Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of the best partners for your business. With the increase in the number of CRM platforms, a myriad of questions is raised on how to choose the right one. Here’s what must be considered.
What is CRM?
CRM was developed to manage all business interactions with customers and potential customers. By doing so, companies have an excellent ally when it comes to improving processes and increasing profit.
The most common types of CRM are analytical, collaborative, and operational.
- Analytical is focused on the collection and analysis of business data;
- The collaborative gives access to customer data;
- Finally, operational CRM is responsible for the automation of processes.
Besides providing corporations with useful tools to interact with clients, CRM also makes life easier when it comes to marketing and sales. By putting together, in one place, all the information from the business, teams have equal access to it. Therefore, decisions can become easier.
Advantages of CRM
An important part of every business is the customer. CRM was built not only to help with customer relationships but also with business growth. For those wondering what CRM can do for your business, here are some of the advantages:
1. Stronger customer relationships
According to statistics mentioned by HubSpot, “90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company”. This couldn’t be more straightforward.
When using CRM, all customers’ interactions are recorded. This allows marketing teams to see who interacts with the brand and how to make it easier to create campaigns. Furthermore, customer support teams will have access to conversations with a particular client, shortening the time to solve questions. The ultimate goal is to retain customers by providing them with the best possible service.
2. Improved marketing campaigns
An imperative feature when creating campaigns is the segmentation of contacts. Once again, statistics provided by Invesp show that “the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%”. CRM tells teams where customers are in the sales funnel, thus making it possible to focus energy and time on the right clients.
The data that comes from blogs or social networks is also integrated into CRM. As a result, marketers can create customized and automated marketing campaigns.
3. Decision-making: data is here to help
Data collection is the basis for any business, and it comes from different sources such as Google Analytics, social media, apps or accounting software. Putting together all the information can become an easy task if a CRM tool is used.
Thanks to it, it is possible to have numerous dashboards and reports about the performance of team members, ads, and so on. This data can be used to plan future campaigns, improve customer service, and discover hidden opportunities that wouldn’t come to light if it wasn’t for reporting.
4. Reduced processes and time
Professionals perform time-consuming tasks that can be eliminated due to CRM. Sending personalized e-mails based on location or age will no longer be a nightmare. Moreover, customers can be automatically assigned to a representative, avoiding duplication of work.
It goes without saying that this is only possible as long as every employee knows how to use the platform, how to insert the information, and how to analyze it.
5. Protection of data privacy
To protect users’ privacy, legislation such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) clearly states that companies must be transparent about the information they gather. Implementing a system that complies with all the requirements can be time-consuming. That is the reason why most CRM platforms are already prepared for GDPR.
This system provides support, for example, in the collection and documentation of permissions to store and use personal data, or in the management of subscriptions to emails. Consequently, customers’ information will be handled safely, enhancing clients’ trust in the organization.
How to choose the right CRM?
Over the past few years, many CRM platforms with different features have been introduced, making the choice even more complicated.
One of the first aspects to take into consideration is whether you need a cloud or on-site system. A cloud system does not require installing software on all companies’ devices, reducing the costs of installation and hardware setup. In the cloud, data is moved across a secure online environment, making it possible for sales teams to add information even if they are on the road or working remotely.
CRM must be adapted according to the business’ needs. In case the software is prepared to change or add features according to your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), you will get a more accurate analysis and more effectiveness.
To make the most out of this tool, there is one extra point worth considering: integration with other business software such as accounting. When this is done, it is possible to set concrete objectives and monitor their compliance, thanks to the data analysis CRM provides.
Best CRM practices: what not to forget
By placing together all the information from the clients, sales, services and marketing, teams have their lives simplified. But CRM has become more than a system to manage customers. To take full advantage of its potential, there are some best practices worth considering.
Examining needs and goals before choosing a CRM
Many CRM features can become useless if they aren’t adapted to the reality of the company. Likewise, the efficiency of the metrics is closely related to the performance of its users.
To overcome these challenges, it is vital to understand the needs of the organization and implement the most suitable platform, not the most famous.
CRM automation equals efficiency
As previously mentioned, there are redundant tasks that can be eliminated by using the correct tools. The data insertion in the system must be done in the same way by all workers. Moreover, assigning tasks and monitoring workflows will become faster and easier for team members.
Checking CRM analytics
With business growth always in mind, the identification of new opportunities is of vital importance. Due to the data CRM provides, it is possible to define new strategies by understanding what to improve and having a dynamic approach.
But, what can you do to increase the chances of closing a deal? The answer might be in using clients’ information and delivering targeted campaigns with a bigger impact. Certainly, this will help in customers retention.
Take advantage of Personalization
Placing a person’s name in an email to seem more personalized couldn’t be more outdated. Nowadays, clients recognize when an email is overly promotional and tend to delete it immediately.
Meeting customers’ needs and communicating according to their tastes or according to the websites they visit is a winning strategy. CRM can gather all this information and guide marketers in the development of the right email marketing campaigns. This effective strategy is valid even for smaller companies who cannot afford the enormous costs associated with other marketing tools.
Say yes to CRM!
CRM platforms are growing in terms of performance and features. Choosing the right partner will guarantee many victories in the fight for retaining customers.
Moreover, inbound marketing is truly enhanced by CRM. With its focus on providing customers with personalized experiences, when a team uses CRM to access profiles and interactions, they will better approach a customer and close a deal faster.
More than a tool to manage customers, CRM is worth considering for all business fields, regardless of its size.
