Currently the world we live in is a ‘global village,’ the world buys, sells and communicates in countless ways and at a very fast pace. Competitors are everywhere and the barriers of market entry can be relatively low, things change and move fast and happy customers tell the world, but so do the unhappy ones…  The key to giving customers what they want lies in understanding them and a CRM tool does just this.

According to Maximizer, ‘CRM is the process of tracking and analysing all of the interactions you have with your customers and prospects. CRM software is a tool that centralizes, simplifies, secures and scales our customer engagement.’

Customer relationship management allows companies to build personal bonds with people and understanding their needs, by understanding their needs businesses can serve them better and increase customer satisfaction, which will lead to customer loyalty, retention and sales.

According to Salesforce, 3 out of 4 consumers say they spent more money with a company because of a positive experience. They also mentioned that CRM are known to improve customer retention by as much as 27%.

Investing in a quality CRM tool is a must for any business that would like to take customer satisfaction to the next level.

A few advantages of a CRM system:

  1. Connect with customers: The main purpose of this software tool is to support a business in engaging its customers. It will allow an organisation to better understand these individuals, better serve them, which will lead to increased client retention and long term profits.
  1. Growth: CRM systems help companies to achieve greater scale and grow efficiently by better aligning people and business processes.
  1. Improved analytical data and reporting: All information is stored in 1 place, which will lead to improved analyses of the data as a whole. Improved reporting can lead to better decision making which will have a positive impact on the bottom line.
  1. Centralised: All the details and information in the CRM system is kept centralised which is available anytime, this will reduce process time and increase productivity.
  1. New customers: An integrated CRM system can be useful in acquiring new customers, as systems can pull data from websites, emails, social media etc. This can be centralised and custom information sent to the potential customer, that can convert the prospect to an actual sale.

Putting a customer at the heart of your business strategy is key to your organisation’s success. CRM allows you to do this, it keeps you and your team up to date and fully aware of your client’s needs.

As CIO magazine said: “If you are losing customers to a competitor, that’s a clear indication that you should improve your understanding of your customers. “