CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - what is it?

In the sales industry, it is not the seller who plays the first fiddle, but the customer who determines our success and position on the market. We have to try very hard to gain the trust of a wide group of recipients who will bring us profits not only during one-time purchases, but also, above all, use our services cyclically. The goal is therefore a regular customer who will work with us for the benefit of our company. Maintaining constant contact with recipients is essential to be able to create a stable and reputable brand. For this purpose, a number of tools are used that are more or less effective. One of them is CRM. Does it bring the desired benefits?

CRM is an abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management. By translating this concept into Polish, we will find the answer to what exactly the tool is and what it is for, because CRM is "customer relationship management". At the very beginning of our considerations, we learn that it can bring us many benefits. However, for the actions to be effective, you must both use the system and think and follow a philosophy that is focused on the customer and in which the future of our company depends to a large extent on him. CRM is not only a tool, but also a business strategy, culture, process and concept, where the needs of consumers occupy the highest position.

CRM from the kitchen

To get to know the aforementioned system, you need to look inside its "interior", find out what it is made of and what information it can provide us with. CRM consists of many objects, most of which are responsible for describing cooperation with the client, while others are only internal support.

In order to organize and catalog information, the above-mentioned objects were created, within which you can create specific cards, where relevant data are saved. A lot depends on the seller himself. He himself modifies and divides objects as he sees fit, so that the system brings him the most benefits. Therefore, CRM is a kind of database in which on individual "shelves" there are folders with information about specific customers.

To make the specifics of the system even clearer, some of the most important objects are listed below:

• Accounts: it is a database that collects basic information about our clients, i.e. company name, address, telephone number, name and surname of the guardian, tax identification number, notes and comments.

• Potential Clients: in this tab, we collect all those who we cannot qualify as our clients, but there is a good chance that they will soon become one. The data we place here is similar to that in the Account object.

• Activities: This is an extremely important facility. All meetings, e-mails, phone calls and tasks, i.e. all communication with the client, are saved here.

• Sales opportunities: each opportunity is a topic started with the client that can start our cooperation and lead to sales. All activities collected in the tab are to give us a chance to succeed and achieve the goal of making a sale.

• Contract: all contracts that have been concluded with the customer are listed here. It is therefore a history of cooperation with individual consumers.

• Sales materials: all materials that accompany the sales process are collected here, e.g. presentations, surveys, templates, references, etc.

• Competitors: In the sales industry, they cannot be underestimated. They are a very important factor that affects the quality of our sales and the company's success. You need not only to take care of your own business, but also to control what is happening to our competitors. This may be an answer to the question of why others are better off. This facility provides information on individual competitors that tells us with whom and where they work. It is possible to combine them with sales opportunities.

• Marketing lists: this is a tab that is responsible for all marketing activities and is used to create various marketing lists, both permanent and temporary.

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These are just some of the modules available as part of CRM. Thanks to this, we can see how much relevant information we can obtain and how much data we are able to collect using this system. We can divide CRM into three levels. It depends largely on whether we decide to enter data and then work on it, or whether we want to manage it and make appropriate decisions based on it.

• Operational level: it is referred to when our activities relate to the implementation of basic processes within the company by the sales, customer service and marketing employees.

• Managerial level: at this stage, control, management and coordination activities are undertaken by the company's managers.

• Strategic level: all collected data is used to make long-term decisions.

A sea of ​​possibilities for CRM systems

We already know what CRM is, how it is built and what it is for. It's time to present, what are the possibilities behind it, what it can do and what we can gain thanks to it.

• Supporting sales processes: the Sales module enables us to control and monitor all sales activities. Each transaction can have an appropriate person who is responsible for it, we can also attach the necessary files to it, issue an invoice, plan the entire process and activities. Therefore, CRM is of great importance in conducting effective sales and its planning.

• Database of valuable information about customers: CRM collects basic and a number of additional information about individual customers. Thanks to this, we can check at any time who the given client is, what the cooperation looks like and what the sales strategy is carried out with him. This allows you to sell products more efficiently.

• Customer Communication: There is no good company without customer communication. It must be remembered that it is thanks to him that we exist and if it is lost, our company is doomed to collapse. Therefore, we must ensure that he is satisfied with our services. Thanks to the database of e-mails and telephone numbers, we can be in constant contact with our clients. Let's not forget about ourselves, let's focus on communication.

• Analysis of important company information: running your own business involves a large number of duties and constant monitoring of the course of its work on many levels. It requires attention from the entrepreneur, good organization of work and regularity. CRM collects all this information in one place, which greatly facilitates the company's efficient customer management.

• Good organization of work: the list of tasks and the calendar are very important modules, especially for people who have problems with organization. They will help to systematize all activities and orders. We will not forget about making an important phone call or meeting our client.