The concept of CRM has been here for quite some time. Initially, the CRM was a manual card system maintained by a salesman that used to sit in a desk or in a car. These client cards proved to be beneficial for the salesman as this is where they kept vital customer information like the contact details of the customer, main contacts in the organization, product preferences, purchasing patterns, business connections and so on. Every card had written information on every customer. It was a notion that to be successful and a well-managed salesperson, you needed this.
Nonetheless, frequently, this vital data stayed with the salesman only. The organization didn’t have ready access to this vital information and when the salesman left the organization, they also left with the client information taking the client relationship with him.
The CRM system is considered to be a major breakthrough in capturing vital client information and handle client relationships well. CRM assures speedy customer service at less cost, better customer satisfaction, and eventually more sales and customer loyalty. Nonetheless, many organizations still feel that CRM is just a software or technology and the full advantages of CRM are not completely reaped by the business. CRM is more than just being a data mining tool.
Honestly, your CRM has the potential and should be a part of your business. It can help in maintaining records of your business. As a matter of fact, if implemented properly, one of the most vital benefits of having and utilizing CRM in your business is being able to completely realize and strategize the true value of your clients as the assets of the company. Apart from the apparent advantages to your business, in any case, you decide to sell your business; having a CRM will all the vital information mapped and tracked can be valued and sold at the best possible price.
This type of information becomes a true asset in itself. A possible buyer can view your business and realize the value of client relationships to the business. Hence, rather than knowledge and wisdom going out with the past owner, it can be maintained and captured with the new owners to be further developed and cultivated.
As a CEO, you can’t take the right decisions if you don’t have the appropriate information in position. If you are looking for the best advantages from a CRM tool, you should know how you are going to align your main business objectives between your clients and suppliers, salesperson and other aspects of the business. So, every aspect of the information and the actions taken adds value to the client fulfillment procedure.
The association with the clients of your business can be mapped and you’ll then see how everyone in your business can impact its growth and not just your salesperson.
What does an efficient CRM system seems like?
An efficient CRM system should meet all your business strategies. Nowadays, you may get access to open source CRM software, where you will be able to configure what you actually want in the CRM, hence you don’t have to be tied to any such CRM that can’t be personalized according to your requirements. Moreover, CRMs don’t have to be that costly either. Many people stopped using CRM due to the cost factor. But these days CRM systems are available and home-based business entities also get it at a very cost-efficient rate. For example, we utilize SugarCRM, which is an open source system that we can configure to meet our business requirements.
A CRM should not be thrust on anyone, and it should be naturally part of your vision and it should keep on bettering the relationships with your sales team, your customer and everyone in your business.
