We’ve learned before, that CRM is used in managing a company’s interactions with potential customers and current customers. It is also part of an overarching strategy designed to help companies increase their productivity and improve customer satisfaction and retention.
This strategy is very powerful as it should provide a comprehensive view and it helps monitor previous interactions and provides a 360 degree view of pretty much everything you want to see.
Many businesses are using CRM software in tracking data of individual clients but also for tracking and monitoring internal performance measures. Getting your grip around and knowing this data is necessary so that all stakeholders will know the information needed in dealing with their customers. Having the necessary information is useful so that each customer will be given individualized service.
So how can CRM improve Customer Experience. 1st you would to understand what CX actually is:
Customer experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. This interaction is made up of three parts: the customer journey, the brand touch-points the customer interacts with, and the environments the customer experiences (including digital environment) during their experience. A good customer experience means that the individual’s experience during all points of contact matches the individual’s expectations.
Consider an evolutional approach to CX as a stage of any company trying to achieve its customer centricity maturity. Today, we’re moving from the traditional product-oriented business towards customer understanding and customer centric approaches. With tight markets and defined pricing, the competition is massive and businesses cannot define their success by pricing or services offered anymore. Therefore CX acts as an advantage towards the competition and becomes the only and sole difference customers will notice. “Customers are not buying products or services, they’re buying experiences delivered via a product or service!”
So why is CX important and how can CRM even help?
Hard facts from successful businesses have shown, that CX has outcomes such as:
- higher customer referral rates
- significant improvements in CSAT, NPS and CES
- increased revenue
All above create a higher value and standard within your industry and becomes a real advantage towards your direct competitors. As mentioned before, CRM bundles all business processes and aligns all stakeholders within the customer’s journey. CRM helps in finding customers and prospects and then engaging with them. This can be done utilizing various channels such as chat, phone and of course social media. Utilizing CX in your CRM strategy can boost your business in at many points. Understanding and knowing your customers needs is the key to success. CX helps you to find touch-points onto your platform, your service, your processes and within your CRM.
Using CRM software in tracking the history of your customers, their behavior and to establish segmentations will significantly help you to identify your next and potential customers. Going farther, based on this information; your businesses marketing can then create campaigns to nudge and guide potential clients to your service, even if they have not even been aware of your organization and offerings. The software can also help in identifying loyal customers so that you can easily give rewards for their loyalty. This will not only attract more customers but also keep the current ones to patronize your business for a longer time. Additionally, implementing customer relationship management can help in resolving issues quickly and treating customers fairly. Proper understanding of your customers needs can make a big difference in the perception of your customers about your company. Most customers have been trusting companies that can for example handle customer service issues fairly. When this is the kind of experience that they have, they will most likely do business with the company again. Through this, one can see how well CRM will do in building your brand to help your organization succeed in the business.
Customers nowadays are more frugal because there are plenty of choices. That is why it is important to focus on customer experience management by developing infrastructure for smart communication and knowledge. A powerful and well implemented CRM system and its associated strategy will improve your CX in an omen-channel environment using personalization and customization to meet but better exceed your clients expectations. Reaching out to customers should be beyond transactional interaction and a basic re-active engagement. Likewise, the organization should also employ CRM strategy so that a better relationship would not only be built with customers but also with business employees, branches and affiliates.
