Salesforce. HubSpot. Zoho. Zendesk. Monday.

If you have come across these Customer Relationship Management (CRM) companies, then chances are you are familiar with what sort of tool a CRM is. If you are a budding or well-established business, then you would be aware of the indisposable value that a CRM can bring a business.

But despite this, a surprising number of small businesses have not implemented CRMs, mainly due to unfamiliarity with the online tools available, cost barriers, and hesitation to invest time into learning how to best utilise the system.

Without a CRM, managing and retaining customers is a tedious and labour-heavy task. Spreadsheets simply can no longer facilitate the growth of companies at the pace needed to keep up with the highly-competitive market.

Here are just four reasons why a CRM can be a business’ greatest asset.

1. Organise your Leads and Contacts

A lead might not be ready to buy from you today, but it is just as important you keep these leads warm. Registering your leads and contacts makes it easier for you to keep tabs on leads and categorise them according to Type of Customer (ie. Supplier, Partner, Influencer) and Lead Status (Active, Inactive, On Hold, Completed).

You can also send out email newsletters, SMSs, and targeted advertisements according to customer categories, to keep them engaged, informed and warm in terms of brand awareness and your service offerings.

2. Track Customer Interactions

Long gone are the days of paperwork and shared excel sheets. Using a CRM, company employees can now collaborate in teams and keep in the loop of communications with each client. This has a major positive impact on keeping communications seamless, relevant and personable, by seeing past email exchanges between the client and company and, for example, any notes that the Sales team has made for the Accounts Team to be wary of when sending future invoices. No client wants to have to repeat themselves twice.

3. Access New Possibilities

While there are endless activities that a CRM can do that Excel spreadsheet cannot, one of the most important ones is keeping leads – cold, warm, or hot – alive and kicking in your CRM database. A client may say no to your product today, but if something happens with their current supplier and they want to change their mind, chances are they’ll keep you in mind if you have been actively sending through email marketing communications, connecting with them on Linkedin, checking in with them to see how their projects are tracking, and appearing in their Google or Youtube Ads.

4. Centralised Customer Data

People might change jobs, email addresses and phone lines may change, and each client could be very particular in their working relationship preferences. In the blink of an eye, your valuable customers could be lost if your data is stored locally and is not kept up-to-date. A CRM system can be easily backed to cloud servers and guarantees your sales and revenue by protecting your business’ most valuable asset: your customer data.

Without a CRM, it is difficult for businesses to focus on the customer. But companies that invest in integrating CRMs into their daily operations are more equipped to place customers at the heart of their business, increase sales and profits, and gain access to new possibilities that previously would not have been visible or attainable through spreadsheets.

By Lauren Hamilton

RESOURCES:
https://www.superoffice.com/blog/4-reasons-why-your-crm-system-is-your-most-valuable-asset/