The data from your business or small to midsize company is your most important asset when it comes to growth and success in digital marketing. Data management is critical to your business and, the right virtual assistant can help you manage and make the most of the data your business creates.
Why Data Management Matters
Businesses may have as many as eight or ten databases, including accounting, payables, customer lists, prospect and email lists, newsletter subscribers, and more. Not only does data make your business run smoothly, but it’s also critical for your business growth.
For management of your digital marketing data, the reliability, accuracy, and security of customer-centric data are critical. Contact details, contact history, and purchase records all provide insight and intelligence you can use to grow your business.
When it comes to B2B data, research by MarketingSherpa shows that data deteriorates more than 2% every month. That means in 18 months, 30% or more of your data could be out of date. Imagine the wasted time and money if 30% of your emails are not reaching your customers or prospects or the payment goes to the wrong supplier or employee. Hence, data management is vital to your business.
Data Management Adds to the Bottom Line
Better data management can add to your business bottom line. 49% of businesses surveyed by Deloitte said data analysis helps them make better business decisions, 16% said it helps them with strategy, and 10% said analyzing data improves customer and business partner relationships.
Respondents said the most important other uses of data management were in “identifying ways to increase sales” followed closely by “understanding customer behavior” and “targeting product and service offerings to customers.” Equally important was the use of analytics in “identifying innovation and investment opportunities.”
We can’t think of anything more critical to your business operations and digital marketing than database management. Figuring out how to do it most efficiently can make a visible and positive impact on your sales and your profitability.
Top Tools for Data Management
Let’s take a quick look at the data management tools small and midsize businesses trust the most when it comes to digital marketing.
Your customer relationship management (CRM) database is a key asset in your business. After all, it connects you with customers, prospects, and other important audiences. The right system is easy to set up and use, scales up when you need it, and provides critical backup and security to protect your confidential business data. And it needn’t be a budget breaker.
Among the top-rated CRMs by tech marketplace G2 reviewers are ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Freshworks. Each offers free basic plans except for Salesforce that requires $25 per month per user.
What’s Your Biggest Data Management Challenge?
Think about your biggest data management challenges. Perhaps it’s the time it takes for small business owners to manage data that usually takes the owner away from other business-critical activities such as sales, service, strategic planning, and managing your day-to-day business.
Another option is the steep learning curve to accounting, payroll, CRM, and other data software services. Plus, the knowledge and skills for efficiently gathering, entering, and verifying data are not always part of the business owner’s skill set and experience. A virtual assistant can quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively free up your valuable time.
Typical Virtual Assistant Tasks
So, what skills should you look for in a data management virtual assistant? Familiarity and experience with essential software like Microsoft Office, Google Docs, accounting, spreadsheet, and email programs are critical.
If you’re looking at data management for digital marketing purposes, you’ll want experience with the popular CRM programs mentioned earlier. Also, look for additional skills in email programs, list management, database research and analysis, and basic social media knowledge. Knowledge of WordPress is helpful if you have digital marketing databases attached to your website.
Data Management Services
Not only is the currency of your data critical, but it must also be accurate, available, and most important, secure. There’s the challenge of entering large volumes of seasonal data, capturing new business leads from successful marketing campaigns, and doing the all-important data maintenance and updates. That’s where a virtual assistant can be invaluable.
A talented virtual assistant can help you manage your data and digital marketing in various important, time-saving ways. Here are just some of the virtual assistant tasks they can handle quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively:
- Set up your existing database and files, or recommend a CRM or other data management platforms and software, and manage it for you
- Keep your data current – data entry, updates, adding new data
- List maintenance for customers, suppliers, marketing and newsletter emails, prospect lists, other key business CRM information
- Manage inbound leads and prospect data
- Help you with data research – profiling, analyzing, and targeting online customers
- Prepare data for use in your digital marketing, whether that’s email, newsletters, sales and marketing letters, social media posting, and more
- Create formulas and manage data for business-critical lists of customers, suppliers, inventory, and other essential business information
- Schedule and generate reports to help you plan, strategize, and manage your business and your time more productively.
Besides, you’d much rather be managing your business than handling the details of data management and digital marketing.
Benefits of Better Data Management
With the help of a skilled virtual assistant, you’ll soon see the results of better data management. They are experts at customizing your data. They can automate some of the database tasks you and your staff now do manually. These online assistants also help personalize critical marketing and communications with customers.
With this data management expertise, virtual assistants frequently carry out online research and often know where to quickly find external databases and information. One of their most important roles is to help turn data into information, and that starts with better data management that can help you convert it into business intelligence.
Three Benefits of Data Analytics
The former CEO of HP, Carly Fiorina, talked about three significant benefits of data and analytics. The first is simplicity. “Simplicity is all about reducing complexity, which is all about reducing IT cost, leading to lower business operations cost and greater integration to master change,” she said.
The second key benefit is agility, and the third is value. Both are competitive advantages for every business.
Our focus at Howling Assistant is to help you meet your data management challenges, connect you with the best virtual assistants, and get you back to doing what you do best – running your business profitably.
