CRM or customer relationship management, allows businesses to manage business relationships and the data and information associated with them in order to drive sales growth
Why you should invest in CRM software
There are several reasons why companies invest in CRM software:
1. Data management
Having a master data management tool, like a CRM system in place is a “critical success factor” in driving revenue. By using a master file, to centralise all business-critical data facilitates records management among departments and personnel, effectively breaking down silos that hamper efficient data sharing in a business.
2. Improved sales conversion
When sending your customers marketing messages, relevance and timing are crucial. A CRM system that enables you to profile customers according to, for example, industry sector, turnover, location, usual purchases, etc., allows you to segment your customer base into groups of buyers with different tastes or budgets.
This segmentation scheme enables you to send targeted communications that can potentially increase your sales numbers.
3. Better customer satisfaction ratings
Great customer experience increases retention rates. As marketers already know, retaining customers costs less than acquiring new ones. Harvard Business School even says that a 5% increase in retention rates yields a profitability uptick of 25% to 95%.
A CRM solution with detailed customer profiles affords enterprises to craft strategic retention initiatives aiming to deliver personalized customer experiences for better customer satisfaction ratings.
4. Reporting and analytics
A CRM solution’s reporting and analytics feature lets businesses answer critical questions such as:
- What are the best ways to definitively reach your customers?
- What have your top sales reps been doing for the past week, month, or year that their underperforming counterparts can emulate?
- Which products sold well last month? Which products came in with less-than-expected sales numbers?
- What marketing strategies have generated the most (or least) significant returns for the company during the past year?
- What have been your most successful projects/products/services to date?
- Will your targets be met at the end of the month?
Having all this information at your fingertips allows you to analyse trends, track key performance indicators and even predict your company’s sales future.
5. Collaboration
The speed at which customers want their needs or questions addressed is rapidly evolving. Now, customers want their interactions with a customer service department to be as immediate and pain-free as the apps on their mobile phones. Businesses not banking on collaboration to address this need are doomed to spectacularly fail.
Collaborative CRM, enjoins the various departments of an organization, e.g., sales, marketing, and finance, and shares customer information among them to better understand their customers and reference them consistently and systematically.
6. Sales tracking and monitoring
With a CRM solution, every stage of the customer lifecycle is tracked and monitored, and pertinent data to easily manage leads’ sales journeys from site visitor to paying customer to brand advocate are collected, analysed, and developed into actionable input.
Not only do you have a clear picture of the acquisition and retention strategies that work, you also have a comprehensive insight into the overall sales health of your business.
7. Task tracking
Aside from pipeline management, CRM solutions have task management and tracking features that allow sales professionals to stay on top of important tasks, such as sending an email, call a customer, or follow up with leads.
Sales managers can assign tasks to team members who can then set relevant reminders that can be pushed to their phones or email so nothing falls through the cracks.
Tasks can be categorized by contact, company, or project, and notes can also be added, particularly if the task is being worked on by more than one person.
Contact Proaptivity today
If you need help in understanding why my business needs CRM, maybe some of our eBooks could help! Alternatively visit Maximizer CRM for more information. Contact us today in Belfast on 028 9099 6388 or at our Bedford office on 01234 214004. Alternatively email us on info@proaptivity.com. Contact us today for a free CRM consultation that will assess if your business is CRM ready.
