Customers are the lifeblood of any business, which is why companies should have clear strategies regarding their customer relationship management (CRM).

One way to do this is by using CRM software. These programs gather all the data regarding your customers and prospective clients in one place. It can also assist you in going digital with your marketing plans and sales funnels, thereby saving your company some much-needed resources.

CRM can also boost productivity and efficiency, encourage employee cooperation, and improve customer satisfaction. However, there’s so much more that a CRM can do for your business.

5 Reasons Your Business Needs CRM

1. Develop a Solid Contact Information Hub

Tracking down information about a client or a prospect is challenging and time-confusing, especially if you have to look at multiple programs. Investing in a reliable CRM system will keep all the information you need in a centralized location.

More importantly, a CRM solution will keep individual files of every customer, and these can be added to every time a staff interacts with them. Employees can add data regarding phone calls made to the customer, emails sent, contracts signed, etc. Every team member can have access to this data and be able to update it so everyone is on the same page.

2. Ensures Reliable After Sales Support

Brands know how important it is to keep their customers. However, ensuring they remain happy is a job that extends beyond closing a deal.

Let’s say an irate customer made a complaint but your support team says the issue has been resolved. How will you know which side is right? This dilemma happens when there’s no clear documentation or steps on how to provide reliable after-sales support. You could lose customers and prospects because of this.

CRM can prevent this from happening as it allows you to track the status of clients and add support tickets. If the support team fails to resolve a complaint or misses a deadline, the software will send notice to the relevant manager. Action can then be taken before the problem escalates. It also ensures that everyone on the team is held accountable and provides you with a way to track an employee’s effectiveness.

3. Reduces Risks Created by Turnovers

Employee turnovers are inevitable in every company. Unfortunately, these situations do create risks for a brand. Let’s say a new sales representative takes over; the sudden change could result in dropped deals, prospective and existing customers not being contacted, and missed sales targets.

These risks can be reduced with CRM. In the event of a customer service or sales rep turnover, the system can shift accounts and leads to other sales personnel or support representatives in just minutes. The smooth transfer of responsibilities also means the odds of someone dropping the ball drastically goes down.

4. Reduces Carbon Footprint

The right CRM software will reduce your company’s carbon footprint since you’ll be doing away with paper. The software will assist you in managing your mail, projects, and other documents, and keep it on one platform that you can easily access. More importantly, all your company’s sensitive documents will be stored in the cloud or on a secure server. This ensures that crucial customer information won’t be lost, misplaced, or destroyed accidentally.

5. Assists You in Planning Ahead

Managers are only too aware of the hassle of a team member forgetting to follow-up a lead. This type of problem is resolved with a CRM tool. The software can help you plan any sales and marketing activities in advance or set-up tasks that you need to accomplish daily. The system will also remind you of pending tasks and the time frame for it.

Never underestimate what CRM can do for your business. With it, you can turn your company into a more efficient and profitable venture. It will also give you an advantage over your competitors in today’s multi-channel business environment.