The simplest definition of CRM software (Customer Relationship Management) is that CRM is a combination of technologies, strategies and practices that companies use to collect and analyze all information related to customers, with a goal to improve service and increase sales.
In the following, we have explained the meaning, workings and features of a CRM software detail.
The Evolution of Customer Relationship Management
How does a CRM software work?
How does it help your business?
Why is a CRM solution essential for your company?
Features of a Cloud-based CRM software
CRM implementation models
Customer Relationship Management practices
Business benefits of using a CRM system
Which industries use CRM?
CRM business value & industry trends
Choosing the right CRM for your business
About CentraHub CRM
Why choose CentraHub CRM software?
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is a practice used by organizations to manage interactions with their potential customers. Using CRM systems, businesses can focus on improving the relationship between their organization and the buyers, service users and suppliers. This includes designing effective marketing strategies, finding new customers and offering them the support they need throughout the relationship.
The CRM concept began in the early 1970s, before which tracking of customer interactions was more like a guessing game. CRM software has since undergone a sea of changes to reach the potential it has today. The first CRM software was a simple system that allowed users to create databases to organize and categorize customer information into spreadsheets and lists.
It was during the early 1980s that the first modern CRM software emerged, introducing marketing concept for databases. The CRM system was only able to collect customer data until the 1990s, after which it gradually became more accessible enabling businesses to use their customer information in actionable ways.
The current cloud-based CRM software has the most exciting approach. It provides mobility and multi-functionality, helping businesses generate sales from customer data.
CRM systems collect customer data from multiple sources and channels. All of this information is collected and stored in a single database to ensure that all departments, including sales, customer service and marketing staff, have its access and use it to improve customer relationships and drive performance.
BI (Business Intelligence) powered CRM software can automate everyday administrative tasks and free up time for employees to engage in more value-added activities.
Further, the CRM tool can efficiently generate business reports to provide better insights into each operation, allowing them to find new customers faster as well as keeping existing customers happy.
A CRM software helps companies monitor their customer contact information such as names, phone numbers, emails and addresses, while also keeping track of their activities like purchase preferences, time and duration of their store visit, returns and more.
CRM systems also help companies stay connected to their customers, streamline the sales, marketing and support processes to improve productivity and profitability.
More organized operations mean spending less time in administering them. This time saving is important to allow the team to focus on activities that can actually improve customer relationships, close more deals efficiently and boost marketing campaign effectiveness.
CRM software can be integrated with various systems and actively manage the huge amounts of customer data acquired from multiple sources, to successfully increase sales and marketing returns while keeping the operating cost low.
CRM systems can be used by any organization that deals with external interactions and relationships. From growing businesses to large enterprises, CRM software effectively optimizes customer support, sales and marketing efforts of all types of companies.
B2B
B2C
SMBs
Start-ups
Enterprises
B2B (Business to Business) sales are complex to manage. In this type of sales, you would not be dealing with a person but a company as a whole. CRM systems in B2B will help you integrate and automate all back-end activities, from marketing to sales, evaluate key performance indicators and assist you in planning the most effective steps for sales closure.
CRM solutions designed for B2C businesses have the capability to deal with a much larger number of customers compared to B2B CRM applications. These systems keep track of all customer transaction history and preferences to allow users to better serve customers and design targeted marketing campaigns that can have a significant impact on the acquisition and retention of customers.
Customer expectations matter the most for all SMBs. Spreadsheets and sticky notes can hardly be expected to manage their growing database. The right CRM systems centralize all the data so that you can address customer issues faster, prepare and execute smarter marketing plans and manage sales processes better.
Although CRM implementation doesn't require a huge investment, its use was earlier restricted to large-scale businesses. However, with the introduction of cloud-based, customizable solutions, CRM systems are now available for smaller teams as well. These systems can be easily upgraded as customers increase and the team size expands.
Enterprise CRM software is capable of managing establishment operations across varied geographic locations. All modules are interconnected. This allows for better accessibility and sharing of data, reduces management and system operating costs and eliminates the slightest chance of error in data duplication.
Customer service is one of the most difficult and critical tasks for any company. Storing contacts correctly, reviewing issues and ensuring they are resolved on time, if not well managed, can lead to confusion. A CRM software carries this workload, smoothens the process and makes it more efficient.
The main features in a CRM system which make it the most efficient business tool are compiled below:
Keeping track of sales leads through a CRM system allows your team to have greater control and more chances of conversion.
The CRM software includes a lead management module that allows businesses to identify and follow up with interested customers based on their preferences, demographics and other factors. This optimizes your sales team's efforts, improves efficiency and productivity to focus on faster lead conversions.
The contact management tool is designed to reduce monotonous tasks of recording and updating customer data through a unified system. Such tasks include contact information, transactions, support interactions and more. With this CRM capability, your organization can bolster sales and marketing strategies while providing superior customer service.
A CRM software provides you with every support you need to manage sales deals throughout the sales lifecycle. The system makes it easier to keep a close eye on each deal at every stage, from a single screen. All this information is auto populated in real-time, to ensure you have access to the latest changes.
Email is still an essential and one of the most preferred methods of engaging with leads, prospects and customers.
The email management feature in CRM systems enhances customer communication and keeps track of customer responses to each email. The software sends instant alerts to notify users about the emails received from deals and contacts to ensure all important emails are followed-up and responded to.
Mundane, repetitive functions of data entry consume a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, duplication and other human errors are often associated with manual data entry. A sales automation CRM software systematizes the entire process, eliminating the chance of errors.
CRM software also helps you control the all sales processes of your business and maximizes their efficiency. These systems allow you to define the auto-assignment of leads and create a list of tasks that should be completed in each sales stage to avoid missing important deals, enabling businesses to sell more in less time.
Marketing automation allows companies to strategically target buyers who have shown an interest in buying what sell.
An efficient CRM tool allows you to create and effectively control an engaging marketing program. The system would automate repetitive tasks, thereby improving marketing efforts to produce quicker, more qualified leads.
Business analytics not only allow you to capture website visit data, it also helps you evaluate the raw data obtained, provides insights into users’ behavior from how they interact with your website, identifies issues and offers suggestions for improvement.
CRM systems capture valuable information related to sales, marketing and customers, consolidate them to reveal crucial information about the market, business trends, buying patterns and customer behaviors. The reporting feature uses the information to speed up the process of producing reliable, real-time business reports.
CRM software applications with reporting and analytics functions provide intuitive ways to collect and access these statistics from a simplified UI. With its help, you can create more optimized targeted marketing campaigns and provide better customer satisfaction rates.
Customization is essential for any system to become the most preferred business solution. Customizable CRM systems are flexible and can be configured to support the unique workflows of a business, improve control over data and its critical processes.
No matter what product or service you are dealing with, managing your customers effectively is necessary for the success of your business. The choice of CRM system plays a vital role in this.
Based on the deployment pattern, CRM solutions are categorized into three models: on-premises, cloud-based, and hybrid.
On-premise CRM systems are hosted on servers owned by companies. The administration, security and maintenance of these systems are the responsibility of the businesses that own them.
Companies that use on-premise CRM solutions retain full control over their business. However, in terms of both installation time and cost, they require higher investments compared to cloud-based systems.
Unlike on-premise systems, business data is stored remotely on a third-party server in cloud-based CRM applications. Employees can access that information whenever and wherever they want, with an internet-connected device. With limited technological and resource costs, these systems are quick and relatively easy to deploy.
A Hybrid CRM application is a combination of cloud and on-premise systems.
Organizations that opt for hybrid CRM systems have greater freedom to control their business data. They can use the flexible and scalable cloud system to store a massive volume of data while simultaneously handling critical business information in their own data centers.
The entire purpose of developing a CRM software is to equip businesses with appropriate technology to improve
customer relationships and use it to increase sales.
Mobile CRM systems are typically designed for sales and marketing professionals who often need remote access to updated customer data in order to perform tasks when they are not in the office.
These systems allow your field salespersons to update information on the go, enabling them to share day-to-day activities right from their smartphones.
Social CRM systems feature integration of social media channels into the tool for managing customer relations.
In addition to traditional channels, this involves the use of social media platforms to engage and interact with customers, provide service and product support, promote and raise brand awareness, etc.
Customer interaction using social CRM ensures greater marketing insights and a better understanding of their needs, leading to superior product and service delivery.
Business to business (B2B) CRM refers to systems that are capable of managing relationships with existing and potential customers of a B2B company.
This type of CRM software helps companies better understand B2B customers' detailed expectations and respects and understands the complex nature of their relationships.
Get your business Running Faster With CRM!
Call us nowSuccessfully developed CRM systems give an enterprise several advantages. Through a single platform, they provide a clearer overview of clients, sales funnels and marketing efforts, enabling you to handle every inquiry without losing track, to improve processes and churn business profits. Here are the key benefits:
through improved understanding of customer issues and providing better services
by improving information sharing and increasing collaboration among multiple teams.
by retaining existing customers and taking the right approach to gain new ones.
with deep business insights gained through in-depth reporting from real-time data.
through social media integration features, making it easier to reach and respond to customer complaints.
with automation brought by advanced CRM systems in tracking and managing various business processes from a single platform.
with customer information collected in a centralized database, which can be used as required to increase up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.
by reducing resource usage and time invested in the manual administrative tasks.
Every industry that deals with customers requires the usage of a CRM system.
Customer satisfaction is critical for success in the hospitality sector, especially for businesses such as hotels and restaurants. CRM software is commonly used in this industry to help businesses efficiently collect and manage the information about guests and arrange it in an accessible way to plan marketing drives.
The core objective of every real estate owner and dealer is to find buyers and tenants faster, engage and satisfy clients, monitor multiple property units, track maintenance and manage other related aspects. Real estate CRM helps simplify all these activities and enables businesses to grow manifold.
Production planning needs to be dynamic to accommodate the shifts observed in customer needs and expectations. CRM systems manage customer information and track their preferences making it easier for the business to analyze and control the manufacturing process of the most and least demanded products.
Tailor-made CRM solutions for the insurance industry are designed to enhance customer engagement through various channels. Extract client data from multiple systems to create a comprehensive information file and store them securely.
The principal objectives of any retail business include attracting customers and increasing sales. CRM software is an autonomous tool that can boost customer engagement by effectively handling discount schemes, loyalty programs, pricing by outlet, sales promotions, memberships, rewards and gift cards to attract new buyers as well as increase cross-selling and up-selling to existing customers.
CRM systems designed for the logistics industry collate all the customers’ contacts and aid in accessing their relationship history, which plays a significant role in enhancing customer service speed and quality. It also helps in reducing shipping errors while ensuring that every delivery reaches the customer on time.
CRM software is a groundbreaking and most significant technological development that has altered the way businesses deal with customers, sales and marketing.
Right from tracking customer contact information to streamlining complex processes and increasing sales, CRM software takes care of every important business activity.
The effectiveness of a CRM system can be measured by the accuracy with which it gathers and manages consumer data from different sources and organizes them efficiently to enhance sales and marketing performance.
When choosing a CRM solution for your company, consider all the factors that would help you build and maintain long-term relationships with customers and bring profitability to the business. The system must be the right choice to ease your daily problems and the challenges you may potentially face in the future.
CentraHub CRM is a 360-degree customer relationship management software that would help you in optimizing sales, marketing and customer service of your business.
The system captures and analyzes sales to predict the performance of marketing activities. You can also use our BI assistant to gain instant access to any customer information from your CRM database.
CentraHub CRM system is easy-to-use business management tool that helps you track all your deals, campaigns and customer data at every stage. Regardless of how unconventional your business may be, the extensive customization capabilities of the system would make it adapt to your requirements. By automating business processes, it helps you get more work done in less time.
You can access CentraHub CRM from any device as it is 100% cloud hosted.
To learn more about CentraHub CRM software, get in touch with us at [email protected] or call us at +91-800-840-3263.
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