This blog series explores the world of CRM, Customer Relationship Management.
After introducing CRM, in part 1 of this blog series, next let's take a look at who uses CRM, who needs CRM and when is the right time for a CRM?
Who uses a CRM system and who needs a CRM system?
CRM is a tool that organises contacts and your relationship with them. CRM does not have to be used exclusively as a sales tool. It empowers your sales team immensely - speeds up the sales cycle, derives incredibly rich insights around the sales process (and lead or contact engagement) and thereby empowers a CRM system into a personal asset - a 24/7 sales assistant.
That said, anyone across the organisation who engages with or communicates with a customer, should capture and record necessary and relevant data, relating to that customers contact record, in a centralised CRM system. Many CRM systems are therefore built intuitively and user-friendly to cater to most user roles and functions and are designed for beginner, intermediate or advanced users.
In addition to catering for individual users, CRM Software should also cater to teams, for example, marketing, customer service, leadership and management, empowering productivity, accounting and reporting.
CRM systems can capture how many calls team members make and when, how many emails are sent and even when those emails are read and by whom. CRM can log time spent on activities and engagements across the sales function for example: emails shared, documents sent and read, sales collateral used in the sales process, managing contacts through their buying experience and the sales pipeline, tracking activity and engagements, simple contact related details like phone, address, basic notes, call logs etc … the list goes on.
When it comes to customer management, engagements and contact, CRM systems can also pinpoint who is doing what, when, where, how and why, seamlessly and automatically.
When is the right time for a CRM system?
When to employ a CRM system will differ from organisation to organisation but there are some common tell-tale signs indicating when the timing is right for your organisation to consider a CRM system or upgrade the current system.
Such signs might include:
- High volume of customers requiring better, seamless management and organisation (sometimes automated - depending on the system)
- Allocating all information sources you have about a customer, to their record or data file
- The need to record, store and track engagements with your customers at scale
- The need for a central location to record, store and access customer data and activity - visible to anyone with relevant permission to access
- The need to track the history you have with your customers for example: calls, emails, tasks, service tickets, the list goes on
- The need to interconnect and leverage all customer related data, report on or share the connected data with any organisation member
- The need to see all engagements a customer has had with your organisation either at point of sale, or online, on your website or their historical interaction(s) with the organisation
- To see every interaction a customer has had with your organisation across all channels they engage with (in some CRM systems - such features may be limited)
- To enable accurate sales forecasting and reporting
- Managing your deals, opportunity and their pipeline with total visibility
- Customer and their data insights and segmentation for marketing purposes
Identifying the right CRM, with the right tools and features, catering to your organisation's unique customer relationship management needs and challenges, is essential.
Now that you understand what a CRM system is, stay tuned for the next blog in our CRM Blog series about how to select the right CRM, the types of CRM systems to choose from, comparing CRM systems and what you can expect a CRM system to do for you, once you have one.
"Aside from other functions in an organisation, a CRM should sit at the centre, the core of the organisations universe. Why? because in business today, the customer is the life blood of the organisation and their experience and engagement with your organisation or brand(s), should dictate everything you do, live, breath and feel. In addition, and from a pure sales perspective, customers are the pulse of every organisations revenue. Without a CRM for sales staff, their role is seriously crippled. When we revisit customers following a successful CRM implementation and training, every one of them reinforce that they cannot comprehend how they ever lived without one!”.
Glenn Miller, Lupo Digital (Director of Growth Strategy & Customer Experience)
Lupo's Intro to CRM Guide will help you understand more about CRM, it’s benefits and must-have features, how CRM can help your business and assist with a boost in sales.
Stay tuned for more by subscribing to this blog now (right side of this blog page, near the top). You can also fast
track your skill by exploring Lupo Digital's CRM stream here, our free online (no download required) CRM Guide or download the free: Intro to CRM Guide (also as image below).
Are you a more advanced CRM user?
Written by Glenn Miller
An exceptionally experienced digital marketer, proactive and future-forward thought leader, I deliver exceptional customer experiences, industry leading digital strategy and superior marketing results.
