What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

Nowadays, worldwide, companies need to keep their data, customer data, processes, reports, strategies, among many other aspects, in order to be competitive and stand out when providing a service or selling a product. For this and to maintain a solid and lasting relationship with customers is necessary a strategy and CRM software.

In this article we will touch on the following topics:

• What is CRM?
• Characteristics of a CRM
• Uses of a CRM
• CRMs in the market
• Advantages and disadvantages

What is CRM?

In the first instance, Customer Relationship Management refers to a strategy that seeks to understand, manage and improve customer relationships and maximize customer satisfaction throughout their life cycle. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to use software that can collect information, analyze data, and create strategies that are satisfactory for both the company and the customers. For this reason a CRM encompasses both points, it is the strategy and the software.

This is a strategy commonly known for being the one that generates customers and retains them.

>>Be>>Benefits of using a CRM in your business: A boost for success: A great customer experience<<

Characteristics of a CRM

A good CRM covers from the creation of lists of customers or prospects to marketing to create a loyal relationship with them. Some of the features of these softwares are:

• Data and strategy management
• Sales management
• Customer communication
• Customer service and support
• Data analysis and reporting
• Marketing campaign creation and management
• Process automation
• Security and privacy
• Integration with other tools

Uses of a CRM

The use of the software can be divided into Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. We will look at its uses in each of these sections.

Sales:

Creating lists of potential customers and even current customers to be contacted.

Automation of the sales process and follow up with the customer to make them move from one stage to another.

Allows to know the characteristics of the customers in order to segment them and create personalized strategies.

Reports can be created with real information that can be used to create strategies and make decisions within the company.

Marketing:

Customer segmentation which allows you to create more personalized strategies for each stage and type of customer.

You can have a visualization of the behavior of users of social networks and obtain real data. 

Creation of strategies such as email marketing that evaluate customer behavior at different stages of the sales process. 

Capture customers with specific characteristics 

Identification of trends and patterns of behavior at a general and specific level of customers and users.

Customer service:

It allows to reside and send messages effectively and promptly so that Communication is done effectively.

It can automate the handling of tasks by the company's internal team.

It provides the tools to find leads, keep your data secure, segmented and ordered.

In general, a CRM is useful for a company in the different departments where there is a relationship with the customer or leads. Leads can be nurtured, contacted, segmented by the stage of the funnel, and post-sales attention can be provided, among others. CRM allows the unification of the different strategies of the company for the same purpose: to create and maintain a good relationship with the customer.

>>Discover the benefits of CRM<<

CRMs in the market

Currently, a company can get a CRM that is configured by an IT team which is not online but is managed by all the people in the company or you can acquire one that is in the cloud, accessible 24/7, which is constantly updated and its configuration does not depend on the company itself, the only thing that depends on it is its configuration. 

For this, there are several options on the market:

Salesforce: it is a CRM in the cloud. It is an integrated platform for the different departments of a company. It can be used on PC or mobile. 

HubSpot: it is also a CRM in the cloud. It has different types of licenses. It has 24/7 customer service. It is an integrated sales, service and marketing platform. 

Oracle: is a CRM in the cloud. It can be used in a mobile way. It is an integrated platform for the different departments of a company. 

 There are many options on the market, you should choose the one that fits your budget and your needs as they vary in price, features for each license, the integrations they present and their scope.

Advantages and disadvantages

The positive aspects of a CRM are:

1. It gives access to customer data and information.
2. The productivity of the company's workers improves since they have many tools in one, they can order data and even keep them at hand or look for them quickly when they need them.
3. CRM allows a scalability that depends on the needs of the company since they have different licenses and prices that meet those needs.
4. Allows for personalized customer experiences.
5. Processes can be simplified and even faster by automating customer service, sales and even communication and marketing.
6. Company and customer information can be accessed in real time.
7. Improve customer service

The negative aspects are:

1. One negative aspect is that sometimes it is considered expensive or the CRM itself is not but its integrations are considered so.
2. One should carefully study the features of each CRM to see which one fits our business.
3. The company's employees may be reluctant to learn how to use the platform.
4. Depending on the type of CRM, if it is online or offline, there are technical equipment costs.