Turning business card management data into value: Maximizing sales power by utilizing CRM and SFA

History and background of business card management services

We will summarize the history leading up to the emergence of cloud-based business card management services and explain the past challenges and current value of using them.

Issues with paper-based business card management

In the past, it was common for individuals to store business cards and manually enter the necessary information into Excel or a notebook, but this method had many limitations.

First, when a salesperson is transferred or leaves the company, their network information is not passed on to the organization, resulting in the loss of important sales opportunities. Furthermore, it is difficult to update information on paper business cards, and even if the company address or position changes, the information remains the same, increasing the risk of dealing with customers with incorrect information.

Another major issue was the poor searchability when manually sorting through large volumes of business cards, making it extremely difficult to formulate efficient targeting and sales strategies. Many people in the field complained that "information on important customers was dependent on the person in charge, and could not be handed over at all in an emergency."

The emergence of cloud-based business card management services

Cloud-based business card management services have emerged to solve these issues. By simply scanning a business card with a smartphone, the text information can be digitized and shared in real time with entire departments and teams. As a result, business cards have evolved from personal assets to shared assets that can be used across an organization.

In the field, there are an increasing number of cases where employees are realizing the benefits of this system, such as, "Previously, business card information was dependent on the person in charge and could not be accessed, but now everyone on the team can instantly grasp customer information." In addition, by digitizing business cards instead of paper ones, the time required to search and analyze past business card information and create target lists has been significantly reduced, leading to improved accuracy of sales strategies.

Modern business card management and its challenges

Even in this day and age when business card management services are widespread, the key is how to utilize the collected data. Here we will summarize the current benefits and challenges.

Simply collecting data is not enough

Many companies today use business card management services to share information within their teams, but simply collecting data limits its usefulness for sales and marketing.
For example, if you are not connected to a CRM or SFA, you may not be able to compare past sales history or email history, which may delay your understanding of the customer's situation.
As a result, the same customer may be approached multiple times, and prioritization decisions may be subjective. A common complaint in the workplace is that "even if we go to the trouble of digitizing business cards, if we don't incorporate them into CRM, no one will use them."

In this way, business card management is merely the "starting point for information collection," and its true value is only realized when it is integrated with CRM, SFA, and MA.

Utilizing data is the key to sales and marketing

Only when business card data is imported into CRM, SFA, and MA can it be directly linked to sales and marketing initiatives. Sales representatives can grasp past contact history and negotiation progress in real time, preventing missed responses and duplicate approaches.

In addition, the marketing department can perform highly accurate targeting based on customer attributes and past campaign responses. This system allows a shift from sales that relied on traditional "human intuition and experience" to a strategic approach based on objective data.
As a result, we can move away from personalization and improve sales capabilities across the entire organization.

Collaboration with CRM, SFA, and MA

By linking business card management data with other systems, you can enhance your sales and marketing activities. This chapter explains in detail how to utilize this data.

Improved sales efficiency

Integrating business card management data with CRM dramatically improves sales efficiency. Centralized management of customer information and sales history makes it easier to transfer responsibilities when changing sales representatives, and even new employees can instantly understand the status of past sales negotiations and the level of customer interest.

For example, in the past, salespeople had to manually search for past business card information before visiting customers, which could take more than an hour to prepare for a single deal. However, with CRM integration, information can be checked in just a few minutes, significantly speeding up sales activities.
In addition, by instantly updating the latest information, proposals can be made based on changes in the client's job title or updated company information, which reduces the risk of losing a deal. There have even been cases where the efficiency of new client development has doubled.

Improving marketing accuracy

Linking business card data with an MA tool dramatically improves targeting accuracy. By analyzing customer attributes and responses to past campaigns, you can send optimal messages to each segment. Compared to manual work in Excel, the speed and accuracy of your campaigns are significantly improved.
In addition, since send results and response data can be quickly fed back, the PDCA cycle can be completed in a short period of time.
This will transform the marketing department from a department that is busy creating lists to a strategic department that creates the next initiative.

Data analysis and decision support

Business card data linked to CRM and SFA can also be used to predict sales priorities and campaign effectiveness. For example, sales teams can determine which customers should be visited first based on each customer's contact history and response history.

In addition, the marketing department can use data to measure the effectiveness of each measure, allowing them to formulate strategies based on facts rather than intuition.

As data utilization across departments increases, it will be possible to optimize company-wide sales strategies and marketing measures, significantly improving the accuracy of decision-making across the organization.

Collaboration with HULFT Square

In today's world where we use a variety of systems, data integration is key.
Our iPaaS service, "HULFT Square," allows you to build data integration processes without coding.
Data from the business card management service can be input into CRM, SFA, and MA and used in each system, and data cleansing processes can be set up using icons, allowing for intuitive data utilization.

Key points for implementation and operation

When linking a business card management service with other systems, advance preparation and the establishment of an operational system are the keys to success.

Advance preparation and data organization

First, it is important to organize your existing business card data and CRM data and put it into a unified format.
If field names are inconsistent or duplicate data is linked as is, it can lead to the overwriting of incorrect information and data confusion. In the field, problems such as "I thought I had organized the business card data, but when I actually linked it, more than 100 duplicates were found" have occurred.
To avoid such situations, the key to success is to conduct test integration before implementation and identify any problems.

Establishment of operational rules and training of personnel

After the system is implemented, it is essential to clarify operational rules and educate personnel.
By deciding who will update what information and when the data will be updated in CRM or SFA, you can maintain data quality across the organization.
It is also important to properly educate new employees and transferred employees on how to use the system and the operational rules. A common occurrence in the workplace is that "operation without informing employees of the rules results in data corruption and makes analysis impossible." Establishing rules and providing education are essential elements for establishing system utilization.

summary

Simply introducing a business card management service will not maximize the sales power or marketing accuracy of your entire organization. By linking collected business card data with CRM, SFA, and MA, it becomes possible to determine sales priorities and identify targets. On-site, you can take a strategic approach based on the immediate reflection of information and analysis results, which has significantly improved results compared to traditional personal sales methods.
Furthermore, strategic use of business card data prevents information loss due to changes in personnel or transfers, and allows for the accumulation of knowledge assets for the entire organization.This goes beyond simple information management and serves as the foundation for data-driven organizational management, allowing for the creation of a highly competitive sales and marketing system.

The person who wrote the article

Affiliation: Marketing Department

Yoko Tsushima

After joining Appresso (now Saison Technology), he worked as a technical sales representative, in charge of technical sales, training, and technical events. After leaving the company to return to his hometown, he rejoined the company in April 2023 under the remote work system. After gaining experience in the product planning department, he is currently in charge of creating digital content in the marketing department.
(Affiliations are as of the time of publication)

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