Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has evolved. Newer versions can be delivered via the cloud, be pushed out to mobile devices and are able to utilise social media websites. But what is CRM and what are the benefits of CRM systems?
The benefits of CRM systems are multiple. Multiple departments within an organisation benefit – not just Sales & Marketing. Customer retention is boosted, interdepartmental communication is improved, data and work duplication is reduced and workflows are made more visible to all. Information is centralised, leading to easier and more accurate business decision making.
One of the benefits of CRM systems is that they brings together customer data from all areas of an organisation. This 360- degree view of the customer base ensures that all necessary information is available to all teams across the business, enabling them to identify and exploit any and every sales opportunity. Whilst CRM as a concept has been around since the early nineties, CRM as we now know it only became a reality in the early years of this century.
CRM has really come of age in the last five years. CRM packages are now more customisable than ever before and have evolved to be able to take advantage of the growth of technologies such as web storage services and social media. CRM can now be delivered on demand as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Indeed, the popularity of
CRM on demand has further accelerated the rate of innovation in CRM software.
In a recent survey respondents were asked “Do you have any sort of system in place to manage your customers and clients?” 80 % of respondents answered in the affirmative. However, their definition of “CRM” varied widely. Some organisations reason that a collection of spread sheets can be defined as a CRM solution. After all, it is a system by which customer records may be managed and interactions tracked.
So how can a CRM system improve on spread sheets? According to the Computing respondents stated that their CRM has:
- Increased the availability of information, leading to improved customer service and retention.
- llowed for better targeting of marketing activity and Improved visibility of cross-selling opportunities.
- Enabled better post-sales support and faster deal closing
This infographic outlines 10 Major Benefits of CRM System.
How a CRM can help
As outlined above there are multiple benefits to a CRM system. A CRM system offers benefits an organisation through, amongst other things, the visibility of its sales activities. This visibility is fundamental to managing sales performance and control of the sales process. This visibility enables management to understand why, when, who and how opportunities are being won, stalled, or being lost. If it cannot be monitored, it cannot be managed. The visibility offered within the CRM system also allows management to make educated business decisions based on hard data. A CRM system will enable structured data to be used to access performance. This assessment should indicate which sales person is out performing others.
ProAptivity are an independent CRM solutions provider. We focus on the implementation, training, and support of highly customised CRM software solutions. Our CRM software supported by our sales training provide customers with the tools needed to deliver successful sales process management. Check out our customer testimonials and case studies here.
Fundamentally, we help organisations embed CRM best practice throughout their organisation. This helps organisations become more competitive, customer focused and ultimately more profitable.
If you need help in understanding why my business needs CRM, maybe some of our eBooks could help! Alternatively visit Maximizer CRM for more information. Contact us today on 028 9099 6388 or via info@proaptivity.com. Contact us today for a free CRM consultation that will assess if your business is CRM ready.
