Now that February is melting away and spring is just around the corner, why not get a fresh start on how your business manages its customer relationships with CRM?
Customers come first for most businesses and it’s no secret why. According to a Global Customer Service study, 75 percent of consumers said that they spent more money with a company because of a positive customer experience. If your company treats customers well and creates good customer relationships, they’re more likely to return.
So where does CRM, or customer relationship management software, come into play? Many businesses think of CRM as simply a tool for keeping track of transactions. After all, it is a database of interactions with current and potential clients. But as one Forbes article points out, CRM can be so much more, and there is a very real disconnect between the “relationship” in CRM’s acronym and how businesses are executing it. For example, it’s common for businesses using CRM refer to customers using terms like “leads” or “prospects” instead of something more humanizing.
“Software today is supposed to help you do your job better,” Forbes contributor Robi Ganguly explained. “Everyone using software is human, and yet software is dehumanizing and distancing. Software should help the company communicate with you at the right time and the right place. It has to drive relationships forward, both ways, by connecting people.”
The key, Forbes says, is to think of CRM not primarily as a transactional tool but as a relationship-building one. Be proactive. Start conversations. Listen to what your customers have to say. Teach your employees the value of customer relationships, and, as Ganguly suggests, “make sure everyone on your team understands the real difference between database entries with actions and relationships with your customers.”
You’ll get a lot more out of your CRM software, and for your business, if you take those few extra steps in building real relationships.
