Customer relationship management (CRM) is a business strategy geared toward improving customer satisfaction and loyalty by delivering experiences that are unique to each person. This is achieved by combining technology, processes, and collaboration between departments.
In the past, maintaining these relationships required manual labor and effort. Businesses used to keep customer contact information on filing cabinets, rolodexes and spreadsheets. They were not shared with other departments and often led to lost sales opportunities and miscommunication. With the advent of new marketing-technology platforms that provide a central database for customer data, keeping track of relationships is much simpler and more effective. These are referred to as CRM systems.
CRM tools are designed to centralize and streamline customer data to make it easier for individuals and teams to work together and nurture leads, enhancing the overall marketing and sales funnel. In addition to capturing customer and lead interactions, CRMs assist companies to identify the best potential leads by scoring them and prioritizing them, ensuring that salespeople only get in touch with qualified prospects. This can result in higher conversion rates, purchase value and speed of closing. it takes to close a sale.
Personalization is a key element of a CRM system that lets customers know that they are valued by the company. From sending a personalized thank you note after an acquisition, to tailoring the product or service to satisfy the needs of a specific customer that creates a feeling of connection that encourages the purchase of more products and brands, as well as brand loyalty.