As we approach the New Year, it’s important to take a look back at 2011 for . Whether you have CRM software in place or not, it’s important to gauge customer activity to make plans for the year ahead.
1) Customer Experience: Customer experience has become extremely important in the last year. Companies are getting more and more creative in how to get people’s attention and keep them engaged, loyal customers for years to come. Creating a smooth customer experience will ensure they’ll come back and even talk about how great you are to their friends.
2) Social Media Management and Customer Feedback: Social media is a great way to engage with customers, yet it can sometimes backfire. Companies need to have a complete social media strategy that covers the good AND bad feedback they get from customers online. Online feedback travels quickly and can hurt a company just as fast. How you deal with it will ensure you can recover.
3) Business Intelligence: Business intelligence has also become even more important in 2011. Companies are bouncing back from the recession and gearing up for more. More customers, more business, and more revenue. Competition is fierce and business intelligence is the weapon of choice for many organizations out there today. When you’re armed with relevant information about your customers, you can give them what they want to ensure repeat business or referrals.
Do you have enough detailed data that will help you plan for strategies in 2012? If not, it may be time to as well as help you manage your sales and marketing activities throughout the year.
By Jim Drumm with Sikich,
