What Are the Advantages of Using CRM Software?

Ever wonder why your online business isn’t performing as well as you hoped? There might just be one missing element that could turn the situation around and help you move forward.

CRM — otherwise known as customer relationship management — is the analysis and management of your past, present and future interactions with customers. Nowadays, customer experience plays a very prominent role in the world of eCommerce. Although it may seem easier to automate this process, CRM software can provide powerful advantages.

Its absence may be the weak link in your online business. Continue reading to find out more about the advantages of CRM, and how you can use these to boost the profitability of your business and keep your customers coming back for more.  

Advantage #1 – You Have Multiple Choices of CRM Software

There are multiple choices of CRM software to suit any online business. This gives you the advantage of a market that is competing for your attention. To stand out from the crowd, there is a constant need for innovation of CRM software. The consumer ultimately wins, which in this case, is your online business.

You can research the available choices by looking at the top 5 options for the best CRM software, or other similar comparison articles on the internet. There are not that many distinctive features, but having multiple alternatives is always a good thing; be it in price, features, or integration.

Advantage #2 – Your Customer Support Can Go Remote

Customer support employees will have a much easier time working from home with the help of a CRM system. Having all the information collected in the same place means that everyone on your team is on the same page, no matter where they are in the world. In the face of the current pandemic, working from home is more or less inevitable. Investing in CRM software could streamline the transition to becoming an efficient remote team.

Advantage #3 – You Can Save On Operation Costs

A business that operates efficiently will have fewer expenses to worry about. Every dollar you save is a dollar you make. Whatever your company values or objectives, making money is probably your bottom line. If you save resources in one area, you could reinvest those funds into increasing salaries for dedicated employees or a new brand awareness campaign, for example.

Advantage #4 – You Can Make Targeted Improvements

As you collect information about customer behavior, it will become that much easier to plan your strategy for improving your current products and services. Instead of relying on intuition or generic advice, you can use real data about your own customers to make well-informed decisions about where to invest. A better understanding of your customers will also tell you what new items are worth introducing in the future.

You already know that it is important to maintain great relationships with customers and actively engage to find out their likes and dislikes. But in a lot of cases, the huge volume of information you have about your customers makes this almost impossible. Processing that information manually is an enormous task that you likely do not have time for. This is where CRM software comes in handy.

Advantage #5 – You can Enhance Your Customer Support

Customer experience is directly connected to customer support. Successful companies are always looking for ways to improve their customer support department. The development of chatbots is promising, but they are yet to replace real people.

Personalized and quick support is what customers expect these days. Failing to meet these expectations usually results in losses, especially in the long run.

Access to information is a real asset to enhancing your customer support. Besides having a readily available summary of customer purchase history, it can also help you to understand the most common problems your customers are having. All this provides actionable insights for making improvements.  

Advantage #6 – You Can Identify New Leads

Even your most loyal buyers are bound to get bored and start to look elsewhere eventually. Unless you are able to constantly meet demand from your existing customer for new products — or you have a product that requires ongoing reinvestment from customers — then you will have to look for new customers.

Looking for new leads is something that every business should do, but it is particularly relevant for those that are underperforming. Having solid customer support, as well as an abundance of relevant customer-behavior information, will not only improve your customer retention but will draw new customers to you.

This process is also supported by providing a good experience for your current customers (see advantage #5). When it comes down to the moment of choice between businesses, positive word of mouth could be the difference-maker to your potential customers.

Advantage #7 – You Can Keep Current Customers for Longer

Current customer retention is yet another advantage that you can leverage. CRM software will help you to collect, process and organize valuable information about your customers. What happens next is down to you. The detailed overview provided by CRM software can be the starting point for creating meaningful business strategies based on your customer behaviour. Feed this information back into providing high-quality customer services and new and innovative products tailored to your customer demand. This is the basis for building the brand loyalty and trust that will keep your current customers coming back for more.

Conclusion

The multiple advantages of CRM software can provide a turning point for your online business, breaking out of the stagnation period and breaking into the sales figures you’ve been dreaming of.