Is using a CRM tool just punching a few buttons to keep the Business Owner or Sales Director happy? If you think it is, then maybe your business has CRM in the ‘just another bit of technology’ box. Best to take a step back and take a look at the reasons why – because a disengaged CRM user isn’t going to work to deliver what the business ultimately needs.
So, what do businesses need from CRM, and why do they bother to implement it at all? Well, CRM can make it really easy to get a 360-degree view across your business from marketing and sales, through to customer support. It can help you extend the depth and breadth of your customer relationships. It can assist you in reinforcing your brand. And, it can help you deliver customer satisfaction and loyalty. These are all outcomes we desire, but to achieve them, we need reasons to use CRM.
What are the top strategies in your business?
A business strategy is the rationale to take a particular action. If your business strategies include generating more revenue, increasing customer loyalty/satisfaction and reducing costs – then CRM could be a way to help deliver them.
Generating More Revenue
Tracking, controlling and refining marketing & sales processes with CRM ensures that your sales reps always follow the sales steps that you know work in your sector. This isn’t just for the initial sale. It goes beyond that to include how frequently to follow-up and which promotions to offer to which customers. Additionally, it ensures that cross-sell opportunities are clearly identified. You can offer automatic up-sell and upgrade opportunities, protect yourself against unauthorised discounting, and a host of other sales-focused strategies.
Increasing Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction
We all like to know what we’re getting when we deal with a company. We also like to know that we’ll get the same experience every time. That way, we know that when we make a recommendation, others are going to get the same experience. CRM looks after the processes that ensure this happens.
Ensuring that you communicate regularly with customers, however frequently that may be, will help ensure that you foster repeat purchases. If you’re not in touch with your customers, they become lapsed and then they become lost. You may send an email once every two months or you might call every week – whatever is appropriate for your sector. A well-implemented CRM can help you do this.
Keeping a regular communication channel open and ensuring that your customer gets the same experience every time they purchase from you will help you increase your customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Reducing Costs
Tracking customer issues and complaints can help you understand where to make improvements in your business. This could be across quality control, delivery times, sales techniques, or a host of other reasons why an existing customer might want to get in touch with you. Recording and using simple dashboards to give you metrics on what refinements need to be made in your business will help drive down the cost of doing business. More happy customers means less product returns/fewer refunds for late deliveries/more efficient production – reducing your costs.
So, CRM… What About Technology?
In our world, technology can either be an enabler or a disabler. CRM either works with you or against you. It helps you deliver your goals or it gets in the way. It speeds you up or it slows you down. A tiny piece of technology can make a massive difference to a business, in a good way or in a bad way. CRM is no different. A well-considered implementation with buy-in across the business can help deliver on these important business strategies. When an engaged, reasoned, incentivised team all understand and buy-into the strategy (i.e. the motivation behind the technology), technology working against/getting in the way of the business will fall to the way-side.
Deciding to use a specific piece of technology to do a specific job is a way to deliver a strategy.
In our book: No strategy, no technology.
For a chat about how CRM could help your business, give us a call on 01279 882290
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