Your CRM system does a lot for your business, but you can help make it do more with a few simple upgrades. Learn how in this article.
Your business’s CRM software helps you maintain customer information and use it to foster relationships, promote leads, and analyze your business data.
Jason Nash, product marketing manager for Microsoft CRM UK, explains:
“CRM is a customer focused business strategy designed to optimize revenue, profit and customer satisfaction. The more you understand your customers, the easier it is to target new prospects and boost sales.”
Making a few simple changes to the way you use your CRM software can help you boost sales and increase the satisfaction of your customers.
Improve Functionality
Having a centralized CRM system for your business can help salespeople and staff keep customer information organized, as well as enable them to share information and promote teamwork. Better communication and updated knowledge of customer behavior and preferences helps your employees have a better chance of re-selling or up-selling to existing customers.
Get Organized
Keep your program organized by ensuring all customer information is up-to-date and relevant. Delete any extraneous or irrelevant information in their files, confirm their current information is correct, and be sure to delete or store externally those customers who no longer do business with you.
Automate
Use your software to automate the sales process. This frees up time for salespeople to work on finding new customers and taking care of current ones. Your software can be automated to process lead generation, email campaigns, lead management, customer reports, client retention forms, etc.
Be Proactive
Set alerts in your CRM program to remind you of various items that require future follow-up. These can include milestones, presentations, efforts to trigger new activity, or a reminder to engage a customer that has been off the map for some time. Be proactive, attentive, and show your customers that you aim to please.
Harness the Power of Social Media
Integrating your CRM software with your various social media platforms can make it easier for you to maintain timely and effective relationships with your customers. Whether you install an automated plugin or software extension or manually enter all the data by hand, consolidating your varied customer interactions into your CRM platform can help you increase brand impressions and customer loyalty.
Use your social media accounts to acquire new customers, nurture existing relationships, establish your brand, and present yourself as authority in your field.
Involving social media as part of your customer service process improves ability to get and keep customers. Maintain an online presence to have constant traffic of new customers as well as answer questions, respond to criticisms, and engage current and future customers in a positive way.
Your CRM system does a lot for your business, but you can help make it do more with a few simple upgrades. Improve its functionality by keeping it clean and organized, automating processes, and integrating it with your social media platforms.
About the Author
Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for ResourceNation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as CRM software.
