Data capture – It’s time to improve and automate the process

Real Life Examples

At Kim Document we are all about making improvements to the way you work. After all, it's the small things that can make the most significant difference.

For example, today, I completed two questionnaires from different vendors to sign up for their platforms. Here's what's interesting.

Questionnaire 1 was simply an online form. I keyed in my data and received a message on the website thanking me for filling out the form and to be on the lookout for more information on the next steps. 

But here’s the downside. I received no confirmation or record of what I had keyed in, and no email. What if I had miskeyed some information, or if I wanted to look back at what Information I had shared with them?

Questionnaire 2 was an MS Word document that asked me for a whole lot of information. But the whole formatting of the document was a faff. I had to undo highlighting that appeared, correct italics, and update different fonts & sizes. And when I was done, I created a PDF version, so I had a record and sent a copy back to the vendor by email. But I couldn't help thinking that someone on the other end would have to rekey all that information into another system, which was not only time-consuming but also subject to human error. 

Data, Document or both?
Both questionnaires were all about the data, but the process of collecting my data was flawed. Neither left me thinking I've just had a great user experience, and it got me thinking, "Why hasn’t this simple workflow been automated?" 

In my mind there are three steps to this workflow:

1. Capture the relevant information.
2. Generate the document, using the data captured, meaning both parties have a record of the data submitted.  Even better if this document is complete with your corporate brand look and feel.
3. Analyze the data to see if you can identify any patterns, trends and insights that can help inform business strategy, marketing efforts and operational improvements.

The Benefits of using a solution such as Kim Document
The benefits to the vendor are that they create the form once and use it multiple times.  The information is captured, and the data is stored in a central location which they are then able to download in a spreadsheet and interrogate. Alternatively, they can integrate with third-party solutions such as their CRM, Power BI or other systems, through APIs, to be analyzed.  Another benefit is the workflow whereby each party receives a copy of the document for their records, and all of this is done automatically.

The benefit to the end user is a seamless process of supplying the data and getting a copy of the information they have shared for their records. They can then check or refer to this document, should they need to in the future.  

As I said at the start, Kim Document is all about improving the process, and today, I have found two similar use cases where I know Kim Document would have a significant impact whilst improving the customer experience.