CRM Systems: What You Need to Know

A CRM system allows you to create a central hub for all of your customer information. It maintains a record of everything you know about a given customer, such as:

• Name
• Contact information
• Website visits and activity 
• Viewing history
• Touchpoints with your organization
• Customer service complaints 
  
  

How Does a CRM System Work?

Being able to access this information in real time allows you to make data-backed decisions and create the most streamlined sales process possible.

Your team will better be able to:

• Track prospects
• Map accurate customer journeys
• Maximize marketing ROI
• Spot at-risk accounts
• Get the right information to the right people at the right time

This is critical. Bill Gates perfectly summarized the idea almost two decades ago when he said:

“The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose.”

Sure, you can try to keep all the pertinent contact information in Excel.

But if you want to do an outstanding job, you’ll need outstanding technology—and in a few years, spreadsheets will be as passe as reading books on a stone tablet.

Gartner predicts that by 2021, CRM systems will be “the largest revenue area of spending in enterprise software.”

It's true for enterprises, franchises, and small local businesses alike: If you want to build better relationships with your customers and develop a sustainable business model for storing and tracking data, you need a CRM system. 

Who Benefits From a CRM System?

So, how exactly does a CRM system help you? Small business can especially benefit from CRM. Here are three divisions that can utilize CRM for powerful effects.

CRM System for Sales

When used correctly, a it is a surefire way to optimize sales.  The sales team can:

• Increase efficiency and close deals faster
• Identify what product(s) are selling most
• Save time by automating repetitive tasks
• Spot opportunities to resell and upsell
• Easily access information about a customer without having to sort through an abyss of emails and spreadsheets
  
  

CRM System for Marketing 

Although CRM is traditionally associated with sales, it’s a game changer for marketing and customer service teams as well. By keeping detailed records of interactions with every customer, your marketing team can:

• Quickly segment customers and identify trends
• Sift through information on customer behavior to identify profitable accounts and funnel them to the right salesperson
• Analyze the success of a marketing campaign to better optimize future efforts
• Automatically craft reports
• Integrate customer information with third-party emailing software

Being able to view and analyze data provided by a CRM system ultimately allows marketers to better understand their audience and create tailored messaging.

CRM System for Customer Support

Customer service teams also benefit from having a CRM system in place. It allows them to verify what the marketing and sales teams have told a customer.

Having access to a customer’s most up to date information allows the team to better service them. In other words, a CRM system enables you to:

• Access real-time data about a customer, including any past conversations, complaints, or tickets
• Automatically update data
• Solicit feedback through surveys
• Track any trends in feedback or complaints

There’s a reason CRM systems have revolutionized the way companies build relationships and sell.

It has empowered countless small businesses to better manage their contacts, streamline their sales, and optimize their marketing campaigns. With all customer information at your fingertips, you can be sure that every decision you make and every strategy you implement is backed by data.

Want to learn more about revolutionizing the way you manage and communicate with your customers? Download our free eGuide CRM For Small Business: What You Need To Know now.