What Is CRM & How Can It Help You

You may have heard the term CRM tossed around in the marketing world, but what exactly is it and how can your business use it? CRM stands for customer relationship management, and it generally refers to software and practices that companies use to manage their customer data.

The goal of CRM is to use customer data in order to improve relationships with customers, retain them, and ultimately drive more leads and sales. CRM software can manage customer interactions across several different channels and give your company insight on how to turn the leads from that customer into conversions. This may seem a bit abstract, so we will give you an example.

Let’s say you own a landscaping business, and your marketing strategies include billboards, Facebook, Google AdWords, and email marketing. Billy sees your billboard and calls your business for further information, but he decides to hold off on your landscaping services for now. However, two weeks later Billy sees your ad on Google AdWords and clicks to your website where he fills out an inquiry form. If you use CRM software, you can see that Billy has previously inquired about your services, making him a ‘hot lead.’ Because this is the second time he has requested information, you may want to take more time with Billy and really put allocate your efforts on getting a conversion out of him.

Without CRM software, you would have no way of knowing that Billy had previously contacted your business using another form of communication. You would treat Billy as any other lead, and may not be able to solidify the conversion. By using CRM software, you can see that you may want to spend more time and energy on Billy rather than a first-time inquirer. CRM allows you to really get to know which potential customers could be most valuable to your business.
But how can CRM work for your business? In order to effectively use CRM, you’ll need to get CRM software such as Salesforce, Zoho, or HubSpot. These tools will help automate your data entry and can automatically track and manage all of your customer interactions. The best CRM software will vary from business to business, depending on how you operate and what you want to achieve. Three factors to consider when choosing a CRM software are cost, ease of use, and efficiency. We know saving money is important to your business, and that’s why cost should be a determining factor in choosing a CRM software.

Now we are not saying that you should choose the cheapest software available, but you should consider the cost vs. the value you are getting from the software. If one brand costs a little more than another, but offers a much better user interface with an extensive list of features, it may be worth the extra money. Another factor you want to consider is ease of use. If you will be training all of your employees how to use this CRM, you want it to be user-friendly and easy to pick up on.

You also want data pulling to be a quick process so your employees can spend their time on more important things. One last factor we are going to cover is efficacy. Does the CRM software you are considering produce your desired result?  Before investing in a new software, you need to make certain that it is what your company needs. Also noteworthy is that this list of considerations is not all inclusive – there are many other factors you should consider before investing in a CRM software!

Now that you know more about CRM, you can start nurturing leads and increasing sales! If you need additional assistance, please feel free to contact us today!

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