CIOIN

Here’s a look at common setup and configuration errors that mess up your CRM over time.

Don't Bother with Frequent Backups
While it's true that the leading SaaS applications do continuous backup for DR and data replication for business continuity, there are two critical truths about these backups. First, the SaaS vendors backups are there to allow them to restore if they make a mistake and goof your data but those restorals are anything but free if you make the mistake. Second, the SaaS vendors' backups are at best weekly. You probably have key data that evolves in critical ways every day—particularly in week 13 of the quarter.

"We Don't Have Time to De-dupe..."
De-duping is painful. De-duping is time-consuming. But that doesn't mean you can get away without it. Duplicate records destroy data quality because users spread correct data entries across two or more incomplete records. But the data quality problem doesn't hold a candle to what dupes do to system credibility.

Don't Bother With the Semantic Details
Semantics are not just a matter of semantics. Get this wrong, and the credibility of your system data will be wiped out with every new data entry. Why? Because the data will be misinterpreted, put in the wrong categories, and cause false conclusions. Two reports that are supposed to show the same thing will contradict each other. Getting the basic meanings under control is job one in CRM.

Set Up Lots and Lots of Data Validation Rules
This one is counter-intuitive, as the whole point of validation rules is to make sure that junk data never gets entered. Here's the problem: Those pesky users. If you have too many data validation rules, the users will game the system with junk values that pass the rules, but lower data quality. This is a slippery slope you must watch out for.