CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is the perfect tool to decompartmentalize the perception of clients coming from the different services within a company. The ultimate goal of a CRM is to put the client at the center of the preoccupations and the information systems of the company in order to get a better a comprehensive view.
To get there though, it is important to understand what such a tool actually represents in function of the type of service it uses. Let’s reconsider this acronym for all of the functions…
Sales
The Sales force is the first thing you think about when a CRM is mentioned. Indeed, they’re first in line when it comes to customer relationship, because it is their job to create such a business relationship. For them, a CRM must be more than a tool, it must be an ally.
- C for Contacts
- R for Reactivate
- M for multiple
For the sales, the C goes a lot further than the Customer as it also includes suspects, prospects and former clients and even the partners, sometimes. These contacts are the raison-d’être of the sales team, which is trying to make them move in their sales funnel. One of the advantage s of such a tool is that it’s easy to assess the potential to activate or reactivate. Another advantage of a CRM can be the possibility to manage the relationship with the customers through multiple channels.
Services
The Services function is a bit trickier when it comes to customer relationship. Like the sales force, there is a daily contact with the clients, and it usually lines up well with the sales department. Let’s not forget that services are a excellent opportunity to reactivate some clients and sell more. To do so, a CRM access is key.
- C for Contracts
- R for Returns
- M for Maintenance
People dedicated to services can use the CRM to manage the clients’ Contracts and their renewals. This tool can also index the different cases of claims and returns and make sure maintenance is taken care of for sold products.
Marketing
Marketing comes before, during and after the sales. However, marketing is not in direct contact with the clients, it stays in the shadow. Because of this position, it usually has a bad reputation in many companies, wrongly preventing marketing.
- C for campaigns
- R for readjust
- M for measure
The marketing team will use the CRM to manage the different campaigns they set up. This way, they can use dynamic reports to measure performance and, if necessary, readjust the campaigns and optimize them.
Management
In addition to following up, the management of the company has to see the CRM as an opportunity to help them with their decision-making.
- C for capitalize
- R for ROI
- M for maintain
The CRM’s role is help the company to capitalize on its profitable clients. On the other hand, the data collected allows you to know better your target and your history with this target. The company is therefore able to situate itself, which is a key to an active evolution. Finally, a CRM is an advantage to help to maintain the growth, as it previews what’s in the sales funnel through the opportunities.
