Contacts are the heart of our Growth Stack story. The main character weaving through marketing and sales to create return on investment.
But what happens when your contacts aren’t in the best shape? Or your database isn't kept clean?
This could be the most important piece of our story. The more contacts you have, the bigger your sample size is. And the larger your sample size, the more accurate your analysis will be. The result? An improved ability to cater to the needs and interests of your contacts.
Keeping your contact database up to date will ensure your database continues to work for you and not against you, so let's find out what the Growth Stack can do for your and your business when kept clean.
What's the big deal about health?
Our doctors, our mothers, and even our friends probably discuss our health more than anyone else. So why are we bringing health into another aspect of our lives? Well, just like your annual check-up with your doctor, you need to routinely check on your contacts to ensure they are healthy too.
This is a conversation that happens a lot around any database. Make sure to clean out your contacts to ensure better [fill in the blank]. Each section of your company will fill that in differently. But let’s align the sides around one central concept: keeping your database clean benefits everyone including your contacts.
Let's start the process of consistently keeping your database clean to help your growth stack be as successful as possible.
Want to start fresh? Check out this contacts clean-up project here.
How do you know when to check-in?
The biggest question that arises when cleaning out your contact database is how often do you need to do this?
The answer to this question will be different for each industry and business. (Sorry!) But there is a way to start answering this question.
When deciding on when to clean up your contacts database you will first need to start by asking yourself and your company one question: how long is your buying cycle?
This will start you on the right path to figure out how often you need to be cleaning out your database. Both long and short buying cycles will require you to clean often but the difference is when. When you have a longer buying cycle you do not want to clean too soon or you might be getting rid of contacts that need more nurturing. In a shorter buying cycle if you do not clean often enough you might be leaving leads in your database that are no longer valid and thus skewing your reporting and email anayltics.
Below is a diagram for you to follow to decide how often you and your company will be doing some spring cleaning.
*This is an estimated number
Cleaniness as a Growth Stack Tool
Having a database full of contacts that you cannot reach will not help drive success forward or give you return on your investment. So, let's dig in deeper into the benefits of having a healthy database.
Smart Content and Workflows
Two of the greatest tools inside of the Growth Stack (in my personal opinon) are the use of smart content and workflows.
One of the best things about these tools is that they help you personalize the buyer's journey for your leads and turns them into delighted customers. Take below the example of a landing page with smart content that then enrolls someone in workflow with multiple personalzied steps.
What happens though when your database is not kept clean? These effective tools can start to break down when you are not removing contacts that are not valid anymore.
Better Sales Leads
When the contacts in your database have been pushed through effective and personalized marketing they become better leads for Sales. When sales is only getting the valid leads this process is even more effectivent and can lead to a faster return on your investment.
Imagine a deal pipeline like the one you see below that is efficent and only filled with leads that read to be sold to. When you are consistently cleaning your database you are clearing out the leads that are meant to be in your database or need to be pushed back through a lead nurturing campaign.
Don't have HubSpot Sales yet? Try it for free.
Think about keeping your database clean like going to the gym, the more you do something the easier it gets. The more you clean your database the better the health of it will be and less work each time you clean it.
When making your growth stack work with you not against cleaniness is at the center with your contacts.
