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How to Grow Your Business with a CRM Strategy
Integrators who reach out to clients 10 to 12 times per year have higher revenues.
Customer relationship management, or CRM, is the process of managing your client interactions in order to build mutually beneficial, competition-blocking, enduring relationships.
By capturing insightful information about your client's preferences, lifestyle and home, you and your team are better able to personalize your products, services and communications more consistently, efficiently and effectively.
Integrators who capture and leverage client information typically report growth in revenue, higher profits, increased loyalty and smoother, more streamlined workflows. The best way to gather and organize that client information is with a CRM solution for your PC or network.
The biggest challenge you face today is in understanding your clients' needs, getting your arms around their preferences and holding onto them for the long term. As well, clients today are seeking a provider they can trust, one that is responsive, engaged and truly concerned about managing their technology lifestyle.
Steve Firszt, head coach of Fast Forward Business Coaching, states it simply, "Make sure the people who already know and trust you never forget you. You need them to remember you."
To maximize your relationship-building and referral opportunities with that established clientele, Firszt recommends reaching out to them 10 to 12 times a year with newsletters, relevant product announcements, service offers and even personal information — their birthdays or anniversaries, for example, or items relating to their hobbies. This type of relationship development is impossible if all you're working with is a cell phone number.
CRM systems and client personalization programs are aimed at making customers feel unique, special and understood. To do that, reach out to peers in buying groups and trade associations as well as on-line social networks and forums, such as CEPro.com. Solicit real industry-based experience with CRM strategies and tools.
Then, after you've selected a program (again, see sidebar below), start your CRM strategy. Together, with employees and business partners, gather insight, personal details and lifestyle "buttons" about clients.
You can do this for your own employees and partners, too. Do you know your employees' kids names? Your key supplier's husband's name? Your pipeline-filling architect's birthday?
The more you know about someone, the better able you will be to sell to them.
Given that integrators have a real edge on their big-box competition when it comes to CRM efforts, it should be a no-brainer that you have to institute a plan. Here are five more reasons to get moving.
More Leads Will Be Captured. CRM systems help you maintain a consistent selling process. That, in turn, creates a streamlined workflow that helps you determine successful tactics. These tactics will reduce costs associated with attracting and retaining customers.
By capturing insightful information about your client's preferences, lifestyle and home, you and your team are better able to personalize your products, services and communications more consistently, efficiently and effectively.
Integrators who capture and leverage client information typically report growth in revenue, higher profits, increased loyalty and smoother, more streamlined workflows. The best way to gather and organize that client information is with a CRM solution for your PC or network.
The Relationship Focus
The biggest challenge you face today is in understanding your clients' needs, getting your arms around their preferences and holding onto them for the long term. As well, clients today are seeking a provider they can trust, one that is responsive, engaged and truly concerned about managing their technology lifestyle.
Steve Firszt, head coach of Fast Forward Business Coaching, states it simply, "Make sure the people who already know and trust you never forget you. You need them to remember you."
To maximize your relationship-building and referral opportunities with that established clientele, Firszt recommends reaching out to them 10 to 12 times a year with newsletters, relevant product announcements, service offers and even personal information — their birthdays or anniversaries, for example, or items relating to their hobbies. This type of relationship development is impossible if all you're working with is a cell phone number.
Why Now?
CRM systems and client personalization programs are aimed at making customers feel unique, special and understood. To do that, reach out to peers in buying groups and trade associations as well as on-line social networks and forums, such as CEPro.com. Solicit real industry-based experience with CRM strategies and tools.
Then, after you've selected a program (again, see sidebar below), start your CRM strategy. Together, with employees and business partners, gather insight, personal details and lifestyle "buttons" about clients.
You can do this for your own employees and partners, too. Do you know your employees' kids names? Your key supplier's husband's name? Your pipeline-filling architect's birthday?
The more you know about someone, the better able you will be to sell to them.
5 Undeniable Benefits of CRM
Given that integrators have a real edge on their big-box competition when it comes to CRM efforts, it should be a no-brainer that you have to institute a plan. Here are five more reasons to get moving.
More Leads Will Be Captured. CRM systems help you maintain a consistent selling process. That, in turn, creates a streamlined workflow that helps you determine successful tactics. These tactics will reduce costs associated with attracting and retaining customers.
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About the Author
Bill Johannesen is managing director of Vision Werks Consulting LLC. He can be reached via www.VisionWerks.com.
2 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
I’m a CRM addict, they are crucial for a manufacturer. I’ve worked with in house developed systems, salesforce, netsuite and a few others.
I found salesforce to be the easiest for total noobs, especially with the free developerforce account.
I searched D-Tools website and found reference to ZOHO CRM and many guides on integrating D-Tools with ZOHO, may be worthwhile for integrators to check out.
One thing is for sure, to get the full benefit of a CRM you must have extreme diligence with ALL employees. If some employees are lazy about logging emails, calls, estimates, support tickets, the system loses it’s accuracy and effectiveness. If users are not consistent on how and where data is entered, that can be a problem as well.
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Great article with some quality recommendations…really begs the following questions: What is our companies CRM strategy? How’s it being implemented? How are we measuring it’s effectiveness? In my opinion, these are questions that certainly need to be answered and revisited on a regular basis!