Why do you need a CRM? Everything you need to know...

What is CRM and CRM system - what is the difference?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which includes activities aimed at building, maintaining and improving long-term relationships with clients throughout their lifecycle. This strategy is often implemented using dedicated CRM systems such as Pipedrive, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.

While CRM refers to a general customer relationship management strategy, a CRM system is a specific tool used to implement that strategy. A CRM system helps to record all activities related to clients from the initial contact to the end of the relationship. However, you will generally come across the abbreviation CRM nowadays in the sense of CRM system.

The goal of CRM is to build satisfied relationships with existing customers while effectively acquiring new ones. This includes tracking all interactions with clients, from the initial contact to resolving their issues after the order has been handed over.

CRM is crucial for companies that place a premium on customer care. A satisfied customer remains loyal and has a close relationship with products and services. A CRM strategy seeks to maintain this satisfaction at all stages of the relationship between the company and the customer through well thought out methods and procedures. A CRM system should help you do just that.

Why do you need a CRM (system)?

Better understanding of customers

CRM provides a centralized repository of customer data and allows businesses to gain a better understanding of their preferences, behaviors and buying habits. By understanding your customers at a higher level, you can tailor your offers and communication strategy to the specific needs of each client, increasing customer engagement and satisfaction.

Streamline your work

With CRM, you can automate most manual processes and remove data silos, leading to increased efficiency. From lead management to customer support, CRM allows teams to work collaboratively, leading to faster responses, fewer errors and increased productivity.

Informed decisions based on data

By having customer data centralized, we can leverage the analytics and reporting features of the CRM system to make informed, data-driven decisions. From predicting sales trends to measuring the performance of marketing campaigns, CRM equips decision makers with useful information that allows them to stay ahead of the competition.

What problems does a CRM system solve in practice?

1. Contract adjustments between the sales team and the client are made without informing the legal department, leading to the transmission of outdated contracts and invoices.
2. Projects are delayed, but the customer service team remains uninformed and unconcerned about client satisfaction.
3. Important information, such as increased engagement with potential clients, does not reach the sales team due to inefficient data sharing, which can lead to lost business opportunities.
4. Lack of access to complex information due to data silos hinders effective decision making and company growth.

In addition, employees waste time by manually passing information that could be passed automatically. For example, the sales team manually passes information about new clients to the legal department and project managers, who must likewise manually inform other stakeholders. These repetitive tasks consume valuable time that could be better spent on strategic activities.

These problems are solved by a CRM system where all client data can be centralized and set up to be automatically transmitted according to certain rules. All employees can then consult the CRM and find all the information on each client.

How do you know if your company needs a CRM?

You have a sales problem

Are your sales teams spending more time on administrative tasks than contacting potential customers?

When your business needs to expand into new markets or introduce new products, it may be hitting a ceiling in its sales capabilities. The right CRM system should make it easy to sort, analyze, and prioritize sales opportunities, allowing your team to focus on those that have the most potential.

You don't know your clients

Do you know what your ideal client looks like? And could I see it?

Without information about your existing customers, your idea of your "ideal" customer may be completely wrong, or at the very least, quite vague because it's based solely on feelings and impressions. A CRM system will give you a single view of your customers, with information in one place that can be easily evaluated you will get to know them better and be able to approach them more personally.

Would you like to improve customer service

Do you know how much customer retention you have? How many people would recommend your services or products to a friend, or what is the average response time of your salespeople from making an enquiry? If you're only responding to client issues and not working proactively with customers, it's time to invest in a CRM system that allows you to measure and improve these metrics at the same time.

You're lacking collaboration and information transfer

Are you having trouble tracking customer interactions across multiple touchpoints?

A good CRM system acts as a central point for all customer care teams. Lack of collaboration between departments is the source of many customer problems. They are forced to repeat themselves. You have to ask your colleagues.

Business process alignment between sales, customer service, marketing and even some back-office roles (such as billing, inventory or logistics) is critical to customer satisfaction. So it's important that all employees can access, use and add to customer data.

They can collaborate and share insights, issues and purchase history. When information is shared across teams, productivity and efficiency skyrocket, data silos disappear and your entire company appears as one cohesive unit to the customer.

You're losing important clients

Are customers leaving because of subpar service experiences and lack of personalized engagement?

You don't want your best customers to feel unappreciated, but that's hard to do if you don't know who those customers are. The right CRM tool can identify them so that any employee in charge of customers can appreciate them, give them the right incentives, nurture them, and increase their loyalty.

You don't know how to create forecasts

If reports are still created by pulling data into spreadsheets, they take too much time to create and are likely to be inaccurate. Inaccurate reports lead to faulty planning and forecasting. While time-consuming administrative tasks prevent your sales team from doing what they should be doing - selling. A good CRM system keeps data in one central and easily accessible location, making it easy to do accurate reporting and forecasting in real time.

Still not sure if you really need a CRM? Try filling out a short test...

Key CRM features.

Manage your contact information

A CRM system should serve as a central repository for customer information, including contact details, purchase history and communication preferences.

What information to collect?

• A complete record of all client interactions
• Troubleshoot problems encountered
• Historical sales volume you have made with a given client

Manage business cases and activities

Track leads and opportunities throughout the entire sales cycle, from first contact, to sending a quote, to meetings, to invoicing. All in one place in a clear dashboard, where you can evaluate business cases according to their status.

Automation - not just marketing

A CRM system should help you automate marketing campaigns, email communications and lead nurturing processes. Based on the status of a job, you can automatically send alerts, meeting invitations, quotes and invoices - to clients and employees. There are no limits to automation.

Reporting and analytics

The CRM system is used for both data collection and data analysis. You should have visibility into key performance indicators, but also into the activities of your team. This allows you to make informed decisions and continuously improve.

Who can CRM help?

The sales departmentin establishing new contacts and nurturing existing clients. CRM enables sales teams to effectively manage leads, track customer interactions and close deals faster.

Marketing in targeting campaigns to existing customers. CRM allows marketers to create targeted campaigns, analyze campaign performance, and nurture leads through personalized communications.

Customer support to provide prompt assistance to current clients. CRM facilitates efficient handling of customer queries, request management and solution tracking, making the support team's job easier and increasing overall client satisfaction.

Useful links

• Test - do I need CRM?
• Which CRM system works out best in terms of price/performance ratio?
• Great overview of CRM on the Czech market + prices for 2024

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is CRM only suitable for large enterprises?

No, CRM solutions are available for businesses of all sizes and offer scalable features and pricing plans to suit different needs.

How long does it take to implement CRM?

Implementation timelines vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the CRM solution and the extent of customization required. On average, implementation can take several weeks to several months depending on the solution chosen. We usually implement CRM within a few weeks.

Can CRM be integrated with other enterprise systems and tools?

Yes, most CRM systems offer integration features that allow seamless integration with existing enterprise systems such as email marketing tools, accounting software and e-commerce platforms, among others.

What is the return on investment for CRM?

According to industry data, every dollar invested in CRM yields an average return of $8.71. However, the ROI on a CRM investment can vary depending on factors such as implementation quality, user adoption and strategic alignment with business goals.

Source: https://nucleusresearch.com/research/single/crm-pays-back-8-71-for-every-dollar-spent/