July 2015
Back to the Roots: How CRMs Improve Customer Relations
It’s in the name really: Customer Relationship Management – this type of system was originally built exclusively to assist users in managing their customers to keep them happy. Of course, CRMs have evolved now to cover features such as workflow management and Cloud-based security, but we thought we’d go back to our roots this week and take a look at how exactly CRMs are helping businesses with relationship management. After all, this is what they were made for!
Knowledge is Power
One of the most prolific technological advances in recent years has been the Cloud – with its ability to allow us to share information remotely with our friends, family, co-workers and bosses, the Cloud has become an invaluable business tool. But the sense of this centralisation of information is native to CRMs; such tools collect valuable data from customers and their activities and make this information accessible to any user. By granting such access, CRMs are helping users to stay on the same page – dispelling any such worry that a customer will phone up and talk to a team member who has no idea about their past purchases or where they live etc. In this case, knowledge really is power!
Catering to Customers
This same collation of information that helps to keep team members abreast of every customer’s situation is also used by CRMs to indicate opportunities to cater towards customers. This could be something simple like a preferred time to call, all the way up to something far more sophisticated such as identifying opportunities they may be interested in. A CRM will help to shape your customer’s experience to one that suits them – which is the ideal way to keep them involved with your business.
Keeping Them in the Loop
Reporting features have long been a staple of CRMs, and serve as a fantastic way to keep your customers and team in the loop. As with any part of the data collation features, reporting is an opportunity to identify areas that need to be improved upon or tweaked etc., as well as presenting a chance to pass on information to stakeholders and customers (when relevant) in order to demonstrate how things are going in a simple, easy to comprehend way.
Time for a Catch Up
Really though, there’s no better way to keep a customer happy than by talking to them. CRM solutions have long been able to flag up when it’s time to pick up the phone and contact a client again – either as a catch up or as an opportunity to upsell on a current service or product. Keeping customers feeling looked after by being proactive with communications helps to solidify your business in their mind and improves the relationship between you. It’s a simple feature, but one which pays back dividends.
Looking to employ a bespoke CRM solution to get the most out of your customer relationships? Get in touch with Lunar CRM for out of this world CRM tools!