Customer relationship management (CRM) is an enterprise strategy that is geared towards improving customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing experiences that are unique to each customer. This is achieved by the use of processes, technology, and teamwork across departments.
In decades past, maintaining these relationships was a laborious and manual process. Businesses stored customer contact information in rolodexes and filing cabinets, or in spreadsheets that were often not shared with other departments, leading to missed sales opportunities and the miscommunication of customers. With the introduction of new technology platforms for marketing that offer a central database for customer data, keeping track of relationships is much easier and more effective. These are known as CRM systems.
CRM tools centralize and streamline customer data to make it easier for individuals and teams to collaborate and nurture leads, improving the overall marketing and sales funnel. In addition to capturing lead and customer interactions, CRMs help companies determine the most promising leads by scoring them and prioritizing them, so that salespeople are only contacted with qualified prospects. This leads to higher conversion rates and higher purchase values, and may significantly reduce the time it takes to close a deal.
Personalization is an additional aspect of a CRM process which shows customers that they are valued by the company. Sending a personalized message of appreciation following making a purchase or customizing the product or service to meet a specific need will encourage the purchase of more products and encourages brand loyalty.