Successfully Leveraging The Power of Your CRM System

It seems simple enough: “the customer is always right”. A focus on the customer is often a core component of business strategy; most companies strive to provide fantastic customer service. However, many find that the day-to-day experience of grappling with customer needs is challenging, to say the least. Once a company starts to grow, excel spreadsheets, email chains, and notes simply aren’t enough to record and manage all relevant customer data, let alone analyze it in order to provide excellent customer service.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software means putting your relationship with your clients front and center by leveraging the power of data. This software enhances and streamlines your customer data collection, management, and usage. From tracking and facilitating communications to creating actionable insights, CRM systems bring customer interactions into the 21st century. Many businesses turn to the power of this technology to ensure that they are getting the most from their clients. In fact, 65% of companies get a CRM system within the first five years of their inception.

In the digital age, a CRM tool has become essential to achieving streamlined, customer-centric success. Statistics show that CRM tools can increase customer satisfaction by 74% and boost lead conversion by up to 300% while increasing sales value by 40%. Once that lead is converted into a customer, CRM tools are also able to track their buying behavior; everything from purchasing habits to frequency. This enables the company to look back at the relevant purchase history and offer similar products and deals. Fantastic scope for profit increase lies herein, as returning customers tend to buy more over time. As per Bain & Company’s recent report, a 5% increase in customer retention can result in a 25% increase in profit. Compelling numbers, to say the least.

So, we know that CRMs are fantastic tools, which have been widely adopted by businesses worldwide. However, some are yet to follow suit. As businesses modernize and innovate in spirit, it can be difficult to do the same with actual software systems. Integrations of new technology alongside a company’s existing suite of software can be clunky, difficult and costly. Integrating a new system is a big project. That’s not all. Once it’s implemented, the business incurs training costs as staff are caught up to speed on the usage of the software. In many ways, it can change the culture of a firm. It’s a new structure and procedure, and users have to adapt to that as best as possible.

Leveraging CRM is a big project, but it is absolutely worthwhile. Once the tool is implemented, it’s of vital importance to ensure that the company is using it correctly and achieving its full functionality. If you’ve invested time and money into this system, it only makes sense to use it to its best. A system like WalkMe invisibly overlies existing systems, and analyses and calibrates user behavior to ensure that every individual is using their CRM system correctly, to its full potential. And what does that potential look like? There’s a huge range of use and functionality of a CRM system, which will ensure that a company gets the most from its investment. Our top picks for CRM functionality and power are:

Profit: Reduce Inefficiencies, Identify Opportunity

“Research shows that ROI on a properly integrated CRM solution can range from about $2.50 to $5.60 on every dollar invested” - Inc..

At the end of the day, numbers are what matter. It has been shown, over and over, that CRM can increase profit. Whether it’s an 87% improvement in sales, or that CRM can increase revenue by 41% per salesperson, it’s a profitable area. With so much room for potential growth, it’s simply a case of ensuring you have a smart system and well-trained users. As the quote above notes, it’s important for the solution to be “properly integrated”. WalkMe ensures that this is exactly the case, allowing users to get the absolute most from their CRM technology with insights driven by Artificial Intelligence.

Client Service Quality: A Transformation

CRM systems can be used to rapidly and dramatically enhance the customer experience. From storing and following through on customer information and communication preferences, to creating individualized experiences for the clients, CRM systems have it covered. This creates a smooth and unified customer service experience, improving the reputation of your brand and the customer experience in one fell swoop.

The more information a company can leverage to improve the customer experience, the better. After all, knowledge is power. And what is knowledge composed of? Information. In the age of connectivity, the correct collection and usage of information about your clients is key. Using customer data allows companies to create customized, personalized experiences for their clients, which delivers real value

User Productivity: Focusing on What Matters

Centralizing your client information is key to increasing salesperson productivity. Imagine desperately searching through past communication across various channels and excel spreadsheets in order to access the latest information about a client. This is a sure way to create confusion and chaos in the workplace. One system which organizes and presents relevant information is simply the logical solution for a streamlined business process.

Better yet, a CRM system will be able to identify and track which processes are most time consuming, and also improve them. Increases in productivity flow naturally from a more organized system. This is because with a CRM system, users can focus on the aims, KPIs, and outcomes of the tasks themselves, instead of the administrative tasks around that. In fact, reports by Forrester found that CRM systems can provide a 50% boost to productivity while cutting labor costs by around 20 percent. Focus on this, to get the most out of your CRM system. Indeed, systems like WalkMe accelerate CRM training, to achieve these productivity increases as efficiently as possible.

Cross-device Application: Data on-the-go

With further range and reach, CRM systems are now adapted to many different devices. A mobile version of the CRM system allows users to see all necessary information on the go. This has fantastic potential outcomes; CRM decision-makers agree that their productivity increased by 14.6% thanks to the use of mobile CRM. With all that data and power at the fingertips of strategic CRM-minds, it’s no wonder they are able to leverage it so successfully. Likewise, WalkMe is spread across web, mobile and desktop applications, so no base is left uncovered when optimizing CRM performance.

Reporting: Uncover the best strategy

Understanding which actions drive sales allows companies to prune, change and improve their strategy accordingly, creating more valuable customer-interaction scripts and set behaviors. Insights into this are easily gathered and analyzed with CRM systems. However, as with any system, the reports and insights are only as good as the raw data collected from your users. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that all processes are respected and carried out correctly. People often don't even realize they’re using a system incorrectly. WalkMe addresses this issue directly, with a built-in monitoring system that checks that users are utilizing the CRM optimally.

Automation: Work Smart

Nobody enjoys repetitive tasks, but they’re sometimes necessary. Those necessary repetitions are the perfect candidates for automated completion by CRM systems. The users, your employees, are then free to take on engaging, interesting tasks. This improves both productivity and employee happiness. Creativity is also encouraged by exploring new and interactive tasks. Creative staff are happier and are able to deliver excellent customer service to your clients, leaving a lasting impression and improving brand reputation. Beyond this, WalkMe can automate cross-platform processes, creating synergy and cohesion across a broad range of systems and tech.

How You Can Adapt

Overall, the importance of a strong CRM system is undeniable. However, the proper implementation and integration of that system is just as important, though lesser-acknowledged. Ensure that you’re getting the absolute most out of your investment by focusing on the key benefits that CRM systems can provide while ensuring that the system is being used to the best of its potential. Utilize WalkMe to solidify and improve your investment.

 Gilles Fransen, Founder, DGTL Ventures