Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the methods and tools that aim to include all interactions of a company with current, past and future customers with the aim of “improving” customer relationships with that company. In other words, the goal of CRM is to gather enough information about a customer and use it well enough to increase the customer’s positive interactions with the company and thus increase the company’s revenue. This is how to use CRM to increase business.
CRM systems are collaborative. The collection of data at all stages of the customer relationship (marketing, sales and service) provides a comprehensive picture so that entrepreneurs/managers can make informed decisions and know how to use CRM to increase business.
For small businesses, customer relationship management includes:
– Processes that help identify and align their best customers, generate high-quality sales leads, and plan and implement marketing campaigns with clear goals and goals
– Processes that help build individualized customer relationships (to improve customer satisfaction) and provide the highest level of customer service to the most profitable customers
– Processes that provide employees with the information they need to know the needs and needs of their customers and build relationships between the company and its customers
How to use CRM to increase business: benefits
Customer Relationship Management collects comprehensive data about customers, their needs and preferences, which can then be used to:
- Improve customer service and the customer’s travel
- Drive product development
- Personalize advertising
- Finding new customers
- Increase sales figures
What types of data are collected by a CRM system?
The key to an effective CRM system is comprehensive data collection about your customers. For example, without customer data from service groups, sales groups cannot properly respond to the wishes/needs of customers and vice versa. CRM data includes:
Contact details
- Customer name
- Customer contact information – email address, mailing address, phone/mobile phone, website address, social media contact information such as Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, etc. Includes the preferred contact method.
- How the customer became aware of your business (web search, social media, newspaper ads, word of mouth, etc.)
Personal customer profile
- Family information – can be used to send birthday/anniversary/Christmas wishes, etc.
- Hobbies – useful to reward your best customers with a golf or ski pass or a Christmas present
- Group memberships, associations – can be useful to generate sales people with customer employees
This type of CRM information is typically retrieved over time as you expand relationships with customers. You might also want to use a contact template to do this more easily.
Sales history
- Purchased products/services, including date/time and transaction amounts
- Payment method (Paypal, cash, cheque, direct debit or credit card)
- When purchases are made on credit, information about the terms of the loan and the history of the loan payments
- Reaction to advertising campaigns, promotions, etc.
This CRM information is very useful for analytical purposes. For example, salesreps can check the frequency of a customer’s purchases and send reminders. Purchasing behavior can also be used to adapt product offerings to customer preferences. Customer responses to advertising campaigns and promotions can be used to fine-tune your marketing strategy. The balance of payments can be helpful when late payments occur.
Customer communication
- How does the customer normally get in touch? Do you prefer e-mail, text or phone communication? Do they immediately return calls, text messages or emails?
- All communications with the customer should be observed – digital contacts (texts or e-mail) should be stored and records of calls to the sales, service or customer service should be kept.
Linking your email to the CRM system is a must. Most CRM systems have built-in third-party add-on capabilities that integrate with popular e-mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook.
Customer review
- Customer complaints, product returns, and support request details should be recorded, as well as tracking information (the issue was resolved to customer satisfaction or was a refund, etc.)
- Response to customer surveys.
- Has the customer rated your products or services on an online review page or on social media?
- Has the customer started his business elsewhere and, if so, which competitor and why? (price, service, etc.) This can be taken from the information that the customer receives directly or individually.
CRM customer satisfaction metrics can reveal a variety of issues that need to be addressed:
- Repeated returns or complaints may indicate defective or unreliable products
- Product/service prices that are not competitive
- Poor customer service – does not respond to phone or email requests, products/services that are not delivered as promised, customer complaints are not handled properly, poorly trained staff and no “extra mile”
CRM Tools
Customer Relationship Management tools include desktop and browser-based software, as well as cloud applications that collect and organize information about customers.
Note that many of the most important accounting software packages either have available CRM modules or are integrated with third-party CRM add-ons.
