Customer Relationship Management CRM Software Programs
Any business that aims to make money will invariably have, as the source of that money, customers.
The relationships shared with those customers are as varied and complex as the businesses themselves.
To ensure these relationships are well served and fully utilized, many companies turn to the services provided by customer relationship management software (CRM).
Overview of Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management is, in its most basic form, a means or method for organizing information. The three main major divisions that utilize formal customer relationship management are sales, marketing and customer service. Each of these divisions has specific requirements for CRM (customer relationship management) tasks, and the best software packages offer features that not only support the needs of each division, they also pull together cross divisional information to improve the customer relationship.
Customer Relationship Management for Sales
A sales organization generates a significant amount of information related to each customer serviced by the company. Software used by sales should easily compile all communications together into a central store, organized by customer. This may include all emails, meeting minutes and phone call notes. Any documentation or quotes that have been provided to the customer can be held together in the software so that future sales and support for that customer does not involve guesswork of past promises and agreements.
The sales department will also need to track internal communications related to the customer from various departments. For a complex project, there may be involvement from engineering, marketing, graphic design, customer service and executive management. By having all of these varied interests tracking progress and requirements through customer relationship management software, a company can avoid costly errors.
Customer Relationship Management for Marketing
The marketing organization is often very closely related to the sales division. While the two have many things in common, there are a few additional requirements that are unique to each branch. While sales is primarily focused on closing deals, finding new leads and selling additional services or products to existing customers, marketing is focused on publicizing the company’s products and services.
Marketing may want to know what specific advertising a customer responded to. There may be the need to track news messages related to their customers along with internet search and social media mentions for both the company and a specific customer.
One example of this would be for a company that manufactures cell phones. While the ultimate users of cell phones are individuals, the biggest customers are carriers. There are also large corporations that may purchase the same brand and model of phone for thousands of people in the organization. A marketing department for that manufacturer will want to keep track of not only the public opinion and desires for the products through social media, but also of important issues that impact the large customers.
Customer Relationship Management for Customer Service
For any organization that intends to succeed, a top notch customer service department is critical. Software for this aspect of the business will help track and record phone conversations with call centers. This software can be used to identify trends that through contact with customers for specific problems with a product or service. By tracking at the individual customer level, agents can be given a great range of flexibility to help customers that have been loyal to the company. In the same manner, agents can restrict support capabilities for customers that have a history of taking advantage of the system.
Choosing Customer Relationship Software
When considering a software solution to customer relationship management, companies should focus on the needs of the business, and pair that with what would help service the customer.
Some businesses have large sales cycles with relatively little post sale support. These companies should look for software that focuses on communications with the customer as well as with internal quote generation and modification. Other companies are very large, and sales and support is a continuous process. Software to support this type of organization may go so far as to tie into a customer’s inventory system to track spare parts or merchandise levels.
Whatever the size and requirements of the business, there are many solutions available to help increase productivity and satisfaction when dealing with customers. Some of the solutions are made from stand-alone software, and others are available as a cloud based software service. As long as connectivity to the internet is available, cloud solutions offer the lowest upfront cost and constant upgrades without additional purchases. In the end, the system that is chosen needs to be one that is intuitive and easily adopted by the users. The best software program is the one that is used effectively.