A Customer Relations Management (CRM) platform is a computerized system used to manage all your company’s interactions with customers and potential leads. The purpose of a CRM is to help businesses stay connected with customers and increase profits.
With the right CRM, you can finish work earlier, pick up where others left off, and get back to work faster. In addition, with customer information at your fingertips and judicious use of automation, CRMs can aid you in offering better customer service. You can better segment your customers so you can be more productive and efficient.
While you’re probably excited to get started on your CRM journey as soon as possible, there are some steps to take prior to setting it up, to bring the most benefits to your business. Let’s consider a few.
Before Selecting Your CRM
Before setting up your CRM, make sure to do the following:
- Identify Your Goals – Make your goals clear to the entire team and elaborate on the specific targets you are trying to hit. Tie them to your business goals. This is an excellent way of not only keeping the team aligned during your CRM implementation but also building support for the project and eliminating the siloes that can sometimes happen with large business technology projects.
- Secure Funds – CRMs are an investment, and it's important for stakeholders to clearly see the benefits of utilizing one. While setting goals will help with identifying the benefits, setting a budget early will also help as you investigate options for your CRM and as you prioritize what must be included in the system you select.
- Outline Your Sales Process – Put in writing an outline of your current sales process and identify areas that can be improved with a CRM. By having a clear understanding of your sales cycle, you can more efficiently utilize your CRM system’s capabilities and customize it for your specific goals. This should also be considered as you investigate possible CRMs to purchase.
- Organize and Transfer Data – Review and organize your existing data to ensure everything is up-to-date and consistent. Delete any duplicate or outdated records. This will take time and is vital to the success of the project, so assigning resources (and filling in any gaps you may find in your existing project) is important in the early stages.
Now that you’re ready to set up your CRM, here are some ways to use the system to its fullest and boost efficiency and ROI.
How a CRM Can Boost Efficiency and ROI
For your CRM to boost efficiency and ROI, you need to use it properly. Having a CRM system and not using it properly is much like buying a treadmill but leaving it to collect dust. To see results, you must use it the way it was designed.
Here are some ways to make the most out of your CRM:
Use Automation
Relieve manual effort, minimize errors, and save time and money by leveraging the power of AI to complete tasks. Create automation workflows for emails, lead assignments, follow-up reminders and your entire sales process.
Segment Leads
Use your CRM’s lead-scoring capabilities to rank and segment leads based on their likelihood to convert to customers. By doing this, your team can focus on potential clients that are likely to become high-value accounts. Prioritizing these accounts will enable your sales and/or marketing teams to increase conversion rates and maximize sales efforts.
Analyze Results
With your CRM, you can review and track key metrics to gather insight into your sales performance. Some key metrics to investigate include lead conversion rates, sales velocity and win rates.
Using a CRM also gives you the ability to create reports and dashboards with real-time visibility into your sales system. With this data, you can make better decisions that will optimize your sales strategies.
Integrate with Other Tools
Make sure your CRM is integrated with your other tools such as your ERP, marketing software, email and customer support systems to unify information and teams across the board. Doing so will simplify communication, improve the customer experience and personalize sales efforts.
Offer Training
CRMs update constantly and readily release new features. Make sure your teams are updated and trained on all new features and best practices.
If you do not keep your team engaged and excited about using the CRM, you risk losing out on huge returns. Utilizing the new features will ensure employees are using the platform effectively and efficiently.
Maximize Your ROI with GO2 Partners
Whether you’re just starting your CRM journey or it's already in progress, contact GO2 Partners to see how you can maximize ROI and get the most out of your CRM system today. We offer a customized plan to help you gain a competitive advantage during your implementation process and increase your chances of a positive ROI. Learn how we can help you improve your transition to using a CRM or give guidance on how to improve CRM efficiency.
