Why Use CRM for Your Business?

In today’s competitive markets, the companies that best manage their customer relationships are more likely to succeed than those that don’t. And with the digital age of social media, consumer feedback is now at everyone’s fingertips.

Now imagine an IT system that specifically addresses the problems of dealing with customers on a day-to-day basis.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is not just the application of technology, but is a strategy to learn more about your customers’ needs and behaviours in order to develop stronger relationships with them. As such, the business philosophy and adoption of modern CRM systems has skyrocketed in recent years, with prices for current platforms ranging from less than the cost of latte, through to the astronomical.  Subsequently, all companies are now able to adopt a CRM solution.

But if you are still on the fence about CRM, it’s worth considering the benefits that it can offer. Here are just a few:

Increased Accountability

When companies neglect or fail to manage their customer relationships, clients are bound to slip through the cracks. CRM systems help ensure this doesn’t happen by adding a layer of accountability to the customer relationship management process.

A well-implemented CRM system helps employees (across a multitude of departments) to better understand their responsibilities to customers throughout the customer lifecycle. And when those responsibilities aren’t met, it’s easy to identify what went wrong, where, who fell short and how to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Efficiency

A well-implemented CRM system can replace those manual processes that create significant organizational inefficiencies. The emailing, telephone scheduling and appointment setting. CRM systems don’t just create efficiency by reducing the use of inefficient processes. The good ones allow you to integrate with your other systems, i.e. marketing automation etc. And if they offer mobile or tablet capabilities then your productivity may be increased even more.

Collaboration

When choosing a CRM system for your business, ensure it has an Open API (application programming interface) – quite simply meaning it works with other existing systems you may already be running. CRM systems provide businesses the ability to move away from tools like spreadsheets and encompass the entire customer lifecycle.

And with the use of cloud-based platforms, data can be shared across multiple departments, allowing you to more effectively manage customer relationships.

Improved customer experience

Ultimately, for all of the benefits CRM systems provide, the biggest are the improved customer experience and the better reporting data, allowing you to make resourceful and effective decisions – allowing businesses to reap the rewards in both customer loyalty and long term profitability.

Customers are more easily and accurately segmented, their needs identified, and because the status of a company’s relationship with them is accurately tracked, companies can interact with them meaningfully at the right times, ultimately leading to more sales, faster results and higher customer retention and satisfaction.

 

Research shows that successful use of CRM can boost sales by as much as 30%. This means that a well-chosen and properly implemented system is an indispensable tool for any growing organization. See how your company can benefit from CRM implementation: https://www.livespace.io.

 

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Graham Richardson
Helping teams across a range of industries organise their sales processes, get more from their pipeline & to #SellSmarter. A sales professional with over 14 years’ experience. CRM & SaaS enthusiast, always happy to share his knowledge & insights, Graham is a regular contributor to industry publications and blogs.