Having an effective customer relationship management (CRM) system is one of the most fruitful sales acquisition and customer retention tools that a business can invest in.
Most business owners understand the importance of staying connected to their prospects and delivering great customer service, however this does not have to be a manual and time-consuming process. By implementing a CRM system, businesses can automate, streamline, and reduce the amount of work required to do so, whilst making sales activity far more profitable and cohesive.
Given the tough economic conditions many companies currently face, here are four ways a CRM can help support your business stay ahead of the competition.
Generate more business – upselling, leads and referrals
Building and maintaining strong customer relationships is a vital part of upselling. When used effectively, a CRM system can help users keep track of correspondences with current customers and store rich data about them. Whether that be demographics, location, spending habits and even engagement with your marketing tools such as emails and social media. By utilising a CRM system, businesses are able to collect whatever data they require to target the right customers with personalised offers, which can lead to an increase in sales.
Capturing and continuously working on new lead generation is vital for every sales strategy. A CRM plays a pivotal role in supporting this by monitoring the interaction of potential customers with your sales materials. This data can be sifted through to identify potential leads and the appropriate offer that will entice them to use your products or services.
Businesses can also use their CRM to gain referrals from current customers. A CRM can help sales-people analyse the engagement of pre-existing customers to see which are the most satisfied and therefore more likely to offer a firm recommendation.
Improve customer service
A study published by Walker states that soon customer experience will be the leading differentiator in regards to buying decisions, over product and price. Implementing a CRM can help improve customer service within a business as the software creates a 360-degree view of your customer which is invaluable when providing exceptional customer service.
Users can instantly access the latest information on products, deals and contracts that would be best suited to each individual client, providing a tailored sales and customer experience approach that is highly personable.
The simplicity and highly customisable dashboards of most CRM’s give users clarity on the status of current relationships and can compile all previous correspondence with the existing or potential customer, providing enough information for team members to build long-term working relationships.
Support team organisation
CRMs are extremely beneficial for employees working across multiple accounts, as it becomes far easier to jump between clients and share the workload. Furthermore, if an employee is on annual leave or leaves the business permanently, a CRM prevents the issue of misinformed handovers.
Tasks can also be assigned to individual users, and can be viewed by management to ensure staff are meeting sufficient deadlines.
Track KPI’s
The majority of CRMs allow users to keep track of a variety of key performance indicators such as which marketing campaigns are performing the best, what customer service methods are working and what type of customer is most profitable to the business.
A CRM can also provide real time filtering and reporting that enables users to track valuable performance metrics like marketing lead sources, sales pipeline and activity, email effectiveness and opportunities closed.
This allows businesses to have a finger on the pulse and know what is working and what is not so they can tailor their sales approach.
CRM solutions support the workflow of businesses, allowing client relationships to run smoothly, whilst providing the foundations for a successful sales strategy. When investing in a CRM software, business owners should consider what they want to achieve from its implementation, and what components are most important for the business, as this will inform their CRM choice.
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