Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – Using Data to Understand Customers and Boost Sales
CRM is a combination of strategy and technology. It uses data to boost sales and help customers understand. Success depends on the business creating and implementing a clear plan to use CRM tools.
CRM is a tool for software that allows businesses to store customer and prospect data as well as monitor interactions and automate marketing campaigns and produce reports. It also gives you the ability to connect and communicate with customers and prospects via a variety of channels, including text, phone, email message or other social media platforms.
CRM isn’t only for sales. It can be utilized in any department within the company. For instance the billing department can use CRM to track sales commissions, review contracts and compare projections to actual revenue. The marketing department can also use it to identify trends to better target customers.
Sales teams produce a plethora of information each time they talk to an individual customer, meet with an opportunity or follow up on a lead. The data was typically stored on a physical media like laptops and notebooks, or in the heads of team members. CRM systems permit this data to be collected in a systematic manner and stored in a central location which can be shared instantly with all the company’s representatives, regardless of which channel they’re using to communicate.
The most advanced CRMs are integrated with AI and machine learning to interpret the data and provide actionable insights for every opportunity. In this way, businesses can optimize their customer experience, boost engagement, and increase retention and loyalty.