A Guide for Beginners- What is CRM?
By Pranjali Manore
A majority of people misinterpret CRM as software. In actual fact, CRM is more than just software. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which blends technology and strategy to guarantee a great customer experience.
No
matter what business it is, be it a B2B, B2C, B2B2C, etc., customers are always
at the center. The success of your business completely depends on the
experience your customer has with you. Basically, there are four touchpoints in
any business- marketing, sales, delivery, and service.
This is
where CRM systems come into play. The systems are designed to manage and
attract your customers via these digital tools, as well as help you retain
clients while supporting your company’s growth. In this blog, you’ll get to
know what CRM is and how does it work.
What is
CRM?
Customer relationship management is a comprehensive business strategy designed to improve revenues and profitability, minimize costs, and increase customer loyalty.
To elaborate,
when your business looks at every single transaction through the eyes of the
customer, you undoubtedly serve excellent services to your customers, which in
turn builds trust for your company.
In a nutshell…
For
instance, today, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better user
experience. One in three customers leave a brand they love after just one
negative experience. Not just that, but customer-centric companies are 60% more
profitable than those that aren’t.
Hope so
far you would have at least got an idea about CRM!
How CRM function?
No matter how advanced it is, no technology can be successful if no strategy is implemented and used. Technology and business strategy should work together to bring a customer-centric plan to life.
Let’s have a look....
1.
Support a customer-centric strategy:
A CRM
system supports a strategy that says that ‘put the customer first.’ This
strategy should be based on clear goals and a vision of what a meaningful
experience looks like. Every time a customer is connected with a company via any
of its channels like email marketing system, social media platforms, and
company’s website, the customer has an opportunity to form an opinion- be it
bad, good or indifferent.
2.
Centralizes all your customer data:
CRM
software combines all marketing, sales, and customer service information into
one central database. Customer information consists of addresses, contact
numbers, and last contact made, but it is not restricted.
This
information is basically collected to manage, measure, and keep track of marketing,
sales, and customer service activities related to the customer. Overall, it
shapes greater customer loyalty and better customer experience.
3.
Automates customer-facing business processes:
Companies
have business-facing processes and customer-facing processes. Business-facing
processes make the business run more efficiently, like budgeting and planning,
whereas customer-facing processes such as marketing, sales, and customer
service. In short, the CRM system keeps track of all lead-related actions and
what’s been said and done.
Conclusion:
As per the above information, so far, you must have got an idea that a CRM system can create a big difference in whether you gain a new customer or retain an existing one. Clients who are valued and satisfied are happy clients, and happy customers mean repeat business- not to mention, here, your mission gets accomplished.
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