In
today's ultra-competitive markets, the companies that manage customer
relationships the best are more likely to win hearts than those that don't. While
the technology surrounding customer relationship management may have changed,
the goal of making a sale and keeping a customer has not.
At
its core, CRM is all about merging marketing efforts with business processes to
be able to identify, pursue and manage valuable customer relationships. For
companies that are still on the fence about CRM, it's worth considering the
benefits CRM systems offer.
Here
are few of the biggest advantages.
1) Efficiency- A
well-implemented CRM system can replace manual processes that create
significant organizational inefficiencies. Thanks to the ability of CRM
platforms, the efficiencies of CRM can enable companies to interact with
customers in ways that they wouldn't have the resources to otherwise.
2)
Improved Customer Experience- Today’s customers expect a
customized, streamlined experience from beginning to end. They want you to know
who they are and to have what they need— without transferring the call and
without keeping them waiting. A customer
relationship management system will enable you to quickly identify your
customers, address their initial needs and subsequently recommend additional
products or services that match their profile.
3)
Increased accountability - When companies lack
the tools to manage their customer relationships, customers are bound to fall
through the cracks. CRM systems can help ensure that this doesn't happen by
adding a layer of accountability to the customer relationship management
process.
4)
Focused Marketing Efforts- Rather than taking the mass marketing approach, CRM
allows you to focus and fine-tune your marketing efforts to make those efforts
more productive. That saves you money, because you aren’t expending resources
on individuals who ultimately won’t become customers.
5)
Automated Analytics and Reporting - Whether
your business is large or small, chances are you don’t have time to track and
analyze the buying habits of every last customer. The beauty of customer relationship
management applications is that they handle that piece of the marketing puzzle
for you.
6)
Better Coordination and Cooperation When
sales, marketing and customer service share a common CRM platform, they are
able to speak the same language with one another. Rather than being separated
by systems functionality or access to key information, departments across the
organization are able to function more cohesively.
7)
Effective time management - CRM prompts users
to follow up on activities and automates alerts when important events occur, or
if actions are missed.
8)
Increase Customer Loyalty - Understand your customer needs and expectations by
gaining more customer visibility. Keep your customers happy and coming back
with repeat purchases, increased renewal rates, and customer retention.
9)
CRM gives a professional image to your business. All businesses want their customers
to regard them as professional and it can be the little things such as knowing
what your customers usually buy that will help to project this image. Knowing
the service or products your customers have purchased also enables you to
cross-sell or up-sell any additional services/products that you offer to gain
additional value.
10) Customer details are stored in an easy to access place - No more searching for customer information on various
databases. Customer relationship software enables all customer details to be
stored in the same place which can then be accessed by anyone within the
business
