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Three Easy-to-Keep Resolutions for a Clean Database in 2021

How confident are you that your database is clean? Can you make accurate assessments about your business’s health with the data it contains? If you’re not sure, don’t worry—you’re not alone – not everyone enjoys data crunching, plus, CQ Partners has your back!

The importance of a clean database is that it allows your practice to operate more efficiently. As the leader of the practice, it allows you to set key business goals and effectively benchmark your progress towards achieving them. A clean database will support increased revenue by efficiently spending and/or saving money and improve patient satisfaction.

Think of quality data as the backbone of your business—it’s the central pillar that connects and supports all the facets of your business. With accurate data and reporting, you will confidently make decisions that will move your business forward.

What’s considered “data” within your database? These would be your appointment types, referral sources, revenue sources, etc. For example, are you running a CQ Database Program, CQ Upgrade event, or want to see how well your marketing campaigns are performing? Referral sources play a critical role in capturing your marketing ROI (Return on Investment) and identifying where your revenue-generating leads and sales are coming from. Referral sources should be labeled and updated properly so we can track your results and identify units sold and revenue generated per sale. If referral sources are not updated and tracked, you’re essentially throwing marketing dollars out the window.

There multiple benefits of tracking your marketing initiatives, but it is impossible without clean, consistent data. To run a productive and profitable practice, it’s vital to identify incorrect data, understand the root, fix it, and develop a plan for maintaining a healthy, more reliable database.

As we prepare for 2021, below are three resolutions for cleaning up your database, which will ensure it stays clean even after your other New Year’s resolutions have been forgotten:

1. Data Entry

Of course, it all starts with the data that’s being entered into the system. If there’s one takeaway from this blog post, it should be this: your data is only as good as the data you enter. As the leader, it’s up to you to ensure your employees are properly trained and understand the importance of entering accurate information into your Practice Management System (PMS). Everyone on your team needs to be on the same page when it comes to activities such as labeling opportunity sources and what each referral source represents. Once you have a process in place, don’t assume everyone is following it, day in and day out. Periodically poke around your database to ensure that it’s kept nice and tidy.

2. Data Audit

Second, audit your data to reveal any inconsistencies and/or errors. You might be surprised by the number of inconsistencies and how far they go back. If you and your staff are regularly inputting incorrect or bad data, this will cause a snowball effect—and no one wants a database full of duds! Once corrected, this will establish trust within your data. Our Sales Analytics team can help you get started by performing a PMS Analysis. This will help you get the most out of your PMS software by ensuring accurate tracking reports, patient lists, and QuickBooks integration.

3. Data Upkeep

The last step is upkeep. As previously noted, ultimately, you are accountable for monitoring the accuracy of your data. It’s not a ‘set-and-forget-it’ activity—consistency is key! Luckily, you don’t have to do it all alone. Working closely with your Account Manager, our Sales Analytics team will provide the insights and tools necessary to execute these steps and contribute to your business’s collective success rather than hindering it.

Remember: the more time you spend tracking and auditing your data today, the less you’ll spend correcting errors in the future. The reward for your hard work is a sparkling database that delivers better insights, better reporting, and sound business decisions.

Click here to learn more about CQ’s Business Services and Financial Analyses or talk to your Account Manager today to get started!

About the Author

Laura Kegelman

Laura Kegelman joined CQ Partners in 2018 and currently serves as a Strategic Planning Analyst. Her diverse professional background includes supply chain, forecasting, and marketing. Laura holds a degree in marketing from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. When she’s not working, Laura loves exploring the city she lives in (Philadelphia) as well as traveling to new cities and countries.