Mafalda Martins Over the last few years there has been a great technological advance, and with the enormous amount of companies that have appeared in the market, the importance of having the client as the main focus has become more and more evident. Thus, it is essential to use platforms, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), that have as much information about customers as possible, in order to improve the experience at every stage of the buying journey. Discover below some of the benefits of CRM for companies.
CRM – What is it?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a software responsible for managing the company’s relationship with the customer, through the automation and organization of processes, leading to his satisfaction and loyalty. By having countless valuable information about customers, the company can anticipate their needs and act with greater assertiveness and personalization, simplifying the sales process.
Recent studies reveal that companies that use a CRM are able to:
- 7.96€ return for every euro invested in the technology (Nucleus Research)
- 34% increase in the commercial team’s productivity (Salesforce)
- 14% shorter sales cycles (Nucleus Research)
- 300% increase in conversion rates (Cloudswave)
- 29% increase in sales (Salesforce)
Benefits of using a CRM
1. Extended view of the client relationship
By centralizing information, CRM allows a broader view of all interactions between a contact and the company. Thus, it becomes possible to tailor the message to the specific interest of each user and keep the marketing and sales teams updated on the evolution of the relationship with each contact.
2. Increased productivity
By concentrating all information on one platform, the resulting improvements in communication become evident. By having greater transparency regarding customer information, all employees can easily access this information, leading to more efficient processes. It also becomes possible to automate routine tasks, such as creating alerts for scheduling phone calls or sending emails and nurturing sequences directly from the platform. Thus, it is undeniable the increase in productivity that the implementation of a CRM system brings.
3. Control of the sale follow-up
It is known that very rarely a sale is closed in the first contact with the customer, so it becomes vital to follow up with the customer to ensure that the lead does not lose interest in buying. Segundo um estudo da SiriusDecisions, é necessário, em média, 8 tentativas de contacto para conseguir falar com um prospect. However, many marketing and sales professionals make no more than one or two contacts, which ends up hurting the company’s revenues. In this sense, CRM helps to provide the necessary resources to make a complete and effective follow-up.
4. Complete analysis and dashboards
By being integrated with other technologies used in the company, such as a marketing automation platform or the website, CRM allows to unify and generate customized reports, such as the closed-loop report or performance and objectives reports. By having access to real-time up-to-date data on key marketing and sales KPIs, you can make factual decisions and increase long-term profitability.
5. Improved customer experience.
The fact that CRM provides automation of processes and knowledge of the entire history of contact with the customer, allows for greater personalization in the approach to the customer. The set of information available in CRM allows you to follow the entire customer journey, segmenting the database and making each contact more accurate and relevant. This leads to greater customer satisfaction and perception of the company’s value, which, in turn, also leads to increased recognition of the company.
How to choose the best CRM software for your company?
When choosing the most appropriate software, it is useful to evaluate the presence of certain functionalities, such as:
- Integration: the CRM system should promote integration between all teams in the organization, facilitating the transaction of information that will allow better results to be achieved. In addition, it is equally important to have integration with other tools, such as email, social networks, etc.
- Personalization: the possibility to filter and organize the most important information for the company allows for faster access to data, change goals, define employee access, among other benefits.
- Data storage: although this is the basic function of all CRM systems, it is important to remember that this storage allows a detailed analysis of the entire consumer journey, allowing you to see how a consumer is reacting to the offer, all the contact that has already been had with that consumer, who made the contact, what the difficulties of the sales team, among other information. This will enable the measurement of data and a new contact with the customer at the most appropriate time.
- Reporting: access to customized reports facilitates better identification of shortcomings, as well as recognition of opportunities for improvement.
- Accessibility: when choosing a CRM, it is necessary to consider the company’s preference for locating the system in “Cloud” or “On-premises”. Having a “Cloud” accessibility allows for better flexibility and updating of data. On the other hand, the “On-premises” installation allows for more control and security.
It is fundamental to look for experts in MarTech (marketing technologies), such as Liminal, who will help you choose and implement the best solution for your company. Request a diagnosis of your company and talk to a Liminal specialist.