Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an easy way for a business to manage all of its interactions with potential and existing customers. Defining a CRM strategy will ensure your business processes are streamlined and efficient whilst increased awareness can help your business to improve relationships, retain customers and boost long term profits.
A CRM system specifically enables businesses to manage the customer process through compiling information from a range of different channels, including website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials and social. Obtaining a clear overview can allow the business and specific teams (such as sales and marketing) to better engage with customers, see improved conversion rates and increase profits.
Here are 3 key reasons why a CRM system is important for businesses of all sizes (and not just large companies!)
Organisation
Without a dedicated platform for storing and accessing customer data, important information can be easily lost or overlooked. With everything reliably stored in one place, it will be easier to make sense of customer data and follow up on conversations effectively. By having a coherent overview of how a customer has interacted with your business previously, you will save time and effort that would have been otherwise spent covering old ground with customers who may have already engaged with you.
Customer service improvement
If you’re not managing your customer relationships effectively then your business could be missing out on important conversations and opportunities to convert
Not only does this mean potential lost sales, but you could be ignoring customers and consequently disengaging them with your business. A CRM system will enable you to guarantee that all customers are followed up with and treated as valued individuals.
Identify and follow up on leads
A CRM system can help your sales team to quickly identify and categorise leads. With the most accurate and comprehensive information available, your team can review where clients and customers are within the sales journey and how and when they’ve been contacted. This can allow the team to follow up on leads in the most effective manner and cut down response times. Sales personnel can, as a result, focus their attention and time on the best opportunities alongside being able to review the most effective channels for lead sourcing.
With consumers now using multiple channels to communicate with businesses, it can be easy to lose track of important chances to engage and convert them into customers. A CRM platform can help you to have a clear overview of all your customer relationships, allow sales teams to make contact at the opportune moment, and ensure you’re providing excellent customer service.