Customer Relationships 101 How CRM Can Help Your Business Grow

This Blog defines and explores customer relationship management (CRM) beyond technology. CRM is more than just a universal acronym for a billion-dollar category of enterprise software. In fact, the business processes behind customer relationship management are the backbone of modern customer-centric marketing. These processes existed long before CRM took over the business vocabulary to represent another tool that you had to master to keep up with your customers.

CRM has become a word you hear often in recent years. However, few people can explain in detail what CRM is and what kind of benefits it has for business. This time, I will introduce how CRM is used in business and what are its various functions in your business.

The Background and Necessity of CRM

CRM was created for three main reasons:

• To respond to changes in customer needs
• To improve customer satisfaction and increase LTV
• To reduce costs and improve work efficiency

CRM was created as a tool to address these challenges and is also considered important in increasing a company's competitive advantage.

CRM's Various Functions

CRM has many features that allow you to record and share communications with customers and maintain stronger and better relationships with them.

Here I will introduce six of the most representative functions.

1. Customer Information Management
2. Case Management
3. Workflow Features
4. Distribution function
5. Inquiry Management
6. Data Analysis Function

Let me introduce you to each function below, so please use this as a reference when introducing CRM.

1) Customer Information Management

Customer information management is a function that manages basic client information, as well as transaction and negotiation dates and times, and negotiation details. You can also add items you want to manage by customizing. Stored customer information is managed by linking it to a single ID.

2) Case management

Project management is a function that manages the project's business partners, transaction progress, transaction amount, etc. By reflecting sales and sales forecasts in the system, the sales process can be made more efficient, increasing the productivity of the company.

There is also a function to automatically create lists of transaction sales amounts and quantities, as well as quotations that reflect the latest customer information.

3) Workflow function

The workflow function is a function that streamlines sales processes such as task management, assignment, progress management, approval, and reporting. When a project progresses through the stages, it will automatically notify you by email and assign tasks.

To streamline approval and reporting processes, it is also possible to automate tasks such as approval of business agreements and business trip reports.

4) Distribution function

The distribution function is a function that mainly uses email to send information to customers. In addition to single emails, you can also send email newsletters and step emails. You can also verify open rates and click rates, which can help you improve the accuracy of your email approach.

5) Inquiry management

This function saves and accumulates the contents of customer inquiries. Not only does it prevent missed replies and duplicate responses, but it also reduces resources by compiling frequently asked questions as FAQs.

6) Data analysis function

Based on the accumulated customer data, you can create tables and graphs from various perspectives and display them as analysis results. Specifically, you can discover approaches with high conversion rates and analyze the purchasing trends of existing customers.

Choosing the Right CRM Tool Before Using 

When implementing CRM, the key point in choosing a product is "how it works with your company." While there are many CRM products with many functions, the features and usability vary slightly from one to the next.

Here are five points you should pay particular attention to.

1. Does it have all the features you need?
2. Is it easy to use?
3. Is there sufficient integration with other tools and scalability?
4. Are there any security issues?
5. Is there a support system in place?

How to Use CRM Effectively

To make full use of the various functions of CRM, you need to define the goals you want to achieve and the tasks you need to accomplish to achieve them.

Here I will introduce some methods and key points for solving problems using CRM.

1. Set goals
2. Establishing evaluation criteria
3. Enter the most current and accurate data
4. Analyze the data and reflect it in your measures
5. Rethinking customer communications

Conclusion

It takes some time to get used to new tools and systems. They also change the workflow, which can make things difficult for people in the field. In that respect, CRM is the same as any other business tool. However, if you understand its effects and use it correctly, you can streamline your sales operations and achieve great results.

On the other hand, if you neglect the preparation before and care after the implementation, you may not get the results you expected and may end up being disappointed. To avoid this, it is important to make a solid plan first.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/customer-relationships-101-how-crm-can-help-your-business-grow-hy5kf?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_more-articles_related-content-card