One factor that separates great companies from good ones is the relationships they build between themselves and their customers. Moving beyond merely transactional interactions, great companies work to get to know their customers on a deeper level and keep track of their communications with them. Cultivating this type of relationship is where customer relationship management (CRM) tools come into play.
All the data companies collect to learn more about their customers can be entered into a CRM tool and used in a number of different ways. To help show you and your company how to best make use of your CRM tool, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their favorite methods of using them below.
9 Ways to Use a CRM Tool to Its Fullest Potential
- Include the latest communication.
- Sort data by team relevance.
- Take advantage of mobile apps.
- Develop buyer personas.
- Build relationships through personalization.
- Conduct follow-ups.
- Tidy up your data.
- Identify upselling opportunities.
- Track the customer journey.
1. Include the Latest Communication
CRMs should be dynamic and capture the latest communications you have with a customer. How did the latest call go? What concerns did the customer have? Did the customer express delight with a specific team member or service you provide? What exactly did the team member do that the client liked? The point is that CRMs should include real-time feedback and analysis so that you can improve over time. — Kristopher Brian Jones, LSEO.com
2. Sort Data by Team Relevance
Make sure your sales and marketing teams know what information is relevant to them and classify that data accordingly. Unless you know which information you need and data is sorted properly, you won’t be able to accomplish much. This attention to detail is vital to the success of all sales and marketing activities, from sending newsletters to conversion to getting to know your customers’ needs and upselling. — Riccardo Conte, Virtus Flow
3. Take Advantage of Mobile Apps
Use the CRM’s mobile app to work anytime, anywhere. You can make reports, contact a lead, take notes, gather leads whenever and wherever with the help of a good CRM app. This makes the reports and note-taking more accurate, not allowing for any backlog or delay just because you can’t access the tool. If you need to call someone from the CRM, the app is ready to be your guide. — Daisy Jing, Banish
4. Develop Buyer Personas
You can use the data collected from your CRM to develop your buyer personas. Every business has different audience segments with unique interests, which are reflected through personalized marketing. If you don’t yet have fictional customer profiles, take a look at your CRM data. You can learn about your customers’ shopping habits, behavior and needs to create more robust personas. — John Turner, SeedProd LLC
5. Build Relationships Through Personalization
It doesn’t matter how small or big your company is, the personal touch will never get old. When restaurants started using OpenTable, the notes feature allowed staff to turn new guests into regulars using CRM. Data can personalize relationships when staff is able to enter client info that matters and can’t be automated. For instance, it feels good when somebody remembers our child or pet’s name. — Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Office
6. Conduct Follow-Ups
Follow-up calls or emails allow you to show that you care about your customers and that you take their patronage seriously. It shows that they are important to you. This method has become nearly essential for certain businesses like gyms and personal training services. CRM tools ensure that you stay efficient and effective when planning out and conducting these follow-ups. — Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group LLC
7. Tidy Up Your Data
You can use your company’s CRM to tidy up your data and make it crystal clear. You can do simple tasks like merging records, fixing names and personal information, capitalizing names and so on. These simple things make a huge difference in the long run when things get more complex. — Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
8. Identify Upselling Opportunities
If a large majority of folks are buying one product and then looking at another, you could switch up your marketing strategy or even your email marketing campaign in particular to take advantage of those searches. — Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
9. Track the Customer Journey
A CRM can help you map where your customer is on the customer journey. You can study interactions such as email engagement, click rates and other actions to gauge whether your audience is still exploring the options out there or if they’re ready to buy from you. With such knowledge, you can customize your outreach and move customers through the funnel. — Blair Williams, MemberPress
