Opportunities to advance your business in 2010 are everywhere—on the road, in the office and over the Internet. Mobile CRM is making big inroads for companies that want to run lean but smart and still obtain higher sales results. Social media as a business tool is growing, as business owners and customer service representatives are finding new ways to reach out to their customers and all those others who “follow” their customer online. Find ways to enable your business with CRM.
Whether big or small, companies can put customer relationship management tactics and strategies to work to help grow their business and achieve sustainability in their market. When times are tough and consumers want to put away their pocketbooks and wallets, it is time to reach out even stronger.
CRM allows businesses to use targeted marketing and knowledge base management for optimum success and improvements in customer relations and sales. One example is found in online communications; websites need to be customer friendly and easy to navigate, with a portal to allow questions to be answered quickly. Some companies are indicating that their customer inquiry response time has been reduced from days to hours, with a corresponding increase in sales.
Another area that you must not neglect is the social media realm—it’s imperative to have a presence there. At Whole Foods Market Southwest, they are putting Twitter to work as a customer relations tool and a way to increase sales. They offer a $25 gift certificate for the “tweet of the day” winner, which helps expand interest in their stores and products. While social media communications might appear to be frivolous, the fact is that these networks’ reach is amazing. Hundreds or thousands of followers can be influenced with one short message, or even more as campaigns spread virally. Social media also gives customers a direct way to interact with businesses, which can lead to higher satisfaction and brand loyalty.
For retail businesses, the Internet can incorporate CRM software applications to enhance customer satisfaction. These companies can save on personnel and operation costs by having an online help desk, knowledge base, live chat or FAQ section that answers most customer inquires immediately. A friend recently terminated her relationship with a bank because she could not get an answer online about loan rates—since she didn’t have the time to go into a bank branch and sit down for a meeting, she ended up switching to a bank with a more robust online presence. Questions like store hours, bank rates and other data based questions can easily be set forth online.
In sales, CRM allows salespeople to access schedules, sale information, customer data and other important relevant information quickly. They will then be more likely to answer customer questions quickly and correctly. Companies like GoDaddy use CRM for their automated help desk, live chat and follow-up emails. Added to that are personal telephone calls for important communications. With the knowledge base built up online at the website, the company is able to send targeted emails out with information the company knows the customer may be interested in.
CRM is a customer service and sales tool, a knowledge base data management tool, and an all around productivity improvement tool for the sales force. It can work well for a small business, just as it does for a large business. Each company or department will have different goals and objectives, and use different quality CRM applications and tools. But the end result is the same: higher sales and greater customer satisfaction.
