In the customer-centric world of the internet, the best reason to start using CRM software is not for your business. It’s to keep customers happy.

When you own a business, it’s easy to think a lot about…well…your business. We all have a tendency to look inward towards employees and processes to evaluate how our business is doing.

In fact, when you think of your “team,” you think of the people you work with, i.e. your staff. You don’t really think of customers as part of the team. In a way, they are outsiders.

Traditionally, it was the role of marketing, sales and even customer service to lead customers through a journey the business wanted them to have. The business controlled the message and the experience.

But digital life altered this relationship. Today, consumers have control over a brand’s images and impact the way customer service is delivered.

Take the infamous episode from Pepsi when they featured Kendall Jenner in a commercial people felt demeaned the cause of racial equality, or the PR nightmare United Airlines faced after dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight.

In both cases, the public took to social media to weigh in on what these brands were doing, and it wasn’t pretty for the brands. Pepsi quickly pulled its ad, and United saw stocks plummet and bookings canceled.

Likewise, most businesses today recognize the need to manage their reputation and monitor online reviews.  What your customers say about you has as much impact on your marketing as what you say about yourself.

So customer relationship management software is well named, even though your customers never know you use it. Its greatest benefit is making them happy. Here are five ways to make that happen.

Organizing your information

If you are still using sticky notes, filing cabinets and ledgers to organize your customer information, there’s no way it will translate into happy clients.

“Oh, that info is in a notebook I left on my desk,” is a statement that makes you look ill-equipped to meet their needs.

Or there is the “let me put you on hold to find that information” scenario. A recording goes on to tell the person why they’ll love doing business with you while every minute they’re thinking of finding somebody else.

CRM software is the ultimate tool for storing and tracking customer information. It actually automates the storage of emails and phone calls, making it far easier to track and quantify your customer data.

Information is available across departments and in the cloud, so communication is fast and consistent. Anybody can look up anything from any device.

A CRM pulls off a major feat of importance: you don’t waste your customers’ time.

Strengthening communication

Organization, of course, leads to better communication.

CRM software keeps everyone on the same page. Every call, email, proposal or note is recorded and easy to find.

It’s likely you have one rep who is the main point of contact for a particular customer. But that person can’t be on all the time, so on occasion, someone else fills in.

“Oh, I don’t really know what Tom was doing with your issue, I’ll have to get back to you,” makes you sound lazy and indifferent. Your clients don’t care where Tom is or what the other guy knows. They just want their problem solved.

If it happened with a customer it’s in the CRM.  Everybody knows it, and everybody can find it.

Saving time with automation

What would you rather have your staff doing, helping customers with important issues or manually updating an email list? Getting on the phone with more leads or filling out forms with repeat info?

One of the great benefits of CRM software is that it brings the magic of automation. Many low-level, ancillary tasks can be automated, freeing your staff to work more directly to improve sales and customer satisfaction.

“Sorry my call numbers were low today, but I spent the whole morning trying to prepare this email list,” is an excuse you won’t hear when you have a CRM.

Improving teamwork

“Wow, if we’d known you guys were working on this, we wouldn’t have wasted our time.” 

The bigger your organization, the harder it can be for teams to stay on the same page.

We discussed how a CRM helps you be consistent when communicating with clients, but in fact, the same holds true for teams working internally.

When everybody can access the same information, you avoid duplication of efforts. Instead, marketing, sales and customer service departments share info so they can collaborate to move leads down your sales funnel and provide efficient customer support.

Getting to know your customers

Just how well do you know your customers? Do you know anything about their lives that will let you create a rapport and make them feel like you really care about them?

Moreover, how effectively do you use demographics and data analytics to target new leads or plan specific upsell opportunities to existing clients?

A CRM is about a lot more than sending an automated birthday greeting to your best clients. It’s part of the arsenal of data tracking you can tie into your marketing and sales planning. Track data that helps you understand where leads came from, why they converted, why they bought and why they became loyal clients. Use that data to target similar audiences with proven marketing material.

In today’s business world, it’s not about controlling customers. It’s about understanding the journey they want to take and making it happen. It’s about anticipating needs and solving issues before they become problems. It’s about respecting people’s opinions and time while providing the value they both deserve and demand.

The customer is in control, but you still manage the relationship. It’s a win for everybody.

---

Learn more about how Marketing 360®’s CRM software can help you create long-lasting customer relationships and increase the average lifetime value of your customers. See our plans and pricing.

Originally published on 4/28/17