Customer relationship management (CRM) is a critical component of a successful digital marketing campaign.
CRM is the backbone that creates a sturdy base for the promotion and sales of any product or idea.
Basically, CRM refers to a set of applications that you will use to manage things like customer databases, customer interactions, and everything that pertains to your customers, customer leads, and customer satisfaction.
Improving sales requires you to improve your customer relationships. Your customer service has to be impeccable if you want to keep customers happy. Keeping customers happy is the only way to grow in business.
CRM can help you with this part of your business. Now the question is what is CRM actually?
Index
CRM Explained
Customer relationship management software is a tool that companies can use to:
- Record customer data for future references
- Track sales figures and determine what promotions are being the most productive
- Keep every member of a sales team updated with customer information, potential client leads, and pertinent information they need to close sales
- Improve follow-ups and gain customer approval
- Connect members of your sales team to the clients using GPS technology
- Allow the sharing of files and information between sales team members so when one team member cannot make a follow-up or complete a promise they made to a client another team member can step in and make the customer happy
Importance of CRM in Digital Marketing
One thing that every business person knows is that a happy customer will return. A happy customer will likely tell three or more of their friends about your business.
An unhappy customer will likely tell six or more people about their experience with your business. So, no matter what business you are in, keeping the customer happy is the key to success.
1. Digital Marketing Strategies Connected to CRM
One of the biggest digital marketing strategies is to collect simple data on customers when they are browsing the web and looking for particular items.
Then using that information about the person and the item they were interested in and letting sales ads about those items pop up when the person is on Facebook or Twitter.
The sales ad would remind the person of the item they were looking at, and drive customers back to the sites where the item was for sale.
2. CRM Personalises the Digital Marketing Campaign
Using CRM to gather data about customers’ likes and dislikes allows you to target specific customers with specific items that they are likely to have an interest in. CRM provides you with the statistical data concerning what the customer has purchased in the past, what they browse for when they are online, and other factors like their age sets, their gender, and the areas where they live.
All of this personal data can be used in your digital campaign. Instead of doing just one broad-based campaign and hoping that the people who will be interested in the advertising will see it, you can make sure that the people who are going to be interested in something are the ones that see that particular item.
3. Digital Connections
When you use CRM strategies to create data sheets concerning the customers you have, and the leads you have on other customers, you can then approach those customers in a one-to-one digital campaign.
You can connect with them by using their preferences to make suggestions on their social networking sites so they see the advertisements and are reminded of the things they want or like.
You can send emails that personally suggest certain products and services, based on a previous purchase the customer has made. You know how on Netflix you see the words “since you liked this program” and there are links for you to follow to go to another program that is similar? You can do that with your email campaign.
You can create blogs and articles that address the things your customers might be interested in by looking at the data to confirm their likes and dislikes. When you have relevant information on your page, that your customer or future customer finds interesting, then they will visit you.
4. Satisfaction Guaranteed
When you use CRM applications to create databases about your customers and your products, you can also create a database about customer service calls.
When you start to look closely at your customer service calls, what the customer liked or disliked, and what things you did to satisfy the customer, you are able to create a training program for each of your customer service representatives that will allow them to create satisfied customers out of each call.
Improve your Sales with the Help of a CRM System
This is the digital age of business. People are doing more online business: shopping, researching, banking and investing, than ever before. Companies are having a hard time keeping their digital apps up and running because technology changes so fast and by the time they have an app developed and ready to use, they need to make changes to it.
Customer Contact Information
The CRM software allows you to manage all of the data you have on each customer so you can quickly see which customer might be interested in a new product or service you have to offer.
You can generate leads through the data that shows you what the customer has liked in the past, how to reach that customer, and the other criteria you have accumulated on the customer.
The information is easy to access and you can use different prompts to create a sales lead list. You can also use the information to see which customers just need you to make contact and make certain they are still happy, or see if there is anything you can do for them.
This builds customer service to a new level. Your customers will feel more appreciated and it will seem that you remember them.
Share the Knowledge
Each sales team member knows certain information about the leads they have or their past customers. They may know that Mr. Black does not like to be called before 4 pm, or that Miss Smith lives alone and does not like strangers just showing up at her door. Some of the information these sales team members have in their heads and in their notes are what will help your company cement a sale.
If the team member that knows that information quits or gets sick, the information is lost. If you use CRM software your team members can share information with each other and you will always be ready and prepared to close the next deal.
This software compiles all of the potential leads and customer data so that everyone in your company is up to date and has the information they need to serve your customers better.
Lead Building & Lead Scoring
Top executives say that building a quality lead for their sales team to contact is the most critical aspect of making more sales and more profits. These executives use the data their software compiles to:
- Create contact information on the possible lead.
- Connect the sales member with the client via GPS technology.
- Create a list of promotion ideas that have proved successful in the past so the sales team member will have a variety of things to try.
- Make a list of the tools that are available for the sales team member to use.
- Allow the information to be accessed through smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Resourceful Follow-ups
The biggest thing that this software data collection does is provide you with the ability to follow up on potential leads so that fewer sales are lost.
You will have a reminder for your sales team on who they need to call back and when they need to make those calls
The team member will know what has been tried in the past so they will know what they need to say or do when they make the follow-up.
The Benefits of CRM
Final Thoughts
You can read more details about the need for CRM in digital marketing campaigns by following the links below. Applying CRM strategy will increase your business success.
References:
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/10/24/why-is-customer-relationship-management-so-important/#49403d5e7dac
- creatio.com