What is CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Now, these three words might seem simple, but sometimes the whole business would depend on them. What this means is, CRM is not just the software we use. It is a system, which means it has multiple components in it, and software is just one of them. For example, the staff member in charge of these processes is crucial when it comes to maintaining a good and long-term relationship with customers. So let’s dive into the three pillars of CRM.
Three pillars of CRM:
1. People
The main subject in CRM is people. Businesses interact with people and these businesses need to maintain a good relationship with their customers so that they could retain them. If a business does not pay enough attention to people when planning a CRM strategy, it is definitely going to cost you in the long run. By people, it means everyone a business will maintain relationships with:
- Customers
- Employees
- Investors
- Suppliers
Having a good long-term relationship with people is one, if not the most important strategy a business should have plans for. People give life to a business. There has been a rapid increase in investment in CRM during recent decades as businesses started to realize the importance of a good relationship with their stakeholders. And this growth will continue throughout the foreseeable future.
2. Processes
The process is what your business is structured upon. A business process should be well-defined and understandable. Such one core process is the customer life cycle. This process is all about what stages a person goes through when purchasing your services or products. A customer life cycle consists of different stages as follows:
- Awareness
- Knowledge
- Consideration
- Selection
- Purchase
- Retention
- Advocacy
A business will try to intervene at one of these stages. Having a good CRM system will definitely help. Having a good relationship with the customers has a psychological effect on them. Everyone loves being special and treated nicely. And when you give proper attention to your potential customers they are more likely to become buyers and retain them for a long period of time.
3. Technology
This is the aspect that comes to anyone’s mind when the word CRM is heard. A huge number of software solutions have entered the market with the aim of improving customer relationships. These technologies might prove to be the complete solution or just a part of the CRM system your business has implemented.
For Example:
- Customer web tracking
- E-mail automation
- File management
- Inventory tracking
Also, data is invaluable for businesses. Processed data can provide rich insights into your customer’s behavior and are useful for making the right decisions at the right time. Data science is a rapidly developing discipline because of this. A customer relationship management strategy should be planned for optimizing and managing customer data in the best way possible.
Conclusion:
CRM is not just the software we use. It is a whole system consisting of people, processes, and technologies. Give less attention to one of these three aspects and your strategy will have a higher chance of failing. Each and every one of these three pillars is important when it comes to managing and maintaining a good customer relationship.
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