You’ve likely heard the term CRM but may not fully understand what it does and how it helps your business. CRM, which stands for customer relationship management, is software that manages your company’s interaction with potential and current clients. It analyzes and stores all past data and interactions. CRM software is growing in adoption, set up by large and small companies, including your competitors, to improve sales and maximize customer service.
When CRM first launched in the late 1990s, it was difficult to set up and only the wealthiest, largest companies could afford it. That’s changed completely. CRM advances made platforms more affordable and easier to use.
In this article, the team at Valve+Meter Performance Marketing digs deeper into CRM and how your business uses it to improve customer service across all departments.
What Can CRMs Do?
CRM is a must-have to improve relationships with clients and leads. Customer relationship management software gathers customer data from all channels and stores it in one convenient place. The goal is driving more sales while improving customer retention. This software provides a full picture of all past interactions and keeps all notes and conversations.
In the past, most companies tracked customer data on spreadsheets. Yet spreadsheets are difficult to update, interpret, and share across teams. Historical data often gets lost, and important information hides among other data. Without CRM software, your company’s data spreads across multiple systems and platforms, creating confusion about where everything lives.
For field service contractors like HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses, platforms like ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro track every service call, dispatch, and customer interaction in one place. Your CSRs can see what jobs got booked, what’s scheduled, and what needs follow-up.
What Are the Benefits of CRM Software?
Improving relationships with clients
Because CRMs manage all your contacts, you’ll have easy access to important information, including purchase history and previous communications across channels (email, phone, social media). With their information on hand, you’ll know exactly how to serve them without pestering them with questions they’ve already answered.
With CRM in place, your customers benefit from personalization tools. Recent surveys show customers value personalization in their purchasing decisions. Personalized data from CRM helps build stronger relationships.
Increasing sales
CRM software follows customer purchasing patterns and provides insight into buying trends. This data enables more targeted strategies and increases sales during specific times. With all customers’ past communications available, you’ll earn more sales by delivering the right message.
Consolidating customer data
One of the biggest CRM benefits is centralizing all client data in one easy-to-use platform.
CRMs let your company employees find pertinent client information in one place. This includes phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, websites, purchasing history, and more. The platform also tracks all past interactions, whether online, phone, or email.
In essence, CRM becomes your company’s central hub for all client information. CRMs track the following and much more:
- Address
- Company size
- Contact title
- Current sales pipeline stage
- Customer type
- Detailed reporting
- Emails
- Lead scoring based on triggers
- Names
- Notes history
- Phone numbers
- Purchase data
- Websites
Improving retention
CRM data shares important information about a client or lead’s behaviors. Knowing these behaviors helps your company develop strategic plans to retain at-risk customers. On the other end, this same data reaches out to successful clients and encourages them to advocate for your business.
Selling quicker
CRM platforms eliminate manual data entry by automating repetitive tasks. Your team spends more time selling and less time making sense of notes and spreadsheets.
For field service contractors, this means your CSRs book more appointments. Your dispatchers know which crews are available. Your service teams have all the job details before arriving at the customer’s home.
Contact Valve+Meter for Individualized Marketing Solutions
Looking to take your company to the next level? Valve+Meter is a lead-generation agency focused on outcomes that grow your sales opportunity pipeline. We work with home services companies scaling their marketing efforts by focusing on qualified lead generation and prospecting campaigns driving growth. Contact Valve+Meter today to request a free marketing analysis.