Why is it important to make CRM the central hub for your customer data? 

As your business continues to grow, manually analysing prospects and customers with spreadsheets and siloed systems becomes an impossible task. Your staff will waste time collating information between systems, data will get lost and suddenly your customer service levels are becoming collateral damage. Now your team are exhausted and your customers are left disappointed.  

There is no question that your customers should be the central focus of your business. Almost 87% of customers believe that companies need to provide more consistent and seamless customer experiences. So, in order to best serve your customers and keep ahead of competitors you will need a clear view of your customer data. This will allow you to anticipate customers’ needs and build a better relationship with them. This where your CRM system comes in. On average, investment returns for CRM systems range from £4.11 to £6.40 for every pound spent.   

How can you achieve this with your CRM system? 

• Make sure staff are accurately inputting all customer information and interactions 

To make the most of your CRM system and obtain an accurate, complete picture of your customers, your staff need to live in your CRM solution. Breaking old habits of storing data in siloed systems may be tough to begin with, but when all staff are onboard the rest is easy. 32% of businesses admit being overwhelmed by data (EY and Nimbus Ninety), using one coherent system will resolve this issue. At a glance, you will be able to see customers’ latest interactions with email campaigns, blogs, your helpdesk and so on, as well as key details like their company’s size, location, and vertical, giving you a major leg up when it comes to anticipating their needs.  

• Make data driven decisions with CRM analytics 

Businesses often under utilise the built-in analytics within their CRM. However, this can be another great tool to allow you to get to know your customer better. You can monitor email open rates, the optimum time to send out communications to your customers and find out what content your customers engaging most with. This should be used to drive marketing decisions going forward.  

• Use the automation features within CRM to speed up tedious tasks and maximise efficiency 

Stop wasting time on mundane tasks! According to figures from Marketo, 76% of companies that implement marketing automation generate a return on their investment within the first year. Not only that, but 44% of them see a return within just six months. Your CRM system can automate tedious tasks in your workflows such as thank you emails, scheduling call backs and activity logging. Your CRM allows you to manage your customer relationships from one single place, eliminating the risk involved with manual work that can lead to human error and customers falling through the cracks. Also, the less time your sales team are spending on administrative work, the greater number of hours they have to get in front of prospects and nurture those leads! 

• Invest in employee training for your new CRM system  

According to reports, 40% of employees don’t know what a CRM solution is or how to use it. When implementing your new system, make sure you spend enough time training your staff to ensure they can use the system confidently and accurately. A CRM system is only as good as what you put into it, without employee adoption, using the system as a central hub for customer data will not be achievable – get your employees on board! 

Are you ready to put your customers at the centre of everything you do? Chat to us today about implementing a CRM system that works for you – Email: [email protected]