Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms help businesses gather, store, and analyze valuable customer data. But why is that useful? What are some of the key benefits of CRM software?
Odds are, you’ve heard of plenty of different marketing tools you can use for your business. Some are for automation, some for analytics, and others are for design. But, a good CRM system remains one of the most important tools to use in your business.
This article details 14 of the most significant benefits of a modern CRM for your business. Keep reading to discover more.
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There are many different CRM software benefits, and in this blog post, we’ll cover 14 of the most significant ones. Keep reading for more information on the key benefits of using CRM software.
Here are 14 aspects of your business that CRM software can improve!
One of the first and most significant CRM benefits is that it can improve your customer analytics. This isn’t surprising since many CRMs have built-in reporting features. On top of gathering and categorizing your data, these CRMs can analyze it for patterns and trends.
CRM software like Nutshell can give you reports and analytics on data like:
Sales performance
Sales forecasts (more on that later!)
Team productivity
Lead volume
Conversion rates within each stage of your sales funnel
Lost deals
Some CRMs even let you generate customized reports based on specific metrics—for example, you could create a report on customer churn rate. Without a CRM, your customer data would be disorganized and distributed across multiple platforms, making it hard to analyze.
Whether you’re trying to see where your leads are coming from or identify weak points in your sales pipeline, a CRM can help you see the bigger picture of your countless data points and set you up for success.
2. Marketing and audience targeting
Another benefit of CRM software is that it can help you improve your marketing and audience segmenting and targeting. The only way to drive sales is to market to people—and not just any people, but the demographics most likely to take an interest in your products or services.
CRMs let you see exactly which types of people are most likely to buy from you, helping you hone your targeting. Plus, you can see what those people are most interested in, allowing you to focus your marketing on those pain points and interests.
3. Customer service and engagement
CRMs are also great for upgrading your customer service. Building off the last point, CRMs help you see what your customers like and dislike. That includes seeing what sorts of things they want your help with. You can then tailor your customer service to address those needs.
That, in turn, will foster more customer engagement. You’ll have far more success grabbing and keeping people’s interests, leading to more revenue overall.
4. Data organization
One of the most important things a CRM does is organize data. That’s kind of the point—without a CRM, your data will be spread all over the place, and it won’t be conveniently organized. A key benefit of a CRM is having all your customer data in one place. This means no more headaches as you comb through endless folders and files containing different bits of information.
A CRM brings all that data into one platform and then sorts it into different categories.
Organized, easy-to-access data increases your team’s efficiency by cutting down on the time it takes to find something and leaving you more time to get back to doing what you do best—successfully running your business.
5. Conversion rate
All the CRM software benefits we’ve addressed so far share the goal of driving more sales, and that’s exactly what they help you accomplish. One of the biggest reasons to use a CRM is that, quite simply, a CRM will drive far more sales, boosting your conversion rate to new heights.
The benefit of that is obvious—more sales equals more revenue, which is an unequivocal success for your business.
6. Sales process
CRMs are fantastic tools for streamlining your sales process. A faulty or convoluted sales process will lead you to lose out on a lot of leads, and even the leads that do convert will take a long time to do so. But a CRM can change that.
Using a CRM, you can identify points in your sales pipeline where leads commonly get stuck or jump ship. You can then analyze those points to figure out what the issues are. From there, it’s simply a matter of removing the roadblocks and helping leads traverse your pipeline more quickly and smoothly.
7. Team collaboration
One of the most surefire ways to hurt your company’s efficiency is to let your team members get out of sync with one another. When your team doesn’t communicate, not only does everyone miss out on valuable info from other team members, but many of them will perform the same tasks others have already done.
A CRM resolves that problem, encouraging better team collaboration. Since all your customer data is stored in the same platform, all your team members will be working with the same information. If someone on your marketing team updates the status of a lead, your sales reps will also see it. That will help everything flow better.
Looking for an easy-to-use CRM with all the features you need to boost sales?
Sales forecasting is a valuable strategy for any business. It’s where you view sales data to predict future sales and revenue, and it’s important for planning your budget and production. Thankfully, you can make your forecasts easier and more accurate with a CRM.
We’ve already mentioned how CRMs make viewing data and generating reports easier. That applies to sales forecasting reports, too. You can generate reports that take all your customer data into account and provide more accurate numbers than if you tried to do it manually. That lets you plan more effectively.
9. Data security
Another one of the major benefits of CRM software is that it offers greater security for your data. There are hackers, bots, and malware out there seeking your company data, and you want to make sure your information is protected. The good news is that CRMs are usually guarded against such threats.
That means storing your data in a CRM is an excellent way to keep it safe rather than simply putting it into Excel spreadsheets or storing it in its original location.
10. App integration
Modern CRM systems let you integrate your favorite apps with your CRM software, bringing all your essential tools into a centralized system. With an advanced CRM platform, you can connect hundreds of different apps, including your project management, accounting, social media, and web design applications.
You can streamline your sales process by integrating call and virtual meeting software with your CRM. Or increase the number of leads in your pipeline by linking your CRM with your preferred lead generation app.
11. Pipeline customization
No two businesses are precisely the same. So, it stands to reason that your business may want to approach things like lead generation, prospect engagement, and task delegation a little differently.
The best CRM systems give you the power to build and manage your pipelines and lead nurturing processes exactly the way you want them. This way, you can create a custom sales process and experience for both your team and prospects.
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Many of today’s CRMs include access to your dashboard via a mobile app. That means you can stay on top of what’s happening with your pipeline, interactions with your leads, and communication with your team while on the go.
A mobile CRM app gives you the opportunity to take your customer service and team collaboration up a notch, never missing a message or notification.
13. Task automation
One of the core benefits of modern CRM software is the ability to automate non-selling tasks and activities. For instance, your CRM can automatically advance leads to the next stage of your pipeline when specific criteria are met, such as completing a task or call.
Automating these tasks frees up more time for your team to focus on sales-centric activities. As a result, your team should be more efficient and will likely close more deals.
14. Customer retention
With your CRM streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and ensuring all relevant departments have access to accurate customer data, your team can provide a better overall service to your customers.
A CRM tracks all of your communications with your customers so you know where everyone is within the buyer’s journey. With this knowledge, you can ensure you’re giving customers the support they need, whether it’s a follow-up email or a response to a comment on your latest social media post.
In other words, using a CRM system effectively enhances the customer experience and leads to a higher rate of customer satisfaction. And when customers are happy with your services and people, they tend to stick around.
The benefits don’t stop with your team: 3 CRM benefits for customers
A CRM benefits not only you but also the people you serve. Here are some ways having a CRM to manage your sales data helps your customers.
Constant support: With customer data readily available to your team, you can continually provide quality customer service to people. Because of this, customers will feel supported by your brand and know that they can reach out to you if they have any comments, questions, or concerns.
Continued loyalty: A brand or business that consistently delivers quality customer service has a greater chance of retaining customers. Great customer service keeps customers coming back to your brand, increasing customer loyalty.
A brand they can rely on: A CRM helps you stay on top of your communications with customers so nothing falls through the cracks. Whether it’s an automated email or one of your team members reaching out, staying up to date with your customers’ needs reassures them that they’re working with a reliable business.
Experience the benefits of CRM with Nutshell
Now that you know the main CRM software benefits, you may be thinking of investing in a CRM system. But which CRM should you choose? The easy answer to that question is Nutshell.
Nutshell is a CRM designed for small businesses, and it’s one of the best out there. We offer a host of features, including sales automation, data reporting, and a top-of-the-line customer service team that can help you through any questions or problems you might have.
Want to see what Nutshell can do for you? Check out our 14-day free trial today!
