We are living in a digital world where personal connections are difficult to make but remain essential to great customer service, customer retention, and referrals. One misstep in communication can upset your customers and be detrimental to your business. Technology offers great solutions in managing your customer base. Customer Relationship Management software gives your team a platform to communicate with your customers through the entire customer journey, offering personalized experiences focused on your customer’s needs.
Having a unified CRM platform also gives you control on how the business is represented by your sales team. A streamlined workflow used in a CRM tool allows customer information to flow from one source to the next, ensuring that their needs are met by the right people or department at the right time. The data in your CRM can be retained to ensure that nothing and no one is left out.
But how do you decide which software is best for your company and what are the best methods of using CRMs for the most return on investment?
Here are some Do’s and Don’ts of CRMs:
Do
o Evaluate your current work flows and work towards a streamlined methodology from initial customer contact to development, handover, and beyond.
o Encourage buy in from staff as they are the ones who will be using this software on a daily basis. This should be a strategic shift to the new process that involves all who are involved and sets parameters for processes and procedures.
o Audit frequently, as your business grows and evolves, so will your CRM needs. Ensure that the software you are purchasing has scalability and flexibility to change with your business.
o Buy from a firm who best suits your needs and requirements. Consider these three factors – quality of implementation, network infrastructure, end user culture.
Don’t
o Be outrageously ambitious. Ensure that the CRM meets the needs of your business now, with the ability to grow in the future. A software that is too complicated will give poor results and can frustrate staff.
o Create a long laundry list of requirements for the software. You won’t know your exact needs until you start using it. Flexibility in software is important to grow and expand with changing needs.
o Bombard customers with too many newsletters, emails, coupons, and other forms of communication. The communication you provide should be informative, intriguing, or critical to the customer’s needs. Many email providers have filters in place to flag or filter out bulk emails.
o Copy and paste old data directly into the new CRM. You will want to start with new data that is easy to manage through the CRM, giving the tools you are actually paying for. Copied data can contain errors and lead to mistakes later on in the customer journey.
CRMs are the way of the future; they are essential for growth and relationship management with your most important asset – your clients.
