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A successful business-client relationship seeks to ensure that all methods, strategies and processes used are customer-centric. The objective is to create satisfying and consistent experiences at all points of contact, from the first interaction, to after the purchase to obtain customer satisfaction, loyalty and recommendation.
Un CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is used precisely to make this objective a reality. By centralizing and instantly providing all the information about each prospect and customer interaction, it allows sales teams to offer personalized experiences that translate into 47% improved customer satisfaction, 45% more revenue and 39% successful cross-selling and upselling strategies [1].
Reason 1 to have a CRM: to unify everyone
Although a CRM system is commonly associated with sales teams, if you have a Complete CRM which also allows you to carry out marketing management, you can unify teamsand manage leads, track customer interactions or monitor the sales pipeline. In fact, they offer great value and benefits for the entire organization. Other teams may be wondering what a CRM is, but with the right implementation they can take advantage of it.
El marketing team you can use CRM to plan and execute campaigns with specific prospect segmentations and adapting messages and content to their characteristics or needs. For example, let's think that an online university wants to promote its master's degree programs to its graduates who haven't attended one. Thanks to the CRM, you can easily identify and segment this audience and execute your campaign.
On the other hand, for the customer support team, it is crucial to have access to the CRM to provide an efficient and effective service. For example, for a support team at a telecommunications company, it is vital to know the services or products contracted/purchased and to know the history of interactions with their area in order to have the relevant information at hand and to more quickly customize the possible solution to the customer's problem. This is doubly relevant when we can connect CRM with Service Desk solutions or Contact Center.
For operational teams, such as logistics or inventory control, they can also benefit from a CRM to guarantee their supplies or deliveries by knowing the customer's order history, or their latest updates regarding their needs or even making sales forecasts and projections based on previous orders.
Reason 2 to have a CRM: scalable features
No business or company is the same as any other and each one has specific needs, but there are features or characteristics that are basic and practically adaptable and scalable for any industry or business model. Let's see what they are:
Centralized database
A CRM system acts as a repository where the storage of all information related to the company and the customer is centralized. Instead of spreadsheets (or worse, folders with physical documents), a CRM automatically consolidates data such as contact details, purchase history, communication records, and support tickets into a single organized database. This centralization eliminates the need to search across multiple sources or systems and simplifies the process of retrieving customer information.
It is important to mention that the CRM system database must offer search and filtering capabilities, allowing users to quickly locate specific customer data. Whether searching by name, email, phone number or other criteria, relevant information can be retrieved in a matter of seconds. This saves time and effort for commercial teams, allowing them to focus on their strategies and not on technical issues.
Optimizing processes with automation
The CRM must optimize and automate key sales, marketing, and support processes. From lead management to sales chain tracking and targeted marketing campaigns, a CRM provides automated tools that optimize these critical functions.
For example, a sales team can prioritize leads with a automated lead scoring or a marketing team can create automated mailing flows based on brand interaction criteria. By automating repetitive tasks and workflows, a CRM frees up valuable time for your teams to focus on strategic initiatives or higher-value opportunities.
Data-driven or data-based decisions
Obtaining valuable customer data that can be translated into strategic actions must also be an indispensable part of a CRM system. Having panels or dashboards, reports and analysis will give teams visibility of key performance indicators, sales trends or customer behavior at the key moment. This data makes it possible to make informed decisions, set realistic objectives, effectively allocate resources and drive strategic initiatives.
By understanding what's working and what's not, you can continuously improve your strategies and optimize customer interactions and stay ahead of the competition in a rapidly evolving market.
Reason 3 to have a CRM: Improve the customer experience
You've probably already noticed that the more the number of leads and customers in your database increases, the complexity of their interactions grows. And as in any growth process, there will be pain and what will be highly impacted will be the CX or Customer Experience.
Companies that don't have a CRM often have to deal with multiple disparate systems or tools to handle customer-related tasks. This is not scalable, since it does not allow communication and nutrition between tools, hinders collaboration between teams and ends up diminishing the customer experience by offering poor and unpersonalized messages.
It's important to ensure that when you contact a customer or prospect, you provide them with a quick, appropriate response with a consistent message. If you don't, you could miss out on many sales or repurchase opportunities. Loyalty, brand reputation and satisfaction can be significantly improved by being consistent; this is because customers will see the business as trustworthy because it is always consistent.
Implementing a CRM system represents an investment that will revolutionize your sales, marketing and service process, so consider the specific needs of your teams before deciding on one. But whatever CRM you choose, make sure it's intuitive, operationally effective, strategic, analytical, and collaborative. Your customers and collaborators will thank you
[1] Capterra, CRM User Research Infographic
