Sales, sales, sales. It’s all about the bottom line with many companies. They have a one-track mind, and their customer relationship management (CRM) software reflects it. When you’re that focused on the sale, you end up missing out on other income-generating opportunities.
4 Creative Ways To Incorporate CRM Data Throughout Your Organization
Avoiding stale CRM techniques can be tough. Here are four ways that you can use your CRM, outside of the initial sale, to better the customer experience.
1) Referencing Customer Service Interactions To Make Timely Follow Ups
The sales department can look at the CRM to find data on customer interactions with service representatives. They should use this information to make timely outbound calls and connect with buyers. The right follow-up calls can improve retention rates for monthly subscriptions, upsell add-ons or features, and encourage customers to increase their plan size or product usage.
Regular check-ins also improve the customer relationship, primarily when calls are only one component of an outreach campaign. Thus, you should send out emails and direct mail with useful information about your products and services that are related to the interactions that various teams had with the customer.
Once your potential customers receive this material, you can reach out again. Use this contact to find out if they have any questions about the information. Aside from building rapport, these interactions often lead to new revenue.
2) Creating a Better Customer Service Experience
The customer service department can look at CRM data to see recent customer call activity. With a service like CallTools, this happens automatically during an inbound call. The support representatives always have full details of all interactions, even from other departments. This added knowledge allows for better customer experience.
If the service representative needs to transfer a client to a different department or person, it’s seamless. Since their information is already in your system, the customer doesn’t need to repeat themselves. This insight eliminates one avenue of potential frustration from the process.
Another way your customer service representatives use CRM data is in making recommendations. They can look at the products the client purchased and suggest related items that are useful for their situation. For example, they could hint at an upgrade if the customer has a legacy product. When the new update solves the customer’s issues, then there is no need for transferring to another department. Alternately, they could give instructions on how to best use an item if the customer is struggling with getting value out of it.
3) Giving the Marketing Department Data for Their Campaigns
The marketing department benefits from a wide range of information. Both potential and current customers have useful data stored in your CRM. The marketing team creates data-driven campaigns that are relevant and customized to your buyers’ needs. These campaigns are the very ones that drive calls into your sales department.
The sales and customer service interactions form the basis of the marketing material that the team creates. Based on demographics and recurring questions, they put together content that encourages customers to contact sales representatives. The campaigns they create may suggest increasing a customer’s capabilities or adding on new features to their plans.
Lastly, the marketing team can improve customer retention. Recurring issues prompt campaigns to encourage customers to call support for training or assistance. These customer success campaigns can rescue buyers who have run into frustrations following their initial purchase. Their troubles might not be significant enough for them to call in without encouragement. They might even take their business to a competitor without ever contacting you. This type of marketing campaign proactively addresses this situation based on CRM data that shows any signs of trouble.
4) Developing a Path to Encourage Future Calls
Executives can look at CRM statistics to make informed, data-driven, and strategic decisions. They gain insights into the types of customer interactions that their sales and service teams have. This information shows upper management which programs and services generate engagement.
A systemic, top-down approach for developing a path for future call helps to drive up the volume of calls. Additionally, it improves the quality of the customer experience. Executives typically identify trends in customer interactions to guide the company’s overall strategies.
For example, they may discover that people calling in first tried contacting the company through another communication channel. Social media, live chat, and email are all options for starting the conversation and engaging with your organization. One solution may be developing customer support scripts that bring up the phone number earlier in the discussion.
Executives also look at the options in the phone system and other support channels. They need to identify if the responses are effective at getting customers the assistance they need. For example, a phone menu may have too many options or lack of clarity. If customers end up confused, then they may disconnect the call or end up with a sub-optimal experience.
Customer calls give you an excellent opportunity to connect with your buyers. Maybe they need assistance, and you improve their overall experience with product and service suggestions. Your CRM data offers far more value than being used to push for more sales.
It’s Time to Get More Out of Your CRM Data
The relationships that you can build with these techniques are invaluable. Generating better customer calls build up a loyal audience that encourages long-term growth. Integrating your CRM system with a powerful dialing software like CallTools creates the perfect pair for your whole company.
