Simply put, a CRM (customer relationship management) is a software that manages relationships with customers or potential customers.
- What is a CRM software?
A CRM allows a company (or even a self-employed individual) to digitize and automate contacts and interactions with its customer. It connects with an interactive database with portals for its sales and marketing, as well as management, for both face-to-face and online contacts. It may include customer service, after-sales service, operations, accounting, and accounts receivable as needed.
- What is a CRM for?
The CRM collects useful and personalized data for each customer beyond their name and basic contact information. This allows companies to better know their customers in a specific way and with suitable marketing segments. This data will be valuable for sales and marketing and to provide an opportunity to automate certain contacts. Personalization of interactions and relationships should lead to better customer retention, as well as increasing sales and customer satisfaction in general.
- Which CRM is right for me?
You probably know the name of Salesforce, the world’s leader in the CRM space. There is also Oracle CX, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Workbooks, Bitrix24 and many more. There are in fact hundreds, and we have even worked with clients with customization or custom designed CRM. There are smaller players and free CRMs with freemium payment models that can help small businesses scale up. KP TAX is an expert in CRM selection and can advise you which CRM is best suited for your current and future needs.
Some CRMs now incorporate artificial intelligence (AI). Let’s use real, artificial, affective, relational, and emotional intelligence to not only pull strings and profit (businesses can do more than seek profit at all costs), but to create and solidify real bonds of trust with a growing clientele.
- Setup and Implementation
Besides the selection, the work does not stop there. The CRM (customized or not) must be configured for your needs in view of your business model, your team, your products and services, strategy, and customer realities.
The implementation must also plan for training, change management, human resources, communication, project and performance evaluation, IT, and more. A key component will be the configuration of useful dashboards to analyze the new customer and sales date to take action for your business and customer satisfaction.
Hope this short overview of the potential of implementing a new CRM or better using the potential of your current CRM is useful. The hope is to use tailored technology to build better relationships, reliability, specificity, and trust. Doing this you will maximize your performance in marketing, operations, and sales, while reducing cost, time, and headaches!
In Quebec and Canada, we also currently have government programs (over $1 billion) to help fund the planning and implementation of CRM software and/or other technologies for your business if you are eligible.
Contact us for more information.
Christian
Business Consultant
KP TAX
2023.07.13
