Typically, you’ll find that a business has:
• One or more databases – e.g. email, customer, mobile, or call centre databases.
• A point of sale system where product purchase data is stored.
• Various forms of web data – from display or search networks, keyword research, site analytics, social media or email marketing.
• Social media profiles on sites like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (which can also be considered databases of sorts).
CRM software can be used to automate lead and sales processes, and to collect all of this customer information in a centralised place, allowing a company to get a holistic view of the customer – from this, meaningful data insights can emerge.
Organisations can be large, and a customer often speaks to several members of the organisation, depending on the nature of the communication. It would be extremely frustrating for the customer to have to explain all previous dealings with the organisation each time, and equally frustrating for an organisation not to know who has spoken previously with a customer and what was dealt with. This could be a touchpoint at which a company falls down, and leaves a less than positive impression with the customer.
Fortunately, there are many technological options that help to record all this information in one place. Most of these services can also schedule elements of the sales process, and set reminders where appropriate for follow-up action.
Some notable examples include SalesForce (www.salesforce.com), Genius (www.genius.com) and Highrise (www.highrisehq.com) from 37 signals. Bespoke technology tailored to business problems can have remarkable results.
• One or more databases – e.g. email, customer, mobile, or call centre databases.
• A point of sale system where product purchase data is stored.
• Various forms of web data – from display or search networks, keyword research, site analytics, social media or email marketing.
• Social media profiles on sites like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (which can also be considered databases of sorts).
CRM software can be used to automate lead and sales processes, and to collect all of this customer information in a centralised place, allowing a company to get a holistic view of the customer – from this, meaningful data insights can emerge.
Organisations can be large, and a customer often speaks to several members of the organisation, depending on the nature of the communication. It would be extremely frustrating for the customer to have to explain all previous dealings with the organisation each time, and equally frustrating for an organisation not to know who has spoken previously with a customer and what was dealt with. This could be a touchpoint at which a company falls down, and leaves a less than positive impression with the customer.
Fortunately, there are many technological options that help to record all this information in one place. Most of these services can also schedule elements of the sales process, and set reminders where appropriate for follow-up action.
Some notable examples include SalesForce (www.salesforce.com), Genius (www.genius.com) and Highrise (www.highrisehq.com) from 37 signals. Bespoke technology tailored to business problems can have remarkable results.
