Authored by: The SingleStone CRM Team
Ask any smart leader what their organization needs to grow—particularly in the current precarious economic climate—and they will surely rattle off a list of “must-haves” such as a great product, excellent service quality, a skilled workforce, and, of course, best-in-class customer experiences. The really smart leaders will also add Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to this list.
What is a CRM?
In simplest terms, a CRM system is a tool that facilitates data-driven yet human-focused communications and relationship-building between an organization and its customers.
What is a CRM Used For?
A CRM solution empowers businesses to gather, update, analyze, and use data about prospects, leads, and customers to better understand them and deliver consistent brand experiences at every point of their sales journey.
Back in the seventies, CRM was purely a sales tool and remained so until recently. But now, organizations are realizing that it has applications beyond sales, encompassing the entire enterprise. Here are six ways to use CRM effectively beyond sales:
1. Marketing: Measuring the Effectiveness of Campaigns
A CRM platform, like Microsoft Dynamics 365, allows Sales and Marketing to collaborate closely and align their outcomes and goals as they serve customers. By syncing and sharing data, they can collectively drive leads down the sales funnel and design tailored marketing initiatives.
For example:
- Analyze prospects who signed up for a product trial and their journey.
- Design hyper-personalized email campaigns based on insights.
- Track campaign KPIs such as email opens, click-through rates, and conversions.
CRM platforms put organizations in a stronger position to meet customer needs, enhancing satisfaction and profitability.
2. Contact Centers: Enhancing Customer Support
Modern CRM systems integrate seamlessly with contact center platforms, providing agents with:
- Valuable insights about customer journeys and preferences.
- Historical data to deliver personalized, efficient support.
This integration allows agents to:
- Quickly address concerns without passing customers to other departments.
- Foster loyalty, reduce churn, and create brand advocates.
3. Engineering and Product Design: Clarifying Deliverables and Reducing Time-to-Market
CRM systems centralize product or project requirements, improving collaboration between Sales and Engineering. Key benefits include:
- Up-to-date, accessible information for all teams.
- More accurate estimates and clarified project plans.
- Reduced turnaround times and faster time-to-market.
4. Management: Improving Team Performance
CRM goes beyond customer data to help manage workforce performance. Managers can:
- Define quotas and KPIs.
- Track performance and identify gaps.
- Make data-driven decisions about training, reassignment, or improvement plans.
5. Case and Account Management: Strengthening Customer Relationships
For project-based businesses, a CRM ensures smooth transitions post-project by:
- Centralizing critical data about wins, losses, and challenges.
- Helping Account Management teams track renewals and manage upgrades.
- Addressing issues efficiently to maintain service quality and operational continuity.
6. Finance: Driving Efficiency and Insights
CRM simplifies Finance operations by:
- Combining sales data with ERP systems for a comprehensive financial view.
- Enabling detailed forecasts and variance management with interactive dashboards.
- Streamlining customer collections and payment processing.
By centralizing order status, shipments, credit lines, and payments, CRM reduces administrative burdens, allowing Finance teams to focus on strategic tasks.
Why Invest in CRM?
A CRM system, like Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce, provides better visibility into customer relationships, breaks down silos, and empowers informed decision-making. It delivers exceptional experiences that keep customers happy and loyal.
At SingleStone, we bring both business acumen and technical expertise to help clients extract maximum value from their CRM investments.
Transform your business with CRM—contact us today for a free demo.