If you’re ready to throw your territory management into the proverbial automated AI ring, then congratulations! Studies show that 73 percent of companies use AI in some form within their operations, including territory management.
An automated territory planning platform can simplify the often complex tasks associated with a dynamic market climate, such as monitoring equitable territories, tracking market nuances, and identifying pivotal points in the customer’s buying journey. It’s amazing.
But the key to these dynamic features is data. If your data isn’t ready for upgrading to a new system, it will impact the value and performance of your investment.
What’s wrong with your data?
A recent survey among CEOs found that over half (51 percent) blamed data challenges as the main barrier to generating business value with AI.
“[Bad Data is] data that you can’t access, data that you had and then lost, data that’s not the same as it was yesterday,” says Q. Ethan McCallum, author of the Bad Data Handbook. Melanie Fellay, CEO and cofounder of Spekit, adds, “In short, bad data is any data that slows progress, causes misguided decision-making, and much more.”
Customers may feel the pinch of poor performance in their wallets as well. According to Gartner, bad data costs organizations around $12.9 million every year.
Ensuring that your data is ready for automated territory management involves a thorough assessment and preparation process.
Here is a checklist to follow to determine if your data is ready for automated, AI-backed implementation.
1. Is your data clean and consistent?
- Have you removed duplicates, corrected errors, and filled in missing values?
- Is your data standardized in terms of format (e.g., addresses, customer names)?
2. Is your data comprehensive and relevant?
- Have you collected all relevant data from various sources (e.g., CRM systems, sales databases, market research)?
- Does your data include key attributes such as historical sales data, customer information, geographic data, and market potential indicators?
3. Is your data enhanced?
- Have you integrated external data sources for additional context (e.g., demographic data, firmographic data, competitive insights)?
- Is your geographic data accurate, including precise location details (latitude and longitude)?
4. Is your data segmented and organized?
- Have you defined segmentation criteria based on your business objectives and sales strategy?
- Is your data segmented into meaningful groups (e.g., customer types, sales potential, geographic regions, and product lines)?
5. Is your data ready for integration?
- Is your data formatted according to the requirements of your automated territory management platform (e.g., CSV files, API inputs)?
- Have you validated the data for accuracy and completeness before integration?
If you can confidently answer “yes” to these questions, your data is likely ready for automated territory management.
We can help. Our expert team can ensure that your data meets these criteria, which will help optimize territory planning, enhance decision-making, and drive better sales performance.
