Managing customer relationships is much more than having technological platforms or software: it includes the definition of strategies, data analysis and everything that serves to achieve business objectives. 

What is CRM and how can it boost your business?

The massification of technology entails several positive aspects for the development of commerce, industry and transport. Those platforms and solutions that until less than ten years ago were only available to large companies or to those that could make large investments of time and resources, are now available to everyone.

The “Customer Relationship Management” (CRM, for its acronym in English) are systems that allow comprehensive management of sales, marketing and customer service through all contact points, both in the digital and physical world. 

Among all those technologies that have proliferated throughout the retail industry around the world, those that are aimed at capitalizing on customer habits and data to turn them into useful information, CRMs have grown considerably in use.

In fact, in Spain, according to data of the National Statistics Institute (INE) "More than 62% of Spanish companies have a CRM to analyze the information available about customers within the company for commercial and marketing purposes." 

Thanks to the expansion of eCommerce and the proliferation of hybrid purchasing models —the combination of a physical and online store—, companies can more effectively and efficiently manage relationships with their current and potential customers through a CRM.

5 KEY CRM FUNCTIONS

Although there are various tools for customer relationship management, most of them share certain aspects. For example:

1. Store current customer and prospect data: 
2. E-commerce
3. From names and emails to your purchase history, contact points, interests, visits, use of applications and all those interactions that allow you to analyze your behaviors and preferences.
   
4. Eliminate repetitive tasks: Thanks to the new wave of process automation that is currently being experienced, employees' time is freed up so that they can focus on what they do best: accompany customers on their customer journey.
   
5. Personalization of the relationship with customers:By drawing on huge data sources, companies achieve a high level of specificity in their campaigns. This contemplates, for example, both the products and services that are going to be offered, as well as the channels and times in which to channel them. More personalized campaigns translate into higher sales percentages, lower cart abandonment, and happier customers.
   
6. Create behavior patterns: The enormous analysis of large amounts of data allows organizations to create models of buyer persona and thus, anticipate the needs of its customers.
   In addition, thanks to the creation of behavior patterns, segmented campaigns can be created for certain user profiles, according to their common characteristics.
   
7. Centralize information: In this way, all the members of the company, regardless of the team to which they belong, They will be able to access the same data, in real time and from any device.
   This directly impacts the communication and coordination of efforts of all the parties involved, which makes processes more efficient and effective.
   

5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPLEMENT A CRM:

Regardless of the industry or the size of the organization, all those companies that want to start using a CRM must consider the following aspects to achieve success. 

1. Plan by stages:
   Since it is easier to control small processes rather than entire projects, shortening by phases is the best strategy.
   In this way, also, compliance with times can be analyzed, which results in great learning and constant optimization.
   
2. Set clear and measurable goals:
   Each of the objectives must be as quantifiable as possible. "Want to have more customers" or "Sell more" is not a concise goal. Therefore, it is not possible to measure whether it is achieved or not.
   On the other hand, by setting specific objectives, such as "Increase the customer portfolio by 50% in six months" or "Double the billing in three years" It does allow us to know if the project is fulfilled or not and to act accordingly.
   
3. Subordinate technology to strategy:
   “There is no use having space technology to push a car”. The best solution does not necessarily have to be the most expensive. Understanding your strategy and the available market resources to execute it at the lowest cost is much more important than spending a fortune on something just because it's hot.
   
4. Involve teams:
   The success of any implementation has three main axes: the company who decides to take the technological leap; the partner who will carry out the consultancy, the strategy and the accompaniment throughout the trip; and the digital tools that support the project.
   All these actors, with their roles and responsibilities, will work in a more coordinated way if their parts and gears are involved from the beginning.
   

To achieve a correct CRM implementation, it is essential to have a technology partner in charge of guiding companies on their digital transformation journey. zentricx, for example, has several years of experience and experts working on the development of customized solutions. In addition, it has strategic alliances with leading companies such as SalesManago, that offers one of the most complete CRM.

If you want to know more about how CRM can help boost your business, and even if you want to receive a product demo, we invite you to Contact Julio Cesar Blanco, Innovation Director & Head of Spain Office at Zentricx.

Access a product demo!

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Julio Cesar Blanco – December 20, 2021