It is well known that maintaining quality customer relationships is crucial for the growth of any business, so thеy need to be managed as efficiently as possible.
CRM systems are a practical, functional and affordable solution that contributes to this. They help companies build and manage interactions with potential and current customers, thanks to the rich database which the software records, integrates and stores.
A Stellaxius study shows that over the last few years, the use of CRM software in businesses worldwide has increased from 56% to 74%. 91% of the companies, with more than 11 employees had implemented CRM and 50% of smaller companies, with staff of up to 10 people, use it as well. According to the same statistics, 74% of CRM users reveal that the tool has significantly improved their access to customer data.
In this blog article, we summarize the main advantages of CRM systems and reveal how this software can significantly improve your business.
1. Build solid customer relationships
Both new and existing customers need to be thought of in the long run, not just as a ‘single sale’ opportunity. The CRM system can help you build long-lasting relationships with your customers, providing a 360-degree view of everything related to the customer - from contact information and current activities, to business-specific information such as company size, industry, turnover, potential interests, etc. This way you can understand the wishes and needs of your customers in depth and recommend products and services suitable for them, building a solid and stable relationship between you and your customers and demonstrating a personal and individual approach.
2. Increase the productivity of your team
By implementing a CRM system, you free your people from heavy and time-consuming business activities, thus giving them more time to attract new customers. Operational work such as manual input of customer information can be automated by the CRM system, which will reduce the risk of errors and inaccuracies. As a result, your employees will be able to focus on potential customers and strengthen their relationship with current ones, and you will be able to get the most out of your team.
3. Gather all customer information in one place
CRM systems allow integration with other systems and platforms, bringing all customer information together in one place. This not only ensures better organization of customer data, but also its accuracy and more efficient use. Integrated communication in customer profiles gives you easy access to the information you need, without having to collect it from different places. This saves you time, so you can focus on your customers or other important tasks.
4. Retain current customers
The CRM system has elaborate customer files containing the entire history of communication from the main channels, as well as details of the placed orders. Seeing the “big picture” can help your team up-sell and cross-sell to current satisfied customers. Transparency in customer history, active campaigns and open tickets in the system will lead to customer satisfaction, which makes clients come back and make more purchases. According to a study by Capterra, customer retention is at the forefront of the business aspects that CRM improves.
5. Improve customer service
Your products and services get better when they are accompanied by the best possible service - before, during and after the sale. The CRM system gives access to customer information to the entire team. This way, each of its members can approach more personally and offer a specific solution, tailored to the needs of the user. Smoother customer relationships build trust and encourage customers to buy your products and services over and over again.
6. Measure, forecast and analyze
Measuring business growth is important, but often difficult. The CRM system can help you measure the success of your current marketing campaigns as well as their growth, so you can predict the future. With access to complete reports and data on opportunities and trends coming from integrated marketing tools, you can use this information and incorporate it into upcoming campaigns, making more precise targeting on many different criteria.
7. Forecast customer needs
CRM collects all customer information in one place, giving you quick and easy access to it. A holistic view of customer data greatly simplifies the up-sell and cross-sell processes, because you will be aware of the users’ interests, which will help you forecast their needs and offer them the most suitable products and services. When you know your customers and take a personal approach to them, the feedback is positive and the satisfaction is guaranteed.
8. Provide fast feedback
The response time to inquiries makes a strong impression on customers, so it is important to give timely feedback - it demonstrates professionalism and personal attention. The capabilities of CRM software can improve communication between you and the customer, as they help you be more organized and distribute your time among all contacts more efficiently. With CRM you can accurately track the history of correspondence, as well as send automated emails to your customers at prescheduled times.
9. Improve the quality of your products and services
Take into account the customer information that the CRM system collects and stores, and use it to improve the quality of the provided products and services. Thanks to CRM, you have a more detailed view on the interests, desires and needs of consumers, as well as opinions and comments on everything your company offers. With that information at hand, you can improve your products’ quality. CRM software also helps analyze market trends – a major factor for increasing sales – by analyzing customer trends and adapting your products, services and even marketing activities to be more relevant to what your targeted customers need..
10. Prioritize the leads
One of the main benefits of CRM is organizing contacts, correspondence, and sales processes. Storing all customer information in one place gives you quick and easy access to it, and helps you prioritize the leads you have in your database. With the CRM system you can form target groups, categorize and filter contacts with high precision. This way, you can analyze consumers, sift through the leads and assess which of them have the highest probability of becoming actual customers and which do not.
In summary, we can say that the CRM system provides access to all customer data so that the authorized team members can have it at any time and perform their tasks on inquiries, negotiations and transactions. This not only increases the efficiency of your employees, but also leads to customer satisfaction. This in turn leads to smooth cooperation between the two parties, as well as to increased sales, which combined improves your business in general.
Request a free demonstration of InfoServ CRM and see for yourself its functionalities and capabilities for optimizing the business processes in your company.