Best Practices for CRM Software in 2023
CRM software has been supporting businesses in managing customer experiences and sales performance for many years, but is your business using its CRM system to its full potential? This article explores some best practice tips to help ensure you are getting the most out of your CRM solution.
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Providing excellent customer service is something that sets brands apart and is essential to help attract new customers, improve conversion rates and retain customers. There is much evidence to support the impact of customer experience with just one study by PWC showing that 73% of consumers consider customer experience as an essential factor in their purchase decisions. CRM software helps organisations to better manage customer relationships and deliver an enhanced service. Creating a central space for all customer data from interactions to historical purchases or opportunities, CRM software allows users to create a more personalised experience for customers. A survey by Aberdeen Group revealed that businesses using a CRM solution achieved a 92% customer retention rate.
CRM can also give key performance metrics for your sales teams to help assess performance and empower better decision-making. By centralising customer data within an organisation, you can help improve collaboration across department teams such as sales, customer service and marketing. CRM solutions offer great benefits to the organisations who use them, however, to ensure you get are getting the maximum return on technology investment when introducing a CRM system, there are a couple of best practice tips to follow. We have compiled below some best practice tips for getting the most out of your CRM system.
Choose The Right CRM System
With so many CRM systems on the market with varying functionality, it’s important to take some time to assess which one suits the needs of your organisation. Below are some questions that might be helpful when assessing the suitability of a CRM solution for your business.
Is the solution user-friendly?
Do the features and functionality suit the company’s current and future needs?
Is the solution within budget?
Does it provide the correct level of data reporting and tracking required?
Does the solution integrate with other business-critical solutions?
Does the solution require customisation to fit your needs, is this possible?
Does the solution align with your growth objectives, is it scalable?
Set Rules For Using The System
Once the correct CRM solution has been selected, another tip to ensure that the company gets the most out of the CRM system is to set some rules around its use. Rules should be set around who will have access to the system, what client information is required, and what the process and timelines are for managing service requests or leads. It is also important to note the correct contacts to get in touch with if there are any issues with the solution to minimise disruption. This information should be documented to have as a guide for users and help with future onboarding to keep the use of the system consistent.
Comprehensive User Training
Technology only delivers real benefits when employees use it to its full potential. So if a company is introducing a new CRM is essential to provide comprehensive user training to all employees who will be using the system, this helps prevent potential errors and any time lost for users due to confusion. Training of a new system should consist of training seminars and time set aside to answer any new user queries to help them feel empowered by the new system
Data is Power
CRM solutions allow companies to store all information gathered on a client or company, so keeping detailed records of clients can help your company drill down into CRM data to tailor new offers for your customers or identify a new customer need. This is especially helpful for marketing who can use this information to understand the customer better and create personalised marketing campaigns from real data.
Introduce Automation
If there is a lot of manual work involved in using a new system, it is not going to be appealing to employees. Take advantage of automation where you can for things like workflow or approvals for example. This helps employees streamline tasks, reduce potential bottlenecks, meet deadlines and boost overall productivity. Each CRM solution has different functionality when it comes to adding automation. However with new technologies like automation and AI a priority for many businesses, many CRM providers have already introduced elements of these into their solutions with new functionality consistently being released.
If you would to learn more about using CRM software, read our case study on Kildare County Council or get in touch to speak to one of our specialists.
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