Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – Using Data to Understand Customers and Boost Sales
CRM is a blend of strategy and technology. It makes use of data to boost sales and understand customers. The success of CRM is contingent on the company creating and implementing a solid plan to use CRM tools.
CRM is a tool for software that lets businesses store data about prospects and customers as well as monitor interactions as well as automate marketing campaigns and generate reports. It lets companies communicate and interact with customers and prospects via a variety channels such as email, text message, and other social media platforms.
Although many think of CRM as a sales tool but the truth is that it can be utilized by any department in a business. For instance, the billing department can utilize CRM to track sales commissions and contracts, as well as review them and reconcile projections with actual revenue. The marketing department can also use it to detect trends that can help them better target customers.
Sales teams generate a flood of information each time they talk to a customer, meet new prospects or follow up on a lead. The data was stored on analogue media, like laptops and notebooks, or in the heads of team members. CRM systems permit data to be collected and stored in a central location that is instantly shared to all company employees regardless of the method they choose to use.
The most advanced CRMs are integrated with AI and machine learning to interpret that data and provide actionable insights for each opportunity. The business can then optimize their customer experience and increase engagement to improve retention and loyalty.
