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When CRM Companies Blend Customer Service, Sales Data - You Get Greater Retention
While both processes share a goal for enhancing customer service and satisfaction, make note that some organizations haven’t yet smoothly integrated their infrastructure toward customer service with the applications and software they’ve purchased from a CRM company.
The result? If this is the case at your organization, sales may be lost due to misinformation or incomplete information. Your level of customer loyalty suffers, as does the chance for building a more significant relationship with your customer.
Good news – new enhancements to the offerings from CRM companies can create a stronger flow between your CRM system and the infrastructure across your sales and customer service processes.
As you explore CRM companies, consider the format of your own operations toward customer service. Does each department – from sales and marketing to customer service and fulfillment – have its own separate idea of a quality relationship with your customer? If so, then they are likely to focus on certain parts of your CRM system that help them achieve the results they want, instead of a collective approach that seeks to maximize your total customer experience.
What are CRM companies doing to help you fix this challenge? In general, they are moving toward a trend to better marry CRM applications with your systems for service and support. Part of this shift comes from the fact that you, and your peers, can shop more freely for individual packages, applications and tools right from your computer. The leaders in CRM companies are competing to help you create a lasting sense of loyalty and integration for your customers, as well as across your team departments.
In fact, in recent years, the trend for CRM companies has shifted to three core areas: your level of customer loyalty, helping you achieve a very satisfied customer, and helping you maintain that customer. Especially in tougher economic conditions, these objectives may be gaining more importance to many CRM companies as they work to retain your business, beyond even reducing costs and generating revenue.
One way this shift has played out is a larger menu of applications and add-ons you can choose from. For example, some CRM companies can give you self-service tools that are also integrated with modules sales personnel can use for scheduling their next steps. Communication modules can also be blended into the mix, such as email applications, as well as ways to link up with your inbound and outbound call center staff.
Leading CRM companies can also give you service groups designated for helping blend your telephony with customer service case management, sales analytics and help you conduct surveys to provide your sales team with vital information – all the while putting this data into a central location.
If your call agents can put information directly into your CRM process, you can forward things like sales questions or complaints directly to your sales staff. When a resolution is reached, your sales staff knows immediately and can modify their customer approach accordingly. CRM companies are also allowing more freedom to lower call time and make customer conversations more tailored by letting agents view a detailed screen pop of customer information.
This year, watch for better blending of CRM company strategies with customer data and sales team details so that you can create a favorable environment for cross-sells and additional customer offers – and ultimately, greater customer retention and loyalty.
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