What is CRM?
‘Customer relationship management’ (‘CRM’), refers to the tech and processes that a company uses to manage its relationships, both internally and externally. These can be anything from email subscribers, sales leads and customers, to advocates and employees.
Benefits Both Internal and External Relationships
Internally, CRM can help all areas of your business. From Management (tracking team performance) to the Sales team (automating their sales process) and Customer services (any actions post sale).
Externally, CRM tools can be used for organizing and tracking all the relevant information you need. It will enable you to find prospects, nurture leads, close deals and retain customers, build stronger relationships, increase sales, create more personalized customer service and, overall, make processes more efficient.
CRM Technology and CRM Strategy
Now when we talk about CRM, we’re actually talking about two different aspects, CRM technology and CRM strategy. CRM technology is the central platform used, where customer information can be organized, securely shared and acquired. It provides functionality for pipeline management and reporting, as well as the ability to communicate and track all touch-points with your contacts.
CRM strategy refers to the processes that a company implements in order to use the CRM technology most efficiently. To get the best results it’s important to structure your strategy around the technology and not the other way around.
Why Invest in CRM Technology?
Here are just some of the many reasons it’s extremely beneficial to invest in a CRM system:
- Sales pipeline management
- Email integration
- Contact management
- Sales forecasting and reporting
- Secure data storage
- Store customer information
- Better customer service and retention
- Collaboration between multiple teams
- Meetings/calls/emails management
Choosing The Right Platform
Appreciating the value a CRM system can bring to your business is simple, however choosing the right one can be much harder. There are many great companies out there that specialize in CRM but for us, one of our partners Pipedrive is the complete package. They use AI to automate repetitive tasks and currently support over 90,000 customers. To help in your decision making, they have a comparison hub that will give you the tools needed to decide between Pipedrive and other CRM alternatives. If you’re still not quite ready to commit though, they offer a free 14 day trial which you can access here.
Transform Your Business
Combining a well thought out CRM strategy with an effective CRM platform can transform your business. It will streamline multiple processes and make collaborating with other teams so much more efficient. You’ll be able to capture, track and convert leads within a secure database that will save you time and money. All the while offering a greater service and ensuring the retention of the customers you’ve already obtained.