With expectations for providing great customer experiences at an all-time high, your ability to react quickly to customer requests or inquiries, engage effectively across multiple channels, and anticipate customer needs can set you apart from the competition.
Those are all things a customer relationship management (CRM) system can help you accomplish… and that’s just the start of the benefits. If that’s not enough to convince you, here are 5 signs your business needs a CRM.
1. You Don’t Know Your Customers
Did you know the #1 reason customers switch to a new brand is feeling unappreciated (New Voice Media)? The more you know about your customers—who they are, what they care about and how they’ve interacted with your business in the past—the better you’ll be able to demonstrate you appreciate them by giving them better service. Plus, by recording everything you learn about your customers and making that information easily accessible for future interactions, you’ll be more likely to earn their trust and loyalty and ensure they continue doing business with your company.
Something else you may not know? Even small differences in keeping customers happy can mean big rewards. According to Bain and Company, if you can increase customer retention rates by just 5%, you can increase profits between 25% and 95%. That’s definitely a great reason to keep customers coming back for more.
2. You Can’t Get the Customer Information You Need, When You Need It
If you’ve ever found a critical piece of customer information too late, you probably need a CRM. By maintaining all your customer data in a single location, organizing it and making it easily accessible when and where you need it, CRMs help ensure every customer interaction is fully informed and successful.
3. Your Customer Service Operations are a Disappointment
If your customer service representatives aren’t doing their jobs effectively, it could mean you haven’t properly trained them. But it could also mean they don’t have the information they need to provide outstanding service. If your business is continually receiving complaints about the level of customer service you provide, you need to do something. The health of your business is too important to put it at risk. Find out what’s causing the problem. If it’s a lack of access to timely, accurate customer information, your business probably needs a CRM.
4. Your Sales Reps are Spending Too Much Time on Mundane Tasks
According to a study from Xant, sales reps spend more than 63% of their time on mundane, administrative tasks, and just 35% actually selling products and services. That’s a waste that hurts their bottom line and yours. Choosing the right CRM can help you automate many of these tasks, thus increasing productivity and output. It also puts vital customer and prospect data instantly in reach of others on the team, which can help make transitions like a change in sales rep or a reassignment of territories seamless.
With many CRMs, there is also third-party sales software that can be added to expand the value of the CRM system specifically for sales teams. For example, software that makes working within the CRM easier can increase adoption of its use, and solutions designed to improve pipeline management, increase the accuracy of sales forecasts, and help identify higher-value opportunities can be game changers.
5. You Have Trouble Analyzing Key Data
Let’s face it: You can’t solve the problems that are hindering business growth if you don’t know what they are. Because a CRM will store all your data in one place, all that information will be available for a more robust analysis. That means you’ll be in a better position to find out what’s working, and what isn’t so you can make tangible improvements.
In addition, you can leverage predictive analytics with your CRM data to help guide business decisions and discover new opportunities. For example, predictive analytics can help identify patterns of success between certain sales activities and certain customer profiles. The information can be used to repeat those same patterns and boost sales.
Is a CRM Right for You?
No one is in a better position than you to know what will and won’t work for your business. But having the right tools – the ones that help you engage customers where they want and when they want, create smarter campaigns and ensure they reach your target audience, or generate more leads and boost revenue – can take your business to the next level. And that certainly makes CRM systems and CRM software worth checking out.
Learn more about our industry-best solutions for CRM data management, email marketing, and sales productivity, or contact us to schedule a demo. You can also click here to learn more about the value of CRMs.