Manual data entry is the common enemy of all companies with a CRM. With it, workforce productivity is reduced and adoption rates are lowered. Data entry takes up a big portion of a CRM user’s time and effort, something that should be spent facing customers and doing sales. It is also prone to human error, thus affecting the quality of data.
These issues can be a big problem for the CRM project, especially since CRM relies heavily on quality data for it to produce accurate analytics and reports.
To mitigate the issues that come with manual data entry, 2 solutions have been developed:
Data Entry Software and Data Entry as a Service.
Both solutions aim to reduce, if not eliminate manual data entry for your company by entrusting the job to service provider. Let’s look at these two in-depth to see which one is right for your CRM overall:
The idea is to utilize certain technologies to automatically capture, organize, and manage data. Artificial intelligence aided by machine learning is often used in these data entry systems so that the software learns on its own. It can also use Optical Character Recognition(OCR), simply known as text recognition, or Voice-to-Text technology. Lastly, it requires little to no human involvement in the data entry process.
A good case of which would be Siri, Alexa, or the Salesforce denounced Einstein Voice which aimed to really capture CRM data with their automation software.
Consistent Quality and Accuracy
If the program is set right the first time, the system will not make mistakes, thus the data entered will be accurate and consistent. There are no unreliable and unpredictable human factors involved. A data entry software is consistent, less likely to be error-prone, and maintains that quality throughout as long as you follow the right format, syntax or formula how to get the data interpreted correctly by the AI.
Fast output results
As with any computer program, garbage in = garbage out. Output results will be based on the input you have it process. It will be fast and will function as how it was designed to. Dictation / Data Entry software has been around for a while now and it will continue to improve it’s results as it gets updated.
Program-reliant
If there is something wrong with the code itself, or an update causes a bug, it may disrupt the data entry processes. You must follow how the software is set and how it can properly learn to adapt. It might also be limited to certain outputs meaning it might not be able to key in the right information to ANY CRM as not all CRMs are the same. Most common is to just have recorded data as a transcribed file in which it will be up to you to still put in the data into your CRM.
Low Accuracy and still consumes a relevant amount of time
Transcription software will always have accuracy issues as it will depend on the quality of the recording it will transcribe so ultimately time of input to your CRM will be reduced but not that much as you may still need to put in relevant information to the correct fields in your CRM.
Instead of having your CRM users input and verify the data themselves, data entry as a service allows you to hand over that task to dedicated specialists from a third-party service provider. Selecting the right vendor is the most important part, as they are the ones handling the data entry operations.
Higher Data Accuracy
As compared to your in-house CRM users, data entry specialists are expected to deliver a higher level of data quality and accuracy. They are specially trained and data entry is their core responsibility. They don’t have to juggle other tasks.
IT-related processes are taken care of
The data entry outsourcing vendor is the one in charge of the IT-related processes for manual data entry. No need for your CRM users to learn the tech side of data entry or for your company to hire an IT specialist and purchase additional software.
Can be expensive to get started
On-boarding and training is expected using such services, and contracts engaged with to ensure expectations from the service providers. These tend to be more expensive and more suitable for Enterprise level companies.
Human Factors
Technically, manual data entry is still manual data entry even if it’s outsourced. The data is still being entered by a human who is prone to errors, and the specialists themselves can even leave the company if they want to. Other human factors include boredom, lack of focus, hunger, emotional state, and even work-culture, which may affect their productivity.
Human data entry experts are easier to hire and train without the need for complicated IT support, while a data entry software is free from human factors, time constraints, and is totally hands-free. If you think about it, these 2 solutions are capable of covering up the downsides of the other.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the time saved from minutes to hours ultimately giving back time to your sales people.
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