Will A CRM Help My Business?
Juhl T. Lenard ?? ??
?? Founder at GetCrystalizedAgency.com | Trusted Marketing Tech Advisor for Growth-Stage Founders ?? Empowering Founder Autonomy ?? Connect for High-ROI, Marketing Solutions That Streamline Operations and Drive Growth
"It's all about building relationships. Relationships are the currency of business."
?- Richard Branson
Have You Ever Considered Adding a CRM to your business?? Well if relationships are the currency of business, then a CRM is your investment portfolio.? A CRM or Customer Relationship Management tool holds all your customer data and interactions, making them readily accessible and usable for building stronger relationships.? Depending on the maturity of your customer relationship strategy and the capabilities of your CRM platform, you can also nurture, track and manage these “investments”, ensuring you pay proper attention to? high-potential relationships and maximize returns on your time and energy.?
So how does a busy entrepreneur best get started with this tool?? What is Your Next Move??
Your Next Move is to make certain that you have a customer relationship strategy defined.
I know this probably wasn’t the answer you may have been expecting.? But remember that our goal with this newsletter is always to convert the “soundbites” from our Entrepreneur Thought Leaders and implement them in a productive and effective way to create the right results, sooner.??
The reality is that investing in a CRM without a customer relationship strategy defined is a waste of time, energy and effort.? It is also painful to invest the time, energy and effort only to find that you are not generating the results that you were expecting.? I have lived through this multiple times myself and it is painful, frustrating and counter-productive.? Did I learn from the experience?? Yes.? It’s called “bought sense” and I’ve paid the price.? The Lesson? ? Strategy always precedes a tool.??
The internet is filled with entrepreneur thought leaders and other experts who will sell you the process for what they’ve done.? The challenge is that it will probably take you just as long to get up-to-speed with their system as it would for you to create your own basic process.? The reason is that your business may or may not be at the same maturity level and even if they start you out with the very basics, it’s still not the best use of your time.? Your time is be better spent studying YOUR ideal customer avatar and the problems YOUR product solves so that you can begin evolving your business.? Spoiler Alert:? No matter what program you purchase you have to do this work anyway. ??
How Do I Create A Customer Relationship Strategy??
A Customer Relationship Strategy is simply a framework that allows you to intentionally create a sequence of exposures for a potential customer. By having an established customer relationship strategy defined upfront, every aspect of relationship building will become easier and more effective.
First, define what an ideal interaction would be for you with your ideal customer.? Do you like face-to-face interaction, prefer to talk on the phone or is live chat more congruent with the way you prefer to do business?? You want to create a strategy that is as enjoyable for you as it will be for your potential customers.??
Next, think about your ideal customer and the problem you solve for them.? What is the most effective way for you to take them by the hand and welcome them into your business ecosystem?? Can you automate any of that process such as sending along information with an email or text autoresponse or gathering more detail about their problem in a lead capture form?? Which digital assets do you want to send them and when is the best place in the process to do so. For example, a brand new lead may need to be warmed up with your latest case study before checking out your catalog. Your customer relationship strategy would identify the best tool for the best point in the process. You may also find that there is a tool that would be even better that you haven't created yet. ??
When I started my business I tried to promote my full suite of capabilities.? When I began to look at how I would deliver my product to clients I realized that to promote that offering required more time than I had available.? I would never meet my revenue goals based on that approach.? This decision changed everything about how I planned to market my business including my ideal customer avatar, my website, marketing messaging in general and for cold calling, onboarding approach, everything changed.? This is why it is a crucial 1st step.?
Sure you can go out today and invest in a cool new CRM app but if it is not configured to support your business what is the point?? The marketing of CRM products promises the world but this ideal state can only be realized if you begin with the end in mind.? I know this is disappointing to hear because it’s the long game not the quick way we would all like it to be.? But there is a benefit.? Once you have taken this approach to establishing a solid framework for? your customer relationship strategy, your lead acquisition, nurturing and conversion game will run like a well-oiled machine,? And then guess what you’ll be positioned to do?? Scale!
A properly configured CRM is like a turbo boost to your relationship building activities.? Why? Because your CRM allows you to control the process and manage the conversation and exposure process of a new relationship. As far as I am concerned every new relationship is a potential lead for my business and it is my responsibility as a savvy entrepreneur to make certain that I make it as easy as possible for people to get to know what I do.? Having a well-defined customer relationship strategy has helped me to have absolute clarity on the value that I bring to the table and clarity builds confidence. With confidence all customer relationship building experiences improve.
Think about it.? I’d be willing to bet that if you look back over your past relationships of any type, romantic, business, family or otherwise, you’ll find that a pattern emerges.? Relationships with people who are clearly confident in their abilities, authentic and curious about you are the most fun.? In these relationships are the best conversations, you learn the most about the person you are connecting with and sometimes you even learn something new about yourself.? These are the types of relationships we want to have in business.??
Over time (and error) I’ve been able to discern the importance of the customer relationship strategy and the confidence it creates.? But in the beginning, ?I really did not have a great degree of confidence on how to articulate what it is that I did to help businesses.? I knew for a fact that I could help businesses because I was creating results and customers were delighted, but I still was not clear on how to share how I was helping because each case was different.? I needed an entry point, a “hook” that would make it easy for me to be confident, open the conversation and let someone into my world.??
Once I had established the value I was bringing through creating my customer relationship strategy, it allowed me to confidently go forth and connect with people to learn what problems they were having and how I may be able to help.? Since we don’t know whether or not a person has or will ever have a need for our services, the better and more succinct we are able to explain what we do, the greater the chances they will remember us when they hear about the problem we solve.? This, my friend, is lead nurturing in action.? With the power of a properly configured Customer Relationship System at your fingertips, you can stay connected with your leads until they “Buy or Die.”? With the same or less effort than you are investing today on your sales and marketing activities you can create a well-oiled customer relationship building machine.
So Will A CRM Help Your Business?? Heck Yeah!?
With this caveat . . . it must be a well-configured CRM built based on a customer relationship strategy/framework that you define that is tailored to your business.? That being said, implementing a CRM system can bring significant improvements to small businesses, and there's a wealth of statistics to support this claim. Here are some key areas where CRMs excel, along with statistics highlighting their impact:
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Increased sales: CRM software can boost sales by 29%, with upselling and cross-selling efforts improving by 39%. Additionally, conversion rates jump by up to 300%. (Source: WebFX, Finances Online)
Improved productivity: CRMs streamline processes, leading to a 34% increase in productivity and a reduction in sales cycle time by 8-14%. (Source: WebFX, BIGContacts)
Enhanced customer retention: CRMs can improve customer retention by 27% by fostering better relationships and personalized interactions. (Source: FiveCRM, BIGContacts)
Increased customer satisfaction: 74% of businesses report improved customer relationships after implementing a CRM, leading to higher satisfaction. (Source: FiveCRM)
Improved communication: CRMs facilitate seamless communication and information sharing within the team, leading to a 57% increase in communication quality. (Source: WebFX)
Better data management: 74% of businesses say CRMs improve access to customer data, leading to data-driven decision making. (Source: WebFX)
Increased productivity: Overall business productivity improves by 60% with CRM usage, freeing up time for core tasks. (Source: WebFX)
Increased ROI: The average return on investment for CRM is a whopping $8.71 for every dollar spent. (Source: BIGContacts)
Hopefully, this article has helped you to see a different perspective related to the Customer Relationship Building aspect of business and the pivotal role a CRM may play in your success.? Your Next Move is to define your? Customer Relationship Strategy.
Need more support?? Consider joining the private Your Next Move Entrepreneur Working Group here on LinkedIn and let's work together.? I specifically created this private group to provide a safe space to go through the actions suggested in this newsletter and grow together.? Comment below your thoughts on this approach to building customer relationships and turbo-charging those relationships with a CRM.??
Share your comments and feedback below.??
All the Best,?
Juhl T. Lenard
Sources:
Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/crm/
BIGContacts: https://www.bigcontacts.com/blog/crm-integration/