Nowadays, customers expect top-tier products and stellar services that cater to their specific desires and needs. With that being said, businesses must personalize customer interactions to provide support and stand tall among the competition. Furthermore, as more consumers migrate online due to pandemic-related limitations, digital interactions are expected to rise. But even in a vast pool of customers, businesses can now keep track of customer engagements – all thanks to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
A CRM, as the name suggests, is a tool to manage customer relationships. Customers are the most important and valuable asset for all businesses. Above all, a CRM system should be helpful to its end users, which include sales managers, business leaders, salespeople, and marketers. CRM systems frequently have many features and functionalities for managing the customer lifecycle. However, not all are equal in importance.To learn and become an expert in #1 CRM tool enroll for any Salesforce course.
So here’s a rundown of seven of the most crucial CRM features to consider:
- Workflow automation
CRM software can simplify your business by automating your workflow. To help you and your squad be more constructive, look for CRM solutions that will allow you to set up custom rules and includes sales force automation.
You can program your CRM software to execute a particular action based on triggers or occurrences such as these by using rules:
- When a potential customer fills out a contact form on your website, the CRM software automatically routes the message to the relevant sales department or representative.
- When a sales representative or department receives a message, the CRM software sends a predefined response to affirm the statement.
- Suppose an opportunity, lead or prospect does not respond to your message or proposal within a certain amount of time, such as 48 hours or two business days. In that case, the CRM system automatically sends a follow-up message.
- When a sales representative sends messages or calls a contact, the CRM system automatically logs the hours and records all communications.
- When sales reps complete tasks, the CRM software automatically reports them to superintendents and upper management for performance reviews.
Workflow automation features can also save time and effort by automating time-consuming sales tasks like order tracking, processing, and inventory control.
- Sales analytics
Analyze data from previous projects to make your future revenue campaigns far more effective. You require a CRM that will accumulate data from all sources, such as social media, website traffic, user polls, and so on. You will receive reports regularly that summarize sales figures and sales quality of play. When it comes to analytics, you get to choose which factors to include in reports, such as location, stage in the sales funnel, and even sales rep name. You will work much more consciously by sighting problems before they become significant issues, with real-time insight into the sales process.
- Collaboration and communication
Your company can provide better client communication and follow-up by leveraging your customers’ contact history stored in the CRM. It enables you to tailor customer outreach based on whether this is the customer’s first engagement with you or if the customer previously called with a complaint.
Furthermore, by combining a CRM’s communication tools with its classification and customer life cycle capabilities, personalized messaging can be delivered to customers. Rather than a one-size-fits-all message, your company can send an email tailored to the client’s stage in the customer life cycle. Because personalized messaging improves response rates, this functionality is critical to improving the performance of marketing and sales tactics such as lead nurturing. Thus, this feature is not to be missed!
- Lead management
Identify your most excellent customers based on psychographics/demographic information, making lead management far more credible. It is concerned with converting prospects into leads by rating and moving them up the pipeline. Sales employees must be satisfied with how this works, and the process must flow in a natural way for a business. Examine your current manual process to see how this fits in.
- Third-party integration
Integrating your CRM software to other solutions you already use can save you a considerable lot of time and cost. Third-party software integrations are available in most CRM programs. The key is to select one compatible with the operating system you use and is simple to implement. Here are a few things you can do to make your business operations more straightforward with the right third-party integrations:
- Run CRM software directly from Gmail, Outlook, or other email clients to avoid switching between apps.
- Eliminate manual data entry by automatically syncing sales and order information with your accounting software and POS system.
- Build email lists and initiate email-marketing campaigns instantaneously from either your CRM software or email marketing software, eliminating the need to open both.
- Use Dropbox and other famous cloud backup storage services to sync and back up data.
Furthermore, some integrations may necessitate IT administration depending on your software.
- Management of Documents
With excellent CRM software, you should be able to centralize document storage, retrieval, collection, and sharing. It is a handy feature if you have a large sales, customer service, and marketing team. A consolidated hub would go a long way toward ensuring that everyone on the team is on the same page. It results in a streamlined customer experience.
- Cross-device support
Today’s business players work on a variety of devices. A sales representative, for example, spends the majority of their time attending to clients, so their mobile phone is their lifeblood to the office. As a result, tablet and mobile phone access to the CRM, in addition to desktop computers, is required.
Suppose sales reps come into the office to enter every customer contact and refresh their sales activities. In that case, the likelihood of these updates occurring on time is reduced. Even if the CRM does not include a mobile app, it should be available via a mobile web browser for real-time updates.
Conclusion
CRM software can be a valuable tool for organizations of all sizes. Still, it’s critical to choose a truly effective platform and scale with your needs. You won’t have any problems if you look for these seven features in CRM software before purchasing. Moreover, there’s no doubt that the advantages provided by CRM software, such as efficient customer profiling, sales forecasting, and faster data collection, will give your business a competitive edge.
