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Your customer relationship management software (CRM) can provide your small business with a variety of different tools that can help you improve your bottom line and monitor conversions. However, many companies miss out on the full benefits when using it merely as a database of customer contact information because the benefits of CRM software extend much farther than that.
A poorly maintained CRM program can hurt those relationships, whereas a program that’s optimised for your business can help be effective and efficient with customers and your business. Though data collection and storage are essential tools for any business, there are more features of most CRM that can be critical to your business growth.
CRM in the Cloud
Much of the business world has moved to the cloud, and so should your CRM software. Storing your CRM information over a cloud network is a great way to make it accessible any place with an internet connection. Consider how the cloud benefits your business and your CRM.
- Cloud software lets you pay per user on a monthly or annual basis, reducing costs of bulky systems taking up space in your office.
- A third party service provider will play a large role in maintaining and managing the program, taking some of the burden of your shoulders.
- Improve your sales with empowered reps; with this information at their fingertips they can make more sales in less time, regardless of where they are.
Evaluate Your Team
You can use your existing CRM software to evaluate the effectiveness of your sales team. With everything that has happened over 2020 a rise in the importance of analytics in every aspect of your business, including employee management with a remote workforce, has become very apparent. Your CRM software can be a great tool for this.
- Pinpoint strengths and weaknesses with individual conversion rates compared with those of their co-workers.
- Implement additional training and coaching where you see holes in performance.
- Interaction notes and details can be stored alongside employee information, making reviews easier and more effective.
Monitor Progress
Most CRM software includes basic tools for data storage, but you can extract important metrics for conversions, dropped customers, purchases and much more. Be sure that your company is taking the opportunity to learn from this valuable information.
- Generate reports instead of searching through extensive records for information. Set auto-reporting to generate once a week or once a month depending on your sales numbers and choose the specific metrics you would like it to report.
- Detailed reporting gives you the opportunity to adjust your strategy when reports are coming up short or low.
- Set reports for specific sales reps so they can monitor their own progress and modify their approach accordingly.
If you are spending the money on CRM software- isn’t it important to get everything you can from it? CRM often goes beyond the basic tools of information storage; from employee performance to purchasing trends, there is much more you can extract from this basic tool. Consider how your business can improve its use of this integral business software as 2021 looms ahead of us.
If you want to find out more about CRM feel free to get in touch with us today.
