Best Practices for Using Customer Lists

Customer Lists allow you to save a group of customers who are alike in some way (bought XYZ product in a specified timeframe, are a part of Vendor A’s target program for the year, whose sales are up or down by X%, etc.). You can create or edit Customer Lists in any SMP “analysis” area – Market Analysis, Part Analysis, Business Comparison or Data View.

Here are some tips regarding how Customer Lists work:

• You can name this list however you like (and even give a description) but be sure to name it in such a way that it makes sense to you and others who’ll use the list!
• Saving functions work similar to MS products we all use everyday –
  • “Save as” saves a new list
  • “Save” saves over an existing list.
  • Use “add to” to add additional customers to your list.
  • Use “delete” carefully – only use this to delete the list permanently. And remember, once it’s gone, it’s gone – so be sure you want to get rid of the list before using this function.
    • Note: you can only delete lists you own – if you’re not the owner, but believe a list should be removed, talk to your internal SMP Admin.
  • If you have access to SMP Mobile, use the “SMP Mobile” button to make that your list-of-choice to show on your Mobile login.
• Remember that the list is static – customers added to the list will remain on the list until/unless you save over the existing list.
• Customers Lists are usable in almost EVERY subject area so you can filter results by JUST your selected list!

Here are some best practices tips for using Customer Lists:

• When saving a list – think – am I the only one who needs access to this list? If so, click the radio button for “Private” so only your login can view it; this can help cut down on the number of lists all users see.
• Are you the only person who should be able to EDIT the list (add, remove customers)? If so, click the radio button for “Read Only” so only your login can make changes; this is a great way to prevent critical lists from being inadvertently deleted or edited.
• Have old Customer Lists that are no longer needed (for example, target customer lists from two years ago)? Use the delete button to delete the list.
  • CAUTION! You can only delete lists where you are the owner. And,be sure you select the right list before choosing and confirming the deletion.
• Did you know: you can assign SMP Tasks using a Customer List?
  • Open Activity Review after saving your Customer List
  • Choose the Add Activity Tab
  • Select your customer list and click add new – Task
  • You can even choose the value for “[Account Manger]” in the new task “Assign to” field to auto-assign the task to the customer’s account manager for completion! This is a great way to remind sales reps to follow up with their targeted accounts for sales promos, targeted account programs and more!
• Did you know: you can create AND use Customer Lists in Data View as well? Once you’ve got your list of customers, select File – Customer List from the top of the screen to save your targeted customer list. Or, use filtering options to pre-filter results based on a Customer List you’ve previously saved.

Want to know more about Customer Lists, or have questions, let us know! You can email your questions to us at support@gosmp.com, or check out our Market Analysis training, which offers some in-depth info on creating, saving and adding to Customer Lists!