Customer relationship management (CRM) is a pretty hot term being bandied about among digital marketers and SEO experts. What many don’t realize is that CRM is not just a piece of software. It is a mindset. As such, CRM should be an integral part of every modern marketing strategy regardless of size, scope, or the industry it represents.
If you are not utilizing CRM as an essential tenant of your marketing strategy, we encourage you to rethink what you’re doing. Below are three reasons your marketing efforts need comprehensive customer relationship management.
CRM Begins and Ends with Customer Experience
Managing customer relations begins and ends with the customer experience. What is the customer experience? Super Office defines it as the customer’s perception of how a company treats those it does business with. In short, every interaction a customer has with your business creates some sort of perception in his or her mind. A good perception is good for business; a bad perception is bad.
According to Genesys statistics cited by Super Office:
- 42% of businesses invest in customer experience to improve retention
- 33% invest in it to improve customer satisfaction
- 32% invest in it to increase cross-selling and up-selling opportunities
None of this is possible without an effective CRM environment. The customer experience cannot be improved if customer relations are not managed at every step of the journey.
CRM Improves Customer Targeting
If we have learned anything in the era of digital marketing, it is the fact that generic messaging no longer works because audiences are too large. The modern age of marketing requires what those of us in the industry know as ‘segmentation’. The practice of segmentation is essentially targeting smaller groups of consumers by categorizing them according to certain criteria.
Customers can be segmented by geographic region, age demographics, household income, product preferences, or just about anything else. Prospects can be segmented likewise. When segmentation is a normal practice, smaller audiences can be targeted with more specific messaging that speaks directly to them. A good CRM tool is invaluable here inasmuch as it streamlines both segmentation and targeted messaging.
CRM Builds Lasting Business Relationships
Finally, CRM builds lasting business relationships by encouraging communication, immediately addressing customer needs and complaints, and allowing management to track every interaction with a given customer.
In this regard, consider CRM software as the hub of communication. Also remember that communication is the key to every successful relationship. By pursuing a solid CRM strategy, marketers can maintain the open lines of communication that will facilitate solid, long-lasting customer relationships.
CRM is more than software and data. It is a way of interacting with customers over the long term. It should be part of every modern marketing strategy, regardless of the products or services being offered.
