Understanding CRM Systems
Understanding CRM Systems
CRM stands for "Customer Relationship Management" and is a combination of strategy and technology to build and improve business relationships with customers.
The objectives of the CRM system are threefold:
1. Acquire and cultivate leads
2. Increase sales conversion
3. Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty
How does CRM software work?
CRM software is generally referred to in the context of a tool used in businesses to enable the following functions:
· Contact management
· Pipeline management
· Marketing campaigns
· Customer service
CRM systems have a strong technological component (software), but there is more to it than this.
CRM should be seen as a process, which includes activities towards the market and customers, both in the marketing phase and in the after-sales service phase.
A successful customer relationship management strategy involves capturing and analysing market trends and customer information from multiple sources.
This enables businesses to implement effective marketing activities and customer services that increase sales over time while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.
Why Should Businesses Invest in Customer Relationship Management Software?
CRM software, integrated into a specific customer relationship management strategy, can bring many benefits to a business.
As your organization grows, it becomes essential to manage the increase in prospects while providing a personal touch to your customers.
If your business is to survive in a competitive market space, you need to have sales goals, personalized marketing campaigns, and smart support.
How will your organization handle the different data coming from sales, marketing, helpdesk, and social media in a logical way?
An automated CRM system will allow your team to effectively interact with your customers and manage the interaction with them in a single viewing window.
· It will provide a comprehensive platform to manage points of contact with sales representatives by phone, email and chat with customers.
· It offers clear visibility of each contact or lead so that team members can manage the different stages of the chain.
A CRM system brings many advantages, in particular:
Identify and acquire new leads
A CRM system can help you quickly and easily identify and add new leads and categorize them accurately.
By focusing on the right leads, salespeople can more easily prioritize them to close business, while marketers can focus on the leads that require additional action before becoming customers.
Improve products and services
Getting to know your customers better also means knowing your business better.
Customer relationship management systems can give you a better idea of what your customers think about your business, products and services, so you can better identify any gaps in your products and services and improve them.
Provide better customer service
A customer relationship management system can help your business provide high-quality service, ensuring that customers get quick and efficient answers to all of their questions.
Increase sales to loyal customers
By better understanding your customers and their needs, you can increase their purchases and make them even more satisfied and loyal through customer service.
Knowing more about your customers, their needs and their behaviours allows you to develop more targeted, adapted and consistent marketing actions.
The company that adopts a customer relationship management (CRM) system also has greater efficiency, also related to a significant reduction in costs.
In particular:
It reduces production costs
A CRM system keeps track and record of all historical purchases of each customer, and therefore help (especially in retail) to have a clear view of stock inventory.
It also helps to understand which products are the best sellers to order them again immediately, so that customer relationship management gives a great advantage to companies to invest in fast-moving inventory, which increases revenue and costs.
Less use of reports and paperwork
The reduction in costs is not so much related to the decrease in paper consumption, but to the increased efficiency and lower expenses associated with filing and using paper documents.
Use of electronic models
CRM saves a lot of time and money when it comes to writing sales offers, invitations and so on.
CRM software will provide standard document templates which can be customized according to usage.
This will save time by sending the documents directly through the e-mail system integrated with the customer relationship management system.
Effectiveness of reports
The CRM software keeps information up to date and its reporting tool automatically generates data, which saves a lot of man hours and documents and increases accuracy and efficiency.
This directly translates into a reduction in business costs.
How to choose CRM software
If you are considering adopting a CRM solution, you need to make sure that it is strategic and aligned with your goals.
It is therefore important that you define the business objectives and the requirements that a CRM solution must have to achieve them
The success of a CRM project is primarily measured by its acceptance and use by company staff.
If the CRM is not used and integrated into business work and processes, even the best software in the world may not benefit your business.
Once a CRM solution has been implemented and accepted by the employees of your company, it should facilitate the sharing of information between the different employees, but also between the different departments.
An efficient flow of information between business departments will improve internal relationships and collaboration, increasing your business' ability to deploy strategies to achieve its goals.
Of course, the success of a CRM project is not only measured internally (acceptance and use, greater efficiency of information flows, collaboration, etc.), but must also translate into a different impact on loyal customers and potential customers.
Overall, this translates into increased sales and more efficient and effective sales, marketing and customer support processes.
In terms of return on investment, improving customer relationships is essential, which is of course the most important factor justifying the investment in CRM software.
Customers prefer to buy where they feel valued and appreciated. A CRM system can help your business get to know your customers better and communicate with them in the most appropriate way.
When implementing a CRM solution, it is therefore important to keep the customer and his/her needs at the center of concerns.
To be successful, the company must be clear about its objectives and communicate them to all relevant personnel. Only then can a CRM strategy be the element that supports the marketing and sales of your business.
Do you need strategic and operational support to implement a customer relationship management solution?
Contact EWM today, our specialist digital marketing agency in Geneva!