How CRM Can Improve Your Customer Experience

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During Software Symposium, DSD Business Systems’ recent customer event, I had the pleasure of viewing a break-out session presented by Rob Lawson, Senior Sales Engineer and top CRM advocate at Sage North America. Rob’s presentation was titled Delivering the Ultimate Customer Experience Using CRM. What intrigued me most about this presentation was that it didn’t focus on the features and functionalities of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), but rather on educating small-to-medium sized businesses on the value that CRM can bring to their customers.

The primary message received from this presentation was that CRM isn’t just about managing customers, it’s about serving customers. People often regard CRM as being a method for acquiring and retaining customers. While this is true, the real question is how can we use CRM to better serve our customers? At the center of all these activities are the customers and, most importantly, the customer experience.

As an active user of CRM systems, there are several ways that CRM systems can help improve both productivity and the customer experience for a business. It allows sales teams to manage their business more efficiently. Sales people are able to manage several leads and opportunities, while at the same time, stay organized, and stay on top of their customer’s needs. They are also able to share information in one centralized location so others in the organization have a view of the customer’s account. The more people have access to important customer information; the better a company can service their clients and keep them happy.

A CRM system provides customer service representatives insight into customer issues and purchasing history. This improves service levels and helps to uncover additional buying opportunities. Customer insight means customer representatives are able to deliver a positive customer experience by anticipating customer’s needs. CRM activity helps promote relationship building with customers so the customers are viewed as more than an account number, but as a valued client. Happy customers give referrals and referrals help companies thrive.

Rob Lawson has coined CRM as XRM, Customer Experience (X) Relationship Management. Best-In-Class businesses actively use CRM tools to anticipate the customer across marketing, sales, and customer service. To be leaders in their industries and stay competitive in a dynamic business environment, businesses focus on key customer activities by understanding and engaging with customers and responding quickly to their needs.

According to an Aberdeen Group study, of a surveyed group of companies that integrated CRM systems into their business, 86% managed to see first contact resolution, 75% had customer retention and 11.4% had year-over-year improvement in customer satisfaction rates. Using CRM to its fullest capabilities helps organizations not only manage their customers; it helps them service their customers.  To learn more about the benefits of CRM systems, please contact DSD Business Systems.

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Written by Connie Zervakos, Regional Sales Manager at DSD Business Systems

Category:
CRM
Tag:
crm

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