How to Improve Business Performance and Customer Experience With CRM Tools
Managing customer experiences is an important aspect when running a business, yet it is something that many new businesses forget to do. Customers are the lifeblood of your business so it’s imperative to establish who they are, how they like to be contacted and what will encourage them to keep returning.
However as your business grows, this can be a more challenging task than it seems. When you factor in huge amounts of customer data, multiple customer touch points and various communication methods, problems can easily start to arise that are detrimental to your customer relationships.
Common customer relationship pain points
All too often, the same issues around customer relationship management arise. Below are some of those we have seen most frequently, particularly amongst startups.
Chaotic customer data
Dealing with masses of disorganized data can be one of the largest issues for businesses when it comes to customer relationship management. Searching through multiple different sources and platforms to get critical sales information is inefficient and means your business is more likely to miss a crucial insight. Implementing a CRM system means all of your data will be centrally located which will make it simpler for you to discover what you need, exactly when you need it.
Clunky communication
Once you’ve finally found the insights and data you need, do you have the right contact details to hand? Do you know if your customer is more receptive to phone calls or emails? When was the last time you contacted them? With CRM tools you can instantly phone, text, or email your contacts, all from one platform. You can easily access a record of all your prior communications with that person, or you can look up a customer’s past purchases to respond to any queries or issues they may have. This removes some inefficiency for your sales team and helps to personalise the experience for your customer.
Redundant reporting
The sale is successfully closed, but reporting on your success is just as important. Manually creating reports is time consuming and quickly becomes out of date as your sales & marketing teams continue to drive leads and secure new customers. So how can you keep on top of this key data without wasting valuable time?
Real-time reports based on your sales and marketing data are available from CRM software systems that stay as up to date as the data you input.
Custom reports can be easily produced with charts, graphs, and other visual aids showing key insights that will benefit your sales team in the future and show its impact on revenue.
In short, CRM tools can be used to solve all of these issues. It can simplify important tasks, streamline your sales process, create a sales pipeline, and analyze all of your sales data in one location, boosting productivity, improving customer experience and driving leads.
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Integrating CRM for sales success
Using CRM to improve client experiences gives businesses a competitive advantage, while assisting in building the business and customer base. 82% of the respondents in a 2021 survey said “Active customer retention” is one of the most important objectives for their CRM team. However, the best way to get maximum value from these tools is to integrate them with your communications system.
By integrating CRM tools with cloud-based you’ll have easier access to all customer data including ages, locations, genders, hobbies and interests which all helps to design more cost-efficient marketing campaigns and target particular customers for sales.
You can keep track of all communications with clients, whether they take place over the phone, in writing, or on social media and CRM integration makes it easier for your team to communicate internally and with other parties like distributors and suppliers. This enables you to work together on strategy and implement best practices throughout your organisation in all interactions with customers.
An example of CRM software integration done well is with Envirosystem. They worked with us to implement a well-known CRM software by allowing employees to sync contacts, click-to-call and log call activity. Since the installation, business operations at Envirosystem have increased by 40%, even during the pandemic, with the ability to add multiple devices for each of their users helping them to work from multiple locations.
Read More: Pega Named a Leader in Core CRM Solutions by Independent Research Firm
CRM tools are essential for improving the customer experience
CRM is one of the most popular tools available for businesses today. In fact, according to Gartner the CRM software market is expected to grow over 14% through 2025 and we can see why.
CRM tools encompass the whole of the customer-business relationship, including direct interactions and more businesses are realizing the need for these tools as part of their customer communication strategy. It supports companies in developing a relationship with their clients, which ultimately fosters loyalty and ultimately customer retention – something that is invaluable during economic uncertainty.
But more than that, the benefits of these tools include improving and streamlining day-to-day operations, saving costs, and freeing up more time for your team to devote to customer needs. So impressive are the benefits across the board, that businesses who haven’t taken advantage of this invaluable tool will soon find themselves lagging behind their competitors managing their customer relationships with great efficiency.
The landscape of customer experience and sales has evolved and will no doubt continue to. To keep your business out in front of this ever-changing beast, rethinking how you communicate with customers and how you manage those relationships will be the difference between success and failure.
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