A customer relationship management software, or CRM, is a tool for managing both leads and customers that are used by many different types of organizations. Although many potential users of a CRM may ask ‘what is a CRM?’ before committing to use one for their business, the benefits are complex and multifaceted. In the following article, we’ll explain the benefits of a CRM and why you should use one for your business.
Marketing Automation
Automation, in short, is the process of making certain tasks run on autopilot. When it comes to marketing, marketing automation is the use of software to automatically connect with and follow up with leads, customers, and business partners. A CRM is one of the chief pieces of software that can help your marketing automation efforts. With a CRM, you can have a better understanding of your customers by creating customized emails and personalized messages, which make them feel less like a number in a spreadsheet and more like a human being.
In addition to this, a CRM can be utilized in marketing automation through the use of a drip campaign, which allows you to send out a series of pre-written messages at regularly scheduled emails. This is a part of any marketing funnel, and will allow you to utilize the strengths of the database function of your CRM.
Visualize Customer and Client Relationship Data
Using a spreadsheet to manage your company’s customer data is a no-go these days. Not only do you not have a good way to sort through the data, but it’s also disorganized. A CRM has strong reporting features that allow you to graphically represent your customer and client data that is inputted in your CRM. This can be done through the use of the CRM dashboard, which can be set up for different individuals in your company depending on their needs.
For example, your director of marketing may want to know what the open rate of emails are that his marketing team has sent out to potential clients and customers, particularly those who have already come through a marketing funnel with the power of marketing automation. In contrast, a director of sales may want to look at different information, such as what his sales team is doing in generating leads through cold calling or product demonstrations. Regardless of what metric you’d like to highlight, a CRM can display this reporting visually in order to make it easier for marketing and sales teams to work together as opposed to against each other.
While there are many other benefits to a CRM, organization, automation, and a standardized workflow are some of the key benefits that need to be considered. Next time you ask what a CRM is, know that it can easily create numerous benefits for your company and that it’s a great resource that all companies should consider. Beyond that, it is one of the most essential tools for business to move their operations online, which is a growing trend in many sectors of the business world.
