As recently as a couple of years ago organizations were almost mandated to view customers as impersonal target ‘demographics’. Overly simplistic personas based on stereotypes were designed and patterns considered in context of the average characteristics of the larger group and justified in the name of understanding the ‘typical’ customer.
The problem with that? Typical customers don’t exist. Every customer is a unique individual, with individual needs, wants, and concerns.
This provided an opportunity to revolutionize the way business was done, moving from targeting to personalization to individualization, and adopting a customer relationship management strategy mindset. The original CRMs were manual systems designed to record the progress a customer made through the sales pipeline.
As technology evolved with machine learning dominating the current zeitgeist, customer relationship management software was developed on platforms.
What can you do with customer relationship management software?
Have you ever wondered what you can do with customer relationship management software? CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and is typically offered through a suite of software. Top companies use relational systems that allow them to adapt to the way different customers buy and convert prospects into qualified leads through the sales pipeline.
They do this by considering relationships and how gathered insights weave a narrative before, during, and after a customer has been won. Leads, sales revenue, and customer retention are all considered during the buying journey with customer relationship management software.
How leads are gathered in a CRM
Lead generation is a vital strategy to reach customers early in the buying journey. Within a typical software suite, capabilities to reach customers through a variety of digital channels (content marketing, website forms, search engine optimization).
These allow insights to be developed based on specific customer criteria using content to publish and drive customers to where they need to be on a website. A well-formulated lead generation strategy will improve business growth and bridge the gap between customer expectations and product delivery.
How a sales strategy is developed and optimized
The ability to create a sales strategy or sales enablement plan within the software is a massive advantage. It’s important to note that a sales strategy differs from a marketing strategy; the first focuses on increasing visibility, the latter on making the sale.
Sales functionality usually consists of the ability to set revenue goals, creating a customer profile based on nuanced data insights, using the marketing plan to figure out how to reach them, and using workflows within the software to set the strategy in motion.
Keeping customers: how managing relationships improves customer retention
Finally it’s no good attracting customers if you can’t convince them to stay with you as customers. The best customer relationship management software will have the ability to introduce customer retention strategy into the buying journey.
This is commonly achieved through workflow protocols, integration within the customer profile and history, and setting touch points to adjust at different points in the customer journey. These can be as simple as setting a reminder to reach out to a prospect after an introductory call, or after a purchase to gather customer feedback. It’s about individualizing the customer experience so they stay a customer-for-life.
In summary it’s clear that modern CRM’s have moved the boundaries of what is possible to preserve and improve the customer experience, grow business, and enhance sales. Ultimately is up to high performing teams to figure out what software best serves their organizations needs.
