What is customer relationship management (CRM)?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategy that involves managing customers by developing customer data, analyzing it, and using the data to improve the quality of customer service.
Continue reading to know more about the topic.
Customer Relationship Management or CRM: What’s the Hype?
Companies can use such information to make smarter and faster decisions that are more relevant to the customers.Â
The result is a better customer experience and a stronger relationship between the company and its customers.
It’s not surprising that many companies claim to have CRM systems and even more are trying to get one in place.
But, what does CRM really mean and what do companies have to do? And how does CRM differ from just having good customer service or excellent customer support?
Let’s look at some of the myths surrounding CRM.
CRM Is Just Good Customer Service
Yes, it’s common for customers to expect every business they deal with to have excellent customer service.
However, it’s not applicable to every business. And that is because every business has different needs, cultures, products, services, and target markets.
Some businesses can’t provide excellent customer service because of the nature of their industry or business model.
For example, a company that has manufacturing facilities in different locations can’t deliver excellent support. Maybe they don’t have the resources available in every location at once.
But it doesn’t mean they don’t care about their customers at all!
To deliver great customer service, they will need something more than just excellent customer service: it’s called CRM.
CRM Isn’t Really That Important Just Yet
It’s a sad fact how many businesses still think that CRM is not really important.
But that’s because they haven’t seen the benefits of it yet.
For example, a company might not have seen the added value of CRM if they haven’t been able to improve their customer retention rate.
Or if they haven’t been able to get better at segmentation and targeting.
Other companies might also have missed out on the opportunity of getting closer to their customers and understanding them better by not having CRM systems in place.
CRM Is Too Technical and Difficult To Use
Yes, CRM is technical. But it is not difficult to use. In fact, it can be easier than just having good customer service.
That’s because, with CRM, there is a system in place that helps you do everything from identifying leads to making sales. And it can help you do more with fewer resources!
It’s true that you have to have someone who can set up and manage your CRM solution for you. But this person isn’t necessarily a technical person or even a programmer.
They could be anyone with enough knowledge about CRM and how it works, including marketing managers and salespeople.
Why Is Customer Relationship Management Important?
Customer Relationship Management is important now.
For one reason, it helps well-established companies with existing loyal customers to continue their relationship. At the same time, they acquire new customers with targeted marketing campaigns.
It also allows companies to better retain their existing customers. So, it will increase the overall revenue of a business or organization over time by increasing its net profit margin.
Furthermore, the benefits of customer relationship management will directly affect the overall profitability of a business or organization.
