The importance of CRM for small businesses

We are firm believers that your clients should be your utmost priority hence investing in your relationship with them should be treated as a priority, not as an option. This applies to all businesses, no matter how big or small they may be.

In fact, 14% of small businesses fail within their first year because they do not listen to their customers.

So, investing in your relationship with customers is fundamental for your business’ success. However, there’s no need to worry as meeting your customers’ needs and gaining their trust becomes easier with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software!

Want to find out more about how a CRM consulting and implementation company can help small businesses? Then, keep reading!

What is a CRM system?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management system. A CRM tool essentially facilitates a 360 view of your customers thereby helping you improve your relationship with both existing and potential customers.

Overall, it is like a digital diary that contains all the customer information you have gathered throughout your relationship with your customers. From identity customer data such as first name or email address to recordings of sales phone calls and emails, everything you need to know about your customers will be gathered in one place.

Eager to find out more about the benefits of CRM for growing business? Then, check out our article on the importance of CRM for growing your business!

The benefits of CRM for small businesses

As a small business owner, you may have thought that a CRM system is only for big businesses that have huge sales and marketing teams.

However, considering how important CRM is for business growth, it is safe to say that CRM helps all businesses flourish. From customer retention to increased productivity and improved client management, CRM consulting will take your small business to the next level.

1. Facilitates client management

You get overwhelmed just thinking about the amount of customer data you have gathered over time, don’t you? Well, thanks to CRM not only can you collect all that information in one central location, but CRM software will also help with sorting and synchronising the information according to various criteria.

Besides, CRM consulting will also facilitate effective communication with prospective or current customers as you will have all the necessary information. Overall, client management becomes easier with a CRM system.

2. Improves productivity

A CRM system simplifies the business and sales process as, thanks to analytics, you can identify which leads to nurture or which tasks to prioritise.

Besides, a small business CRM helps with the company’s overall efficiency as it enables cross-department collaboration. Therefore, accessing documents within the system becomes easy for employees.

That being said, your customer support team can work in sync with the sales and marketing teams, hence ensuring that your company is promoting a consistent message.

3. Increases customer retention

A CRM software will help you understand who your customers and prospects are, what they are interested in, how they communicate, and how they shop. This then facilitates targeted lead generation and customer retention.

Well, a small business CRM will make it easier to achieve customer satisfaction and, consequently, customer retention.

After all, it will help with creating a customer journey map that will enable you to understand your clients’ preferences and optimise their experience with targeted messages.

In fact, 80% of consumers admitted that they are more likely to shop from brands that provide personalised experiences. So, it’s safe to say that targeted messages and personalised experiences will improve customer relationships thereby boosting customer loyalty.

4. Automate business processes

We’ve already mentioned how a CRM software can increase productivity. However, think about how CRM can change the working routine of small business owners by minimising tedious and repetitive tasks.

From automated email campaigns to entry and ready-made templates, automation tools will not only help with productivity but will also give you more time to focus on what your target audience needs and prefers.

For instance, email marketing automation makes it possible to send the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Let’s take abandoned cart emails as an example. This way, you can remind customers or prospects of products they added to the cart but did not end up buying.

Want to find out more? Check out our article on how you can boost your online presence with automation!

Improve customer interactions with CRM!

In today’s ever-changing and highly-digital business market, your relationships with your customers matter more than ever.