Storing contacts in the digital age

Posted by 5M Coffee Admin

August 9, 2009

Not too many years ago, most contacts were kept on paper, in address books or on a rolodex. Nowadays most contacts are stored digitally.

With the recent surge in social media and web 2.0 technologies, we are embracing technology in new ways, storing contacts, client data and supplier details electronically.

When Twitter went offline for a few hours earlier this week, many small businesses found themselves exposed. Their clients, many of whom buy from them regularly, and provide them with feedback about their products and services, were not visible for what seemed like an eternity (but was in reality only a few hours).

The reason for the vulnerability was that they had engaged with their clients but had not captured their contact details.

If Twitter or other social networking sites stopped working for a prolonged period, how would they communicate?

Savvy companies had already backed up their data and stored information locally, using sites such as Tweetake to harvest information about whom they communicate with on Twitter and added snippets of information such as phone numbers or email addresses and in some cases aligned purchase histories too.

Storing contacts locally is not enough though. Regular backups should be made and stored securely (on CD/DVD or a second external hard-drive)

What most companies fail to realise is, that in order to truly engage with your clients, you need to interact with them. A simple phone call to thank a client for their business can have a positive effect in keeping your database up to date.

Lastly, don’t forget to advise your clients how their information will be (securely) stored. You need to ensure you comply with current regulations.