Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an important aspect that needs attention from all companies small, medium, or big if they are serious on a scientific method of increasing company profits that can be carried out in a systematic way.
CRM is a basically a system that is encapsulated in the form a software that helps in the managing of all the aspects concerning the company’s customers and potential customers.
It is a system that includes the actions to be taken, the company practices, and the technologies used in order to handle data collected from all of the company’s interactions with the customer. It could be from direct contact, over the phone, a comment on social media, or even from talking directly to a customer service rep.
The most important feature that a customer relationship management software does is to collect and collate all of the information it could get from all the possible sources for all of their customers. This collated information are arranged to profiles which has numerous possible uses to the advantage of the company.
There are four giants when it comes to CRM software that tend to be the first choice for bigger companies or businesses, namely Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce.com, and Oracle. However, there are a lot of other CRM software out there for small to middle businesses that are actually better suited for them.
What does a good CRM look like?
If you want to look elsewhere other than the four biggest CRM software providers, there are a couple of features that you need to look out for to ensure that you find the right type of CRM software that will fit your needs.
- It has to have a marketing automation feature where you have the option of automating tasks that are repetitive in nature, such as when a customer first signs up for a newsletter. A good system must give you the option of selecting the appropriate marketing material for that customer automatically.
- It must also have a feature that cuts down customer service call times by having a function that lets the contact center set a number of pre-recorded audio responses for certain queries that are often repeated or are basic like that of a frequently ask questions or FAQS page in the case of a website.
- Thirdly, a CRM would not be complete if it does not have a feature that assists in the proper tracking of all contact and follow-ups between a sales rep and a potential customer. Providing a reliable system that prevents both a duplication in effort and or miss follow-ups. A sales force automation feature helps ensure that your company gets the highest possible sales potential.
- The CRM software is in general entrusted to the Marketing and Sales Department and is usually used in a business’ contact center where inbound and outbound agents help gather the bulk of the marketing and sales data.
Recently, with the rise of the role of social media as being an almost default part in the lives of a growing percentage of the world’s population CRM software providers added some social media features that make sure you can properly collect useful data from customers in these digital fronts like Facebook and Twitter.
