CRM Basics – A Beginner’s Guide

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The right CRM can have profound benefits for your organization. These tools have become incredibly important, and as demand has grown, so too has the number of platforms out there. If you’re unsure of what a CRM is, what it does, or why these tools are so essential, we’ll walk you through all that you need below.

What Is a CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. These systems offer powerful benefits across all industries and niches. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, the right system is a vital key for success.

What Benefits Does a CRM Offer?

The entire point of using a customer relationship management system is to better manage your customer relationships, but what benefits do they bring to the table?

Understanding:

One of the most important things that a CRM will offer is the ability to better understand your audience. It’s not just about data acquisition, though. It also helps you access, organize, and use the information that you collect to grow a stronger relationship with each of your customers.

Complete Data:

How much information do you have on your customers? Is it enough to paint a full picture? Chances are good that is not the case. With a CRM, you benefit from having access to complete information so you can make better offerings, target your marketing better, and achieve other important goals.

Freeing Data to Flow:

You already have a lot of data, but it’s stuck in silos within different departments in your organization. A customer relationship management system works to free that data, allowing it to cross traditional departmental borders so that it can be used by all within your business.

Improved Communication:

With the right CRM, you also gain the ability to take your communications to the next level. You can go beyond simply adding a person’s name to an email, and truly personalise your communications based on everything from preferences to problems that a customer has experienced with your products or services. Detailed customer information is available with the touch of a button, allowing improved customer service, better marketing, and a stronger relationship.

Better Customer Experience:

Today, consumers expect a positive overall experience at every touch point. With a CRM, you can deliver the improved customer experience that they deserve through enhanced customer service. Because the entirety of a customer’s history and all interactions with your company are stored and maintained, it becomes simpler to find solutions to their problems in short amounts of time.

Automation:

How many mundane, time-consuming tasks must be completed in the sales process? What about the customer service process? These tasks might be important, but they are, ultimately, time-sucks that keep your team from doing what they do best. With a CRM, you can automate those tasks so that your team members can focus on delivering better customer service.

Upping Your Efficiency:

Because a CRM can automate mundane processes, your business also benefits from improved efficiency. Your team members will be able to do more in less time, creating more satisfied customers or clients, reducing your overhead, and boosting profitability.

Improved Information Visibility and Availability:

A CRM will provide you with better access to critical information and better availability of that data. It achieves this through integration with other platforms and tools that you use, generating in-depth reports, and providing powerful analytics capabilities.

Moving Forward

Not sure which CRM is right for you, but interested in the benefits offered? Valenta is a specialist in digital transformation and we will ensure that you get the right solution, the scalability you require, and the peace of mind that comes from professional integration and training. Contact Us today to learn more about how a CRM could benefit your business processes.