If your business manufactures or distributes to retailers, other distributors, or anyone who isn’t the ultimate buyer, how do you ‘’? Having this information and being able to track customer buying preferences gives you the power to better understand your market, increase sales, and stay a step ahead of your competition. So how can you collect data on your end consumers and use it to your advantage, when you don’t sell directly to them?
As an example, if your company purchases appliances from a manufacturer, and resells them to a regional distribution center with multiple retail locations, you haven’t interacted with the ultimate buyer at all. This is also the case if the product is purchased from an online retailer that isn’t associated with your business. So how do you get feedback on your products and make sure you’re delivering what your target market really wants?
Some companies use product registrations, warranty plans, or rebate programs to collect information on the end customer. But if that data isn’t effectively managed, then it’s not providing any helpful insights.
Let’s take a look at three ways can help solve this problem.
Improve Operational Efficiency
The first step is to get your customer data organized. Even if you are doing a good job of collecting information, it won’t help if it’s scattered across multiple disparate systems and spreadsheets. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, all the information is located in one place and is easily accessible by those who need it. This helps your sales, marketing, and representatives stay updated on customer activity in real-time. By using CRM, your team can reduce duplicate efforts, streamline processes, and improve order efficiency for the customer.
Become Customer-Centric
By using CRM to manage customer data, you have the opportunity to track buying preferences and identify trends over time. Not only does this provide insight into what the customer really wants, but it also shows trends for different market segments, such as those who purchase at retail stores rather than online. Based on this information, you can develop effective multi-channel marketing campaigns to target the buying habits of a specific market segment. The ability to market directly to the end consumer and make purchasing decisions based on their desires will focus your business on what really matters – the customer.
Maintain Competitive Advantage
A CRM system bridges the gap between who you bought from, and who you sold to; in other words, it lets you track the supply chain beginning with your suppliers all the way through to the end consumer. While ERP systems can provide part of this information, they were not designed to manage who your customers are. However, by integrating CRM with an ERP solution such as , GP or AX, not only will you see trends and buying patterns over time, but you will have access to complete supply chain visibility.
If your goal is to always deliver what the customer wants, Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you achieve it by effectively managing customer data and using it to your advantage. This gives you power over the competition, and helps tailor your operations and processes to meet the customer’s needs. To learn more about how OmniVue can make your business more customer-centric through improved customer relationship management, today.
By OmniVue,
By using CRM to manage customer data, you have the opportunity to track buying preferences. Buying preferences helps in providing service as per customer expectations.