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Data Integration Services

Data Integration Services

Technology is supposed to empower us to work faster and more efficiently, so why do we spend most of our time swapping between software to get work done?

This is where integrations come in. 

Integration allows business data from different third party applications to be combined into a centralised system. This helps to enhance functionality of your existing software and streamline the information flow for your business.

CRM setup by Integrating applications with your systems in particular create one true source of customer data from multiple sources. Having one true source of information can help your Marketing and Sales handover and your teams better understand your customer. 

As you’ll see, integrating your CRM with third party software can enhance your data and give you insights into multiple facets of your operations and customer profiling. If you are looking to increase productivity, sales and growth for your business, data integration is a sure-fire way to achieve this. 

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How Can Data Integration Tools Be Used By Your  Business?

Data integration aims to give users easier access to information from various databases. One of the main goals of data integration tools is to standardise data formats so they can be easily consumed and processed by different systems and end users. 

If done correctly, choosing the right data integration tools can help cut down on servicing costs, boost the breadth of reporting you have available, and encourage data-driven decision making. 

IT departments have had to integrate different software together for as long as there has been IT, but the potential benefits have never been greater than they are now. Businesses that invest in application integration are able to get better insights into their marketing, sales and operations. This is essential if you are looking to stay competitive in your industry. 

Data Integration enhances productivity as it reduces the amount of data sets that need to be transformed and combined by hand. For the Marketing Managers among us, you will know the feeling of empowerment when you can just hit refresh and data from multiple platforms is represented in one clear dashboard! 

Integrating your CRM system with other applications also helps to pull together all the customer data points that your business has. This is useful as it gives you a true representation of who your customer is and how they interact with your product or service. 

Customers also benefit as the product or service can be improved and tailored to the customer’s interests and experiences using specialist integrations

When data is available from multiple sources, CRM reporting becomes far more powerful. Managers are able to make more data-backed decisions with confidence, knowing that the customer data available is accurate. 

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Need Experts in Data Integration? 

Read on for more insights on how to set up your business insights and reporting accurately however if you want to be data rich but are time poor....

Do Good Things are experienced in setting up data integration systems for many different businesses, and we specialise in SaaS and Professional services.

If you aren’t sure where to start, Get in touch with us today. Otherwise read on for more info.

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Advantages Of Using Expert Data Integration Services

Integrating your data into a centralised platform results in a consistent data set that allows you to analyse and take action based on a unified source of data. 

This paves the way for analysts and digital agencies to use analytics tools for reporting. These reports can identify the best key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business and propose targets to boost performance. 

Using Expert Data Integration services has three major advantages:

  • Accuracy
  • Experience
  • Speed

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Accuracy of Integrated Data

You and the other stakeholders will no longer have to second-guess whether your data is correct. 

A data integration specialist will help structure your data from different sources, test the data entry points and help set up dashboards and reports to support your business insights.

They can help you identify and create KPI’s that make sense for your business so you can set targets, which if strived for, will ensure constant business growth year on year. 

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The Right Software Choices

Data Integration specialists know what to look for with the software you need and can assist you in understanding how to best integrate the best choice of software into your centralised dashboards or CRMs. Choosing the right data integration can be a complicated subject with many choices for any business owner or manager to make sense of. Specialists will know the best software suited to your business. 

Expert Data integration services can help create dashboards and reports from the data generated from your integrated software. This leads to more accurate, data-driven decision making and ensures you gain an advantage on your competition. 

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Fast Setup

Data integrations require expert knowledge and experience to be set up effectively. Outsourcing an expert to do this not only saves you time, but also saves you any headaches later if the integrations doesn't work as supposed to. 

Integrations that are set up and managed effectively don’t tend to break. However if anything stops working a data integration service will help to isolate any issues between your systems and fix any issue quickly.

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Why Should Small Businesses Integrate Their Data?

Integration of data sources is often neglected in smaller businesses that don't use a cloud based integration platform or a CRM. In the beginning, you may think there's no need for data integration solutions because the company needs to make more sales to justify the cost of doing so. However, whether you are starting out or your business is expanding, there are some very clever tools which are not expensive that can help you build your business and give you a great level of insight into your business.

The company will benefit more from integrating data a little too early than from beginning them a little too late. 

Data integration doesn’t have to be costly. Many cloud based platforms have lower payment plans for smaller businesses which can then be upgraded as your business grows. 

Integrating your data early will give your business a solid base and will enhance visibility over your operations. Expert data integration services can assist you in implementing data integration methods, no matter what the size of your business is. 

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How to Start Understanding What CRM Data Integrations You Will Need

Using CRM integrations can provide an in-depth understanding of your business performance. 

However, it can be tricky to figure out which CRM integrations your business will require. 

So where to start? 

Answering the following questions can give you some insight into how CRM integrations may or may not help your business:

  • What is your CRM?
  • Does your CRM require integrations to execute your full funnel marketing and sales process?
  • Does your CRM have the required features for your business? Do you need additional features?
  • Are you wanting to collect Email information?
  • Does your company advertise online and which platforms do you use? (eg Facebook Ads)

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For SaaS and Service Companies

SaaS and Service companies rely on new clients coming in to drive business growth. For Marketing and Sales teams, integrating sales and prospecting software into your CRM setup can ensure you find more customers and turn them into leads quicker. Software that you use for different parts of your sales pipeline and marketing funnel can be integrated, allowing you to see where each customer is in the sales process. Having all your customer data in one place is not only convenient, it also enables accurate reporting which can be used by your marketing and sales team to identify future prospects. 

New and improved internal communication tools can also be effective for SaaS and service based companies. Using only Email in your organisation can be slow, unproductive and bound to cause delays.

Your CRM system can be integrated with software such as Slack which enables information flow between teams. Incoming messages can be viewed and replied to without having to switch between apps. In addition to this, data sent through Slack chats can be uploaded to your CRM to be accessed at a later date.

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For Automating & Better Customer Service

Data can be collected from every step of the user journey using third party applications which can then be automatically uploaded to your CRM system. Valuable information such as customer details, payments or how long your customer browsed your site can be collected and can give you insights into how your customer interacts with your site online. 

Your email marketing software can be integrated with your CRM to save a bunch of time uploading email addresses manually. These can then be linked with other data in your CRM to give an overall profile of your customer. 

If you are looking to be more hands off in some of the aspects of your site, Integrating your CRM with Helpdesk and Live Chat tools can achieve this. These tools can use your customer’s information from the CRM to provide them the details that they require and  improve customer service. 

An example of this is for live chat, where a customer may have an issues with using your product. Previous customer service interactions can be taken directly from your CRM and the automated Live Chat may be able to resolve the issue on the spot or point the customer in the right direction. This reduces the amount of time a business owner or manager would have to spend on customer service issues. 

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What Types of Marketing Data Integrations Should You Consider?

There are a large number of data integrations and deciding which ones best suit your business can be overwhelming. Getting advice from an agency that provides data integration services can save you a lot of time initially and can also prevent any issues arising in the long term. 

This is a list of CRM integrations that you should consider to improve functionality and information flow:

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Marketing and Advertising Integrations

  • Google Analytics
  • Marketing Reporting (eg. Data Studio)
  • Google Ads
  • Meta Ads
  • Email Service Providers
  • Customer interaction tools - like Hotjar.

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Business Integrations:

  • Timesheet tracking 
  • File Sharing Services (eg. Dropbox)
  • Accounting and Payroll Software

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Communication Integrations:

  • Email and Calendar 
  • Internal Communication (eg. Slack)
  • Video (eg. Microsoft Teams)

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Customer Service Integrations:

  • Helpdesk
  • Live Chat
  • Data Entry

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The Importance Of Hiring Specialists in Data Integration

Setting up data integrations for your business requires technical expertise, integration experience and can take a lot of time. 

It can be tempting for managers to hand this task on to their IT department. If they have never had to integrate your company’s applications it could end up being a costly mistake or they just don't understand what you want to get out of it.

Ensure that your data integrations are set up correctly the first time, hire a team of data integration experts and save yourself  issues further down the road. 

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Are you Looking to Hire Data Integration Experts?

Do Good Things are CRM Data Integration and CRM management experts. 

Every business is different. We can advise you on the correct integrations for your business to ensure long term growth. We can cut out the 'lets test it and see' and set you up with a tool kit of valuable reporting and automated process.

Before you think about integrating your CRM with your third party applications, let's chat and we’ll help you out. 

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