Why You Need a CRM and How It Can Help Your Marketing Efforts

Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions have become a must-have tool for businesses of all shapes and sizes. A CRM enables you to gain an in-depth understanding of your prospects and customers, build strong relationships with them, and deliver exceptional service. Here is what you need to know about this valuable business tool and how it can help maximize your marketing efforts.

What is a CRM?

The customer journey is rarely linear. In fact, it can take a lot of twists, turns, and detours. If you want a complete picture of your relationship with any customer, you need to use a CRM.

A CRM is a software solution that records and tracks every customer interaction. In marketing, it can be used to track leads, create personalized messages, send out targeted content, and optimize the sales process.

How a CRM Can Help Your Digital Marketing Efforts

On the surface, it sounds like a CRM might be just a glorified digital address book. But, these solutions go well beyond maintaining contacts. A good CRM system will transform the way you do business by improving your sales processes, unifying your data, and increasing profits. Here are some of the ways a CRM can maximize your digital marketing efforts.

1. Centralized Database of Information

The first benefit of using a CRM is that all of your customer-related data is housed in a centralized database. This becomes accessible to anyone in your company who may have use for it, such as sales, marketing, service, or accounting. The database will include records of every customer interaction, saving employees the time and effort of digging through different systems.

2. Managed Communication With Prospects

Nurturing leads can be a complex and tiring process, with many opportunities for touchpoints. A CRM can manage this process in several ways. It can automate some messages, such as personalized emails and invitations to view content. It can also send reminders to the salesperson to follow up with a phone call or consultation appointment.

3. Improved Customer Segmentation

When you have a database of hundreds or thousands of contacts, it can start to get overwhelming. For example, how do you know which ones are interested in Service A or Service B? Which contacts were sent to you via referral or have already requested additional information?

A CRM takes care of this for you by segmenting your list based on your customized criteria. You can sort contacts based on age, gender, geography, buyer stage, and much more. And once you have those segments, you can create more personalized content for them.

4. Increased Sales

Because a CRM helps you build a stronger sales pipeline, streamline your processes, and automate many tasks, you have the potential to produce better results. Instead of spending time on low-value marketing items, you can turn these over to your CRM and focus on opportunities to build relationships, upsell and cross-sell, and expand to new markets.

5. Better Customer Service

When it comes to creating a winning customer experience, data is essential. According to the Microsoft State of Customer Service report, more than three-quarters of customers expect a sales rep to know their contact, purchase, and service history. Yet, historically only about one-third of sales reps have this data. A CRM puts all of this information at your fingertips, allowing you to maximize the customer experience.

6. Improved Customer Retention

It costs much more to attract new customers than to retain the ones you already have. With improved relationship-building and customer service through your CRM, you can create stronger bonds with your current customers. They will not only stay loyal to your brand but also send you referrals, increasing the customer lifetime value.

7. Higher Efficiency and Productivity

A CRM is going to make your sales and marketing efforts more efficient and productive. You can automate many tasks and free up your time to focus on more meaningful things like face-to-face meetings.

8. Detailed Analytics

Having data about your customers is valuable. Understanding what that data means and how you can leverage it is priceless for your business. Most CRM software solutions have built-in analytics to provide you with data as well as give you easy-to-interpret metrics.

For example, HubSpot’s CRM gives you detailed insights on team performance so that you can take advantage of various opportunities. There is a reporting dashboard you can customize to give you the information you need when you need it.

9. Drive More Upsells

In addition to closing sales faster and retaining customers, you can use the insights you gain from your CRM to boost engagement with your current customers and drive upsells. Your CRM has all of your customer’s past purchasing history and a lot of other useful data. With the right approach, you can continue to send personalized content to these customers with product updates and promotional deals that are the most relevant to their interests.

10. Lower Cost of Sales

According to Pardot, 79 percent of leads don’t convert. A big reason for this is that leads are not nurtured effectively. Because a CRM can automate part of the sales process and make your efforts more targeted, it can reduce the cost of sales. Your CRM will show you what your customer is interested in and their objections so that your resources are spent wisely and are the most effective in closing sales.

How Much Does a CRM Solution Cost?

CRM software solutions can range in price. Many companies charge per-user fees, and you’ll pay additional fees for data. In fact, the pricing structures can be complex.

But, if you want to start using a CRM, the HubSpot CRM is 100% free. It allows you to manage up to 1 million users, contacts, and storage cost-free, without any expiration dates. It’s tough to beat that deal.

Get Help With Your CRM Implementation

While just about all businesses stand to benefit from using a CRM, companies that have marketing and sales teams or want to achieve more efficiencies should particularly consider using this solution. If you aren’t sure which CRM to use or would like assistance integrating it with your current system, we can help.

Too Darn Loud Marketing is dedicated to providing its clients with the customized solutions they need to be top players in their market. We are passionate about creating innovative solutions to your most pressing issues. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.