Making the most of your CRM system

5.01.2021

As markets and industries continue to grow and expand, there is a continued need for technology that can help you optimise processes and take advantage of sales & marketing opportunities. A correctly used & implemented CRM (customer relationship management) system is a tool to not only effectively communicate with your customers, but also increase your chances to profit from sales opportunities.

We all know that the customer is the most important part of every business, so it is vital to implement a customer relationship management system that allows you to manage these relationships effectively. A good CRM can be a dynamic system that your business utilises to not only manage existing customer relationships, but also attract new potential customers and nurture those leads. A key metric here is return on investment, you must ask yourself, how can a CRM system improve my business? 

Correct training & accurate data entry

One of the major reasons for companies not using their CRM correctly or failing to capitalise on its potential, is incorrect training & improper adoption. An organisation must train & onboard their teams to use the CRM the correct way in order to take advantage of the technology & improve efficiency. This can mean gradually introducing elements in order to highlight the benefits and increase effective engagement with customers. 

Accurate & reliable data is the basis for informed decisions and better business outcomes, and these outcomes increase the confidence of customers & employees. The more accurate the data the better your teams can become at capitalising on sales opportunities and using key insights to fuel their decision making.

Start with smaller goals and work your way up

Don’t be overambitious and bite off more than you can chew, with any newly implemented technology or business tool it’s important to begin with smaller goals. By aiming for the bullseye at the very beginning with your CRM strategy, you are destined to fail before you begin. It’s advised to start with small goals and as use and understanding of the system grows, lessons learned can be implemented for better performance. This can mean simply recording a specific metric about a customer or categorising customers in a certain way. Start off small and work your way up.

Integration

A fully integrated CRM system can go a long way towards achieving clear and insightful data that can be incorporated instantly into all of your workflows. This means managing sales pipelines, recording & tracking correspondence, identifying opportunities, highlighting key data and creating targeted promotional campaigns. An integrated CRM is a powerful marketing & account management tool which can give your business a wider lens to increase its potential. Click here to learn about our fully integrated CRM module at Herbst.

Use effective reporting to your advantage

Reporting dashboards can help managers & decision makers to manage workflows and improve in necessary areas. Using this functionality correctly & understanding its advantages allows managers to make better informed decisions using more accurate information.  Monitoring this data helps businesses understand performance levels, sales strategies and where potential leads are coming from. This kind of data goes a long way in maximising ROI.