Why You Need a CRM

Integrated CRM is more than just a customer database. CRM systems track and organize every type of communication with your customers and leads. This gives your agents all the information they need to make more deals and find more leads to become paying customers for your company.

Here's why you need a CRM system:

• A CRM application centralizes information and serves it up for multiple users. Everyone, or only the few you select, gains access to shared data and analysis. Each user can then add notes, figures or comments about all meetings, sales or marketing efforts at every customer touch point, even from remote or mobile locations. Imagine how much that eases follow-up calls, deal-closing and next-step actions or decisions.
• You're reinventing the wheel every time you launch a marketing campaign. Once your business is up-and-running, you need to be consistent about operational processes, financial and staff management and marketing efforts. Typically, that's when CRM becomes cost-effective. They were wasting days every time they launched a marketing campaign. CRM, of course, puts such information at your fingertips. Once the company installed CRM, they could create lists of customers and generate postcards to mail the same day.
• You're spending endless time and energy on meetings designed to bring everyone up to speed. With everyone in the loop via real-time collective access, CRM programs frequently cut the time and resources spent on communications or handoffs for collaborative projects. Sales, support or accounting staff can note actions, solve problems or add services within the CRM forms or fields. Just remember that the program is only as timely and valuable as the data entered into it.
• You don't know whether customer e-mail requires immediate response or back-burner priority. With instant access to customer information, you know as soon as an e-mail lands whether you're hearing from a valued customer or from a deadbeat that's been ignoring the bill for months.
• You're squandering opportunities for new business development.Many companies now rely on some sort of sales contact application to manage customer relationships. These programs tend to be flat lists that handle scheduling and contact data. They're certainly useful for customer prospecting and sales contacts. But they are not particularly efficient in leveraging the customer relationship. If you are attracted to CRM's benefits, be careful not to do too much too fast. Most programs offer dozens of features and options that you can activate or not, depending on your company's needs and pace.