Every business is built on the back of its employees. However, there is one more integral piece to this equation: your customers! Many cost centres are allocated to answering the “what, when, where why and how”. Customers are the lifeblood of every company. Without them, there wouldn’t be any business to begin with!
Contrary to popular belief, the sales process is not the end destination. Instead, the sales process should be viewed as getting customers to “keep their foot in the door”; it is a launchpad for successful lead generation. In order to sustain it, companies establish rapport with their prospects via Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM is an ongoing process of relationship building with one’s clients, but what does it entail? Almost everything, and anything! From managing marketing campaigns to email correspondence with one’s customers, the options are innumerable! More importantly, CRM allows you to understand the implicit, and explicit behaviors of one’s clients through data analysis. Many business operators are starting to adopt CRM systems to systemize and scale their entire business. Today, we’re here to answer two of your frequently asked questions on CRM systems.
FAQ 1: What is a CRM System? And Why?
Picture a CRM system as a one-stop-shop for all things customer relations, marketing, and sales related. Instead of having to jump back and forth between multiple tabs, every business service is centralized on one hub for ease-of-access, and a streamlined workflow. Activities such as scheduled social media posts, the organizing of customer related data, and the management of marketing campaigns are few of the many business services that CRM systems offer. Save yourself the hassle of traversing a swampy mess of applications!
The most important attribute of CRM system is its ability to give you clear, and visceral insight into primary and intermediate data derived from customer behaviours: website-clicks, or how long a prospect lurks on your website prior to exiting (bounce rates) are two such examples. Data is the gold rush of the 21st Century, and it is imperative that business operators capitalise on keys insights that data has to offer. However, data carries no inherent value unless it is carefully analysed. That is where CRM systems fit into the big picture.
Fundamentally, a CRM systems qualitatively, and quantitatively measures customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and the efficacy of your organisation’s decisions. Knowing how and what they think allows you to maximise your returns on profit-producing opportunities, and positively scale your business by attracting more prospects. Are they responding well to our incumbent marketing campaign? Why are customers leaving our landing page within 10 seconds? These are some of the rhetorical questions that emerge from using a CRM system.
Popular industry standards include Hubspot, Gohighlevel and Creatio. Depending on the nature of your business, varied CRM systems systemises different aspects of your business. As the adage goes, it always pays to do a little bit of research!
FAQ 2: Can’t I do them manually?
At face value, many of the tools embedded within CRM systems are available separately, at no or little extra cost. Why incur unnecessary costs if I can perform the exact same executive functions for less? Hard costs notwithstanding, the economic inefficiencies derived from switching between applications are often excluded from one’s decision-making framework. For instance, the likelihood of human error from switching between multiple work windows is much higher. Imagine constantly minimising and expanding applications, switching back-and-forth as your eyes dart from one app to the next!
As fatigue kicks in, you’re bound to slip up and make mistakes as time passes on. Expand your horizons and think of the long-term vs the short-term: are you working in a sustainable manner? More often than not, data and marketing related mistakes are more costly than the initial price of the CRM system!
Given the multi-faceted nature of CRM, having a singular interface to manage costly operations such as marketing, sales and customer correspondence pays more than it costs; it’s a healthy return-on-investment! Most importantly, manual data analysis is a time-consuming process that requires individuals with a strong background in it. As alluded to earlier, data is only as useful as the quality of its analysis. A CRM system automates how such data is collected and organised, demystifying it through visual aids such as pie charts, and bar charts. Visceral feedback increases your ease of understanding, lowering the time required to study it in great detail. Spare yourself the trouble, and consider paying for a CRM system!
An alternative solution:
Like all applications, a CRM system is still a complex network of tools. If technology is not your strong suit, a CRM system would prove to be a completely alien concept! As the owner of your business, the time spent on mastering it diminishes your ability to pursue profit-producing opportunities. Traditionally, an owner focuses on both the scalability and trajectory of the business, assuming the role of captain on his or her ship. According to our novel HIPPO Bullseye, managing a CRM system falls between the dispassionate, and time-consuming categories. Such activities should be strictly allocated to people educated in CRM system operations, and what better solution than to hire a specialised virtual assistant (VA)!
Akin to matchmaker, Hippo Business Services firmly believes that there is someone for everyone, and in this case, a VA for your business! Leveraging our highly renowned S.O.S process, our team carefully searches for a VA experienced with CRM systems to achieve your expectations. Keep your eyes on the prize; at the end of the day, you’re not the operator, but the owner of the business. Reach out to us, and we’ll be here to guide you at every step of the way!
