checked for up-to-dateness and added value and should only be imported if the data are assessed as useful. Data that are neither current nor provide a clear additional benefit for you, should not be imported, so that from the beginning a clean data maintenance is secured. What is crucial here is that you think about which properties an object absolutely must have. For instance, in many CRM systems it does not make sense to integrate contact data of potential customers without email address and phone number, because otherwise you have no way of contacting them.

Once the data has been cleaned up, you are faced with the next challenge. How exactly do the cleaned up data get into the new CRM system? Here it is important to find out which import options the CRM system has. In most cases, an import should be possible via a CSV file. This variant is the easiest way to transfer your existing data into the new database. You just have to ensure that you format the cleaned up data in such a way that the CRM system can import them without errors.

Once your address data has been imported into the CRM system, the work with the CRM address management can commence. But it is important that all end users get an introduction to the new system and that clear usage conditions are defined. Only this way you can be sure that the work in the new CRM system works smoothly from the start and there will not be any chaos. For this reason, an onboarding should always be carried out with an expert, who introduces all stakeholders into the new system and integrates clear processes and responsibilities.

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Which CRM systems are suitable for address management?

In general, all CRM systems are suitable for address management, as the management of contact and address data is the core element of any CRM system. But since there are a lot of CRM systems, I would like to present the three most popular CRM systems - based on user reviews from our OMR-Reviews community - here.

Salesforce

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a cloud-based CRM system for managing customer relationships. Salesforce consists of various cloud solutions with which your sales, marketing or service team can work on a common database. With more than 150,000 users worldwide, Salesforce is one of the leading CRM solutions and helps companies to connect more closely with their customers, prospects and partners.

Like in any CRM system, address management is one of the core functions of Salesforce. Here, the following objects are intended as a standard representation for address management:

Leads 

A lead is a person who has shown interest in your products and services. However, these leads need to be further qualified to find out if the lead has genuine interest and clear purchasing intent. Once this qualification has been successfully completed, the lead is converted to a contact and further processed as a contact.

Salesforce Leads Overview

Contacts 

Contacts are used to store information about the persons with whom you want to do business. This means that contacts have already been qualified by your sales team and have shown genuine interest in your product or service. Contacts are usually associated with an account, but can also be associated with other objects.

Salesforce Contacts Overview

Accounts

Accounts are used to store information about customers with whom you do business. The accounts are typically business accounts and therefore contain information about the company.

Salesforce Accounts Overview

HubSpot

Hubspot Sales Hub is a CRM solution that manages all customer contact. The focus of HubSpot is on the holistic integration of marketing, sales and service processes within one system. According to their own information, HubSpot has more than 80,000 users worldwide and is thus one of the most used CRM systems.

The great advantage of HubSpot is that address management can be mapped free of charge in the CRM system. The following objects are used:

Contacts

In HubSpot, every person who interacts with your company is stored as a contact. The goal is to always edit the same data record and guide this data record through the sales process. The qualification of the contact is always implemented with the same data record, so that a contact can first be a prospect and later a customer. For this purpose, similarly to Salesforce, a property (Lifecycle Phase) within the contact is used, which defines whether a contact is only interested or already a customer.

HubSpot Contacts Overview

Companies

All organizations with which you interact can be stored as companies in HubSpot. The company data record is the place where your team can store and retrieve information about the organization. Via the company you can see which contacts are assigned to it and which interactions have taken place with them. The classification in the sales process takes place exactly like with the contacts about a property (Lifecycle phase) within the data record.

HubSpot Companies Overview

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesMicrosoft Dynamics 365 Sales

you enable your sales team to develop a robust relationship with customers based on insights and make faster completions. This includes integrated lead management, standardized sales processes for consistently high quality, definable templates and processes for sales opportunities and offers. The CRM system is directly linked to Office 365 and connected to the Sales Navigator of the Microsoft-owned business network LinkedIn.

Like with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, address data can be managed, with these being divided into the following objects in a similar way to Salesforce:

Leads

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, leads are defined similarly to Salesforce. This means that these contacts are still unqualified and need to be worked on by your sales team. The goal is to qualify the lead and then convert it to a contact.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sale Leads Overview

Contacts

The contacts are prequalified leads that have shown clear interest in your product or service. In general, these qualified contacts are associated with a company and are accompanied by your sales team until they are converted to a customer.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sale Contacts Overview

Companies

Information about companies is stored under companies. Here, contacts are connected to a company, so that you can see all the activities of the corresponding communication in the timeline. It is important that only contacts can be connected to a company, so that here too a certain prequalification must take place.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sale Companies Overview

Conclusion

Address management is a noticeably more complex process than simply integrating contact data into an Excel sheet. At the latest when there are several objects with different relations to each other, most self-built address management tools fail. For this reason, most companies will switch to a CRM system sooner or later, as these systems can display complex object relationships and also bring many other advantages.