What do you mean by the word CRM Software?
CRM software is a platform that connects the company’s different departments, from marketing to sales to customer service, and organizes their notes, activities, and metrics into a single cohesive system.
Every user has direct access to needed client data in real-time. This allows unparalleled coordination across all the teams and departments of the company and this system helps the business to provide its customers with something unique features.
We have to consider Saas and Cloud Computing while defining CRM. These two features (Saas and cloud computing) work together to allow the CRM platform to be available whenever the user has access to the internet.
Because of these technologies cloud CRM or CRM systems can grow and scale with the company, so every business no matter the size, can benefit from a CRM platform.
Forty percent of companies that have already integrated with CRM platforms have experienced a competitive advantage. With the cloud CRM, most companies see a notable increase in sales revenue, lead generation and customer retention.
Cloud CRM or Customer Relationship Management is a software mainly used by small, medium and large-scale industries. From the word Customer Relationship Management itself we can understand the meaning of it, this word means – maintaining the relationship with the customer.
So to manage the relationship with the customer it is important for the company to understand the interest of the customer and to understand the interest of the customer it is important for the company to organize the customers’ data effectively.
Traditionally or previously before the usage of cloud-based CRM, the companies maintain the data of the customer in an Excel sheet writing the contact number, email id, address, first name last name, etc., and maintaining it on its own large harddisk which was maintained by a large number of employs of the company which is also very cost bearing.
Companies always want to solve the existing customers’ problems and make them hassle-free. To do so the company must maintain the data of each customer with each of their concerned department.
To run the business the company needs to maintain the data of potential customers with related departments. In any organization, they want to retain old customers and want to attract new customers or potential.
Then the company must ensure that the customer must be happy with its product and services of the company. Therefore it is essential for the company to maintain its large customers’ data flawlessly and make fewer mistakes in doing anything.
Any organization does not want any customer of the company to get a bad experience from them So to maintain the large customer data the company uses one specific software called customer relationship management software this software converts everything from manual to automatic and ensures less burden to the company itself.
By using CRM the company can maintain the relationship with existing and potential customers for example giving offers on a regular basis to potential customers to attract them and giving renewal subscription offer to all the customers who already used the services.
Then taking feedback from customers by means of email or SMS is also part of CRM that was customer relationship management software. This cloud-based CRM can store data in remote network systems as well. Even the company can upgrade or downgrade the system according to its needs
What Are The Key Steps In The Sales Process?
The steps involved in the sales process are:
1. Prospecting
The most common mistake many sales person make is that they start by telling the client or customer about all the advantages of the product or service.
This is not at all the best strategy. The first thing a perfect salesman must do is pinpoint the customer’s needs. So, the salesperson just asks important questions and listens to the client’s answers.
Consequently, the more information you get from the customer during such a conversation, the more likely the salesman is to close the deal.
During this process, the salesperson should be an active listener. What is important, the salesman must avoid asking too many questions.
2. Preparation
Now that the salesman has all the information the client gave him before, now the salesman knows how to present the product to this particular person in the most convenient way.
3. Approach
There is rule three during contact establishment. The salesman should express positive emotions in him or her at least three times.
The salesperson usually achieves this by using non-verbal gestures (smiling to the clients and adopting open body language), giving good compliments (although it shouldn’t turn into obvious flattery), and asking few questions that guarantee positive answers.
Salesman’s likeable appearance and sincere (or at least seeming to be so) desire to help the customer are also the keys to establishing the contact.
4. Presentation
As for the presentation itself, the salesman must not limit himself or herself to an aesthetically pleasing PowerPoint one (although it can be a good idea in few cases).
This is why many deals are closed in a very informal setting (for example, in a restro and hotels).
The key point of the presentation is for the salesman to connect the characteristics of the product or service with the concrete benefits for the customer.
5. Handling Objections
During this stage, the salesperson’s task is to address the customer’s objections by minimizing all the ‘but’s and ‘no’s to their minimum level.
Perhaps, the salesman may encounter a situation where the client starts arguing. It happens, and it is a very common thing.
The main technique to deal with this is replying by agreeing. It doesn’t matter what the customer tells the salesman, but the salesman must agree with him or her each and every time.
It is important to understand that the salesman should not agree with the product/service being low-quality but with the opinion having the right to exist.
Imagine the customer telling the salesman: “Your steam cookers are very low-quality in nature”.
In this case, the salesman should start answering in such a way: “I agree with you that considering the quality when choosing home appliances is very important, …”
Then, the salesman continues with the advantage of the company’s product.
Now the salesman should try to softly lead the client to the benefits of the product or service that you have demonstrated during the presentation.
6. Closing
During the closing stage, the salesman should nudge the customer in the direction of making a purchase. There are several easy techniques that will help the salesman do this.
For example, the salesman can say: Tell me, what did you like the most?” (and the salesman just waits for the customer to answer).
Usually, the customer will say something like “I liked that your steamer has three tiers”. Then the salesman must ask: “What do you think about our company’s a product/service as a whole?” (and the salesman must wait for the client’s response again).
If the client will convince himself or herself with that of the product, then they may like the whole product itself. And this is what the salesman will hear as a result.
The next thing the salesman must ask is “Do you have any questions left?” and wait again. If there are some, the salesman must answer them; if not, the salesman must say: “I am very glad you liked everything.
So, the only thing left for discussion is…” and the salesman must start negotiating the documents, delivery, etc. – and this lead to the client straight to making the purchase.
7. Follow-Up
During this stage, the salesman must seal the deal fast and with no mistakes. To form a good final impression about the salesman and the presentation in general.
The salesman’s aim is to make the client leave with the feeling of a successful deal instead of the feeling of being cheated or pressured into buying something.
Read More – CRM for Service Industry
How Does The Company Track Data?
Many small businesses track customer and sales details with Excel spreadsheets. But spreadsheets are a substitute, not a solution.
By now you’ve realized that spreadsheets have a lot of issues. Some problems faced by the sales departments while tracking customer data on spreadsheets include-
- It’s very time-consuming.
- The information is harder to filter
- The data doesn’t sync with other systems.
- The data might be inaccurate.
- The spreadsheets get deleted unintentionally.
What if there is an easy way for the sales department to have total control over customers’ data? CRM systems offer many benefits for your small business, which will make it easier for the company to build relationships with the customers and grow your business
A solid CRM software will help you with breaking down the analysis into both the stages of pre- and post-sales which will highlight the insights of the sales funnel. It is important to bear in mind that building new customer relationships is always pivotal and such relationships can be maintained by ensuring that further steps are laid out correctly. A sales team spends more time sourcing out new potential customers via several channels, such as phone calls, sending new proposals. Hence, looking for a new pool of prospects is most pivotal and this is why sales teams are always in search of prompt customers. Furthermore, how successfully these prospects are identified is one of the vital methods to calculate how successful your sales team is.
Some of the CRM software packages will include the feature to monitor visitors to your website along with the social media platform and how the sales team communicated with potential customers. Nurturing customer relations depends on what you are seeking to achieve strategically along the methods you introduce to retain the relation. A great option to introduce a CRM software of choice likely offers even more options and features. Also, it is always essential to note down any problems people experience after buying from or dealing with your company.
A CRM software helps in tracking processes, addressing issues and further execution of complaints. With CRM software you can always check in with your clients additional purchases. By investigating the pattern of these additional purchases can induce the growth of the sales in the future.
CRM Software Helps Improve Sales in Your Business in the following ways:
1. Remote Access –
Adopting this system the company can easily access the system from anywhere in the world. The user only needs internet connectivity, login credentials, and a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone to access the data.
2. Easy installation –
Fixing the CRM with the company’s system is very easy. The company does not need to be required to install any hardware on the server with it. The company just needs only an internet connection to access it.
3. Secure –
Security is very high in cloud-based CRM compared with your old on-premise CRM or you can say the old traditional method of keeping the data of the customer of the company.
4. Cost Effective –
Using an online CRM system will help the company in various ways by cutting the cost of the company. It would be very cost-bearing for the company while using the traditional method of keeping the records of a large number of customers in traditional or on-premise CRM.
5. Customer’s Feedback –
Taking feedback from customers means email or SMS is part of CRM that was customer relationship management software.
6. Customer Retention –
By using CRM the company can maintain the relationship with existing and potential customers, for example, by giving offers on a regular basis to potential customers to attract them and giving renewal subscriptions to all existing customers if they already use the services before.
Read More – Online CRM Software
The company which uses CRM software and expands its business is-
1. Amazon –
Throughout the past years, E-Commerce company Amazon has become the go-to online platform for online shopping. The main reason for this is Amazon’s using a CRM system from the very beginning. Amazon is one of the companies in the world that uses CRM well to harness customer data to instantly customize users’ online experience.
Whenever a customer purchases an item from Amazon, the customer needs to set up a personal account. Then, Amazon can track the purchases and browsing history to tailor marketing campaigns and email campaigns based on things the customer will probably like.
Moreover, the customer can configure his/her account to set up purchases in one click. This is one of Amazon’s best features and customers appreciate it as it significantly speeds up the checkout process when making a purchase.
2. Apple –
Customer Relationship Management plays a major role in Apple’s growth strategy.
If the customer used an Apple device, every customer had to register it using an Apple ID. An Apple ID is an account the customer use to access Apple services like the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and more.
These unique IDs synchronize across devices, save film and preferences, and provide recommendations based on customer likeness. For users, this is convenient. For Apple, it’s a tool that provides insights into what customers like and dislike and it can be used for targeted marketing.
3. Coca-Cola –
This giant company Coca- Cola uses CRM to promote collaboration and deal with customer issues quickly and efficiently.
By using the CRM platform, every member of a Coca-Cola team can identify issues, and social, media, and monitor customer behaviour to promote offers and promotions.
4. Activision –
Activision is a big industry in the video that uses CRM to connect with gamers via social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. By using the CRM system, the company was able to:
- Reduce customer service-related expenses by 25%,
- Resolve 85 % of customer-related issues through online self-service,
- Improve communications with all of its gaming members and community,
- Reduce overhead costs
5. Tesco –
In recent years Tescouses a Clubcard to reward its most loyal customers. For every dollar spent, a customer or user earns a point. These points can later be traded in for Tesco Clubcard ‘vouchers’ and vouchers can then be traded in for rewards. Tesco has partnerships with many hotels, and restaurants thus giving users more opportunities to earn points.
There are programs available for all family members: Tesco Kids Club, Tesco Baby and, Toddler Club, etc.
Tesco uses this for targeted marketing actions and there are over forty lakh variations of its quarterly mailing to ensure that discounts and offers are personalized for each user.
Conclusion
CRM software helps the company in a multiway in promoting and increasing its lead generation. It helps the sales department in making and helping the new user by giving offers and at the same time retaining the old customers by giving the remainder of the old subscription.
