The Importance of a CRM

Before we get started…

Recently we talked about some important topics

  1. Your Brand Identity
  2. Hashtags & SEO
  3. Direct Response Marketing

All these things that a business does to show prospects WHO they are and HOW we got in front of that prospect are great however its important to remember what to do next and WHERE to keep those prospects once they interact with your company. This is where a great CRM comes into play.

What is a CRM you ask?

CRM stands for Client Relationship Management, simply a tool to manage a businesses leads, prospects, customers, clients, referrals, and all other business relationships within a centralized database. Using this tool effectively and consistently is key to improve relationships with customers, by specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving new sales growth.

Not all CRM’s are created equally. When choosing a CRM its best to focus on how you will use it to benefit you and your work style. Some CRM’s are too advanced for some businesses and others don’t do enough. The key is to figure out what is important to your organization and work from there.

The features of a quality CRM should compile data from a range of different communication channels, including a company’s website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials, and social media. Through the CRM, businesses learn more about their target audiences, can automate their communication, and can improve their support and customer follow up, all within the same system.

A quality CRM gives you a 360-degree view of your customer. Here are 6 exampled:

  1. Marketing
    • Most software will allow you to market to your list in a variety of ways and then generate reports for you to see what worked and what you can improve on.
  2. Leads
    • You can add a lead into your CRM and know where they came from at a glance, how many times you have touched that lead and even know when that lead turned into a prospect and then into a client.
  3. Clients
    • Once that lead becomes a client you can continue to track that relationship, whether they are a repeat customer or a one-time customer. You can massage that relationship within your CRM.
  4. Referrals
    • You can track the source of your leads/clients easily with a CRM. This way you can market to each source/category easily with a touch of a button.
  5. Prospects
    • These are leads that have “raised their hand” so to speak and have communicated with you in some aspect and are now a prospective to become a client/customer.
  6. Analysis
    • This is key to any CRM because it can allow you to analyze all aspects of your list. It can show you click rates on your last email blast to how many clients you obtained last month. Always check your marketing strategies and analyze them to see what worked and what needs improvement.

The features of a Quality CRM should draw data from a range of channels including but not limited to:

  • Company’s Website
  • Telephone
  • Email
  • LiveChat
  • Marketing Materials
  • Social Media

This allows businesses to learn more about their target audience and automate their communication with their audience and work on improving their support and follow up all within the same system.

Lets focus on FEATURES. Here are 25 features of the CRM what BT Web Group uses:

  1. Contact Management
  2. List Segmentation
  3. Mass Marketing Assistance
  4. To Do’s & Reminders
  5. Mail Merge
  6. Calendar
  7. Mobile App compatible
  8. Automate Workflows
  9. Monthly Newsletters
  10. Quick Client Search
  11. Agenda Assistant
  12. Birthday Assistant
  13. Client Referral Tree
  14. To Do Plans
  15. Team Organization
  16. Sales Funnels
  17. Lead Capture Pages
  18. Auto-responders
  19. Smart Links
  20. Social Media Integration
  21. Free recorded messages
  22. Important Attachments
  23. Deal Flow Management
  24. Reporting
  25. Friendly Support

Let us help you get started. All you need to do give us a call and we can do a no obligation consultation on your business and get your CRM set up seamlessly. Start collective and interacting with your clients TODAY!

Mary Beth Chief Operating Officer

Written By

Mary Beth Evans – Chief Operating Officer

Contact BT Web Group for all your Digital Marketing and Web Design needs. We’re located in Lexington, KY

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