Every now and then there seems to be an evolution in the marketplace which triggers an evolution in technology. The way in which customers research and shop for products has changed, which has changed the way we interact with our customers. Has your customer relationship management (CRM) solution evolved to keep up with these new changes?
Extending marketing and sales activities into new avenues could overextend the capabilities of your team and your business management solutions. Having an online presence, moving into social media, and trying to shorten the time between proposal and sale, all while maintaining close connections with your existing customer base can be quite confusing if you have disparate software programs. It can also be time-consuming to manage efficient marketing and sales operations when your marketing team is using one software program, sales is using another, and accounting has their own system.
Combining your teams can be as simple as implementing an appropriate . By using a single, integrated solution, your team can work closer together to meet your marketing and sales goals. Your team can easily enter customer data starting with initial contact, then workflows can be initiated to pass along appropriate follow up assignments. Use the robust reporting features to create letters, proposals, contracts, and other data that should contain terms and conditions, pricing structures, or other information that is consistent from customer to customer. As documents are prepared for prospects or customers, they can be reviewed and approved by managers using the automated workflows, then released. This newfound productivity saves valuable time that your team can use for other customer needs.
Once your team is working together, you can focus on the data being generated during marketing and sales activities. You can quickly identify trends in marketing efforts and notice which activities yield the best results. You can also identify trends in customer buying habits or hot products. This data can help you respond faster to customer needs as well as control inventory levels.
Times are changing and there are many new and exciting ways to reach prospects and strengthen relationships with customers. As you extend marketing and sales activities into these new areas, it will become increasingly difficult to organize data and find the insight you need to leverage this data to your advantage. Contact the experts at Sherwood Systems for guidance on choosing a CRM solution that can support your marketing and sales activities.
By Sherwood Systems,
