How to Use a CRM Effectively

There are a lot of businesses that depend on their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. It’s not just used to manage their customer relationship, it also helps with production, invoicing, operations, human resources, and more. Today, we’ll take a look at the CRM and see how strategic use of this platform can help build your business. 

The Concept of a CRM Strategy

With so many businesses relying on a CRM, it’s important to find a strategy that works to optimize your use of the software. Here are a few ways a CRM can work to help your business:

• It condenses data in context to help you be able to use it for reference. 
• As its name suggests, a CRM helps manage the company’s customer interactions.
• Eliminating redundancy, it helps promote an efficient sales process. 

A CRM Strategy that works, starts with a plan. Here are some tips on how to go about planning out a solid strategy:

1. Understand Your Goals and Strategize For Them
   What are your business’ goals? How can you use your CRM to make those goals possible? When you have considered what exactly you want and how you want to go about it, you should start setting up your CRM to reach these goals. 
   
   
2. Analyze and Organize Your Team
   Your staff may not always share your optimism when incorporating new software, but when rolling out your CRM, you need to make them understand how it will change their jobs, and how the software will change the business as a whole.
   
   To get the best results you will need to set expectations early, so that your team knows their specific roles in the use of the CRM. Additionally, you will want to set some easy-to-track key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you measure the progress they are making.
   
   
3. Implementing Your New Solution and Strategy
   You will want to determine how the different accounts will be divided up within your CRM and concoct a policy of collecting all the information you need from a contact that is going to be included. You should also strongly consider mapping out your sales processes for each of your services so it is easier to manage your brewing business.
   
   It is also a good idea to keep your software requirements in mind when selecting your CRM, as you will want to select a title that plays nicely with your existing solutions. Is your chosen email platform Outlook? You’ll want to be sure to find one with a built-in integration.

If you need help rolling out a new CRM, or setting up your CRM strategy, the knowledgeable experts at SMART Services can help. Call us today at 586 258-0650 to talk to one of our consultants about CRM best practices and management tips.