There are so many different benefits to implementing a CRM system. No matter the size of your business or the industry you operate in, a CRM solution is a great tool for boosting sales and marketing productivity. But business leaders want to know the specifics. What issues can CRM address? What existing problems can CRM help mitigate, or (ideally) solve? If your company is struggling with handling various business functions, or you’re simply looking to learn more about CRM, here are 9 business problems that CRM solves.
Messy, Decentralized Data
One of the biggest challenges businesses can face is dealing with messy, haphazardly organized data. This can become a much more serious issue when you’re looking for important sales information, but have to look through dozens of various documents, charts, and spreadsheets. A CRM solution will centralize all your data and make it easier for you to find what you need, exactly when you need it.
Irregular Workflows
Having a CRM solution means you can standardize the workflows of various tasks and assignments. When every employee knows how they should proceed with specific tasks, and knows how to enter specific data into the system, it allows for less confusion and increased productivity. When employees know what to expect from each other and know what to expect from their CRM, their work will go much smoother.
Lackluster Customer Service
It can be challenging to provide quality customer service without service-oriented tools and features. Luckily, many CRM solutions offer a variety of service functionalities. This includes features like customer ticketing, built-in phone and messaging, conversational bots, customer journey management, and more. Many CRMs are developed with specific needs or industries in mind, so it’s easy to find solutions that are heavily focused on customer service.
Inaccurate Sales Forecasting
One of the greatest ways CRM can help your business is by consolidating data gathered from a variety of sources, and using that data to predict your future sales. CRM can analyze past sales trends and habits, predict achievable sales revenue, and help your business plan for future growth. This is a vital feature for all businesses at the enterprise level.
Low Remote Work Productivity
With cloud-based CRM solutions, it’s much easier for employees to work from home, or access important documents while away on business trips. They simply need a laptop and internet access. It’s also become increasingly popular for CRM vendors to offer mobile CRM solutions that take advantage of mobile features such as the GPS and camera. This also means that employees can be productive with a single mobile device, as opposed to bringing a laptop.
Lacking Social Insights
As a business, it’s important to be present on and aware of social media. If your organization has been struggling to find appropriate tools to monitor the social scene, look no further. CRM solutions come with a variety of features dedicated to social media management and marketing. You can schedule posts, access analytics, monitor your competitors, and much more. Depending on your individual needs, you can find a solution that focuses heavily on social capabilities as opposed to sales or customer service.
Bad Customer Communication
CRM is a great way to improve your communication with your leads, clients, and potential customers. You can easily call, message, or email your contacts from a single location. Easily access a log of all your previous interactions with that contact, or access a customer’s existing purchase history to quickly address any of their questions or concerns. Many CRMs will also let you respond through social media messaging systems.
Little to No Sales and Marketing Collaboration
Because CRM centralizes different processes and data, it’s a great way to encourage or improve communication between your marketing and sales teams. Without the marketing team, sales wouldn’t have anyone to follow up with. Without the sales team, marketing doesn’t have a clear goal. They’re strongly connected, but are often completely separate from each other in a business setting. With CRM, communication and sharing information becomes easier.
Lackluster Reporting
Your CRM can provide you with real-time reports based on your sales and marketing data. Many solutions also allow you to create custom reports with charts, graphs, and other visual aides. This is particularly helpful for users who have frequent meetings. With CRM you can easily and quickly create professional-looking, meeting-ready reports based on up-to-date data.
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Anna Birna Turner