You know how important it is to build quality customer relationships. But how essential is it to have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System in place to keep and track those relationships? Very, according to one article posted on Forbes.com. CRM is a system or software that helps track information and interactions between your company and your customers. This system is accessed and edited by multiple people to improve the customer experience, automate parts of the sales cycle and improve communication.
“Any company will benefit from maintaining a record of which conversations, purchases and marketing material can be associated with leads and customers,” wrote author Jason Kulpa.
With new products introduced nearly every time you turn the corner, customer loyalty might be considered a thing of the past. Everyone is anxious to try the next big thing, so keeping your customers happy, and building those relationships
is vital to your business’s success. That is why tracking your customers and your interactions with them is incredibly important.
Keys to Success
Tracking customer information is vital to help the customer succeed. When dealers understand each operation’s challenges and goals, the dealer takes on the role of a trusted confidant – more of a friend or consultant than a salesperson. With multiple customers it is important to keep all of that information in one location and to keep it current.
“The relationship between the dealer and his or her customer is part of the success of the business. If the customer has success, then I have success. If he has failure, then I will likely fail too,” said Mike Wadle, Additive Territory Manager.
Rod Hutcheson, Animal Health Business Development Manager, shares one example of how he has gathered information over time that makes the customer feel like he or she matters. When he pulls up at a producer’s place and the family dog runs to greet him, he remembers that the producer says, “get back, Charlie,” while calling the dog off. On his next visit, when the dog approaches him, Hutcheson can greet the dog, “hey Charlie,” and scratch his ear, impressing the producer that he remembered his best companion’s name.
“People will do business with those who care about them It all goes back to the adage, people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” Hutcheson said.
Choosing a System
Just like anything, there are many CRM systems. Hutcheson and Wadle agree that it is most important to use a system that the user is comfortable with, especially if you are a smaller business or not sharing that information across several people or departments.
“The best system is the system that works best for you,” Hutcheson said. “That might be an index card or 3-ring binder or keeping information in your iPhone. I always pull up the person’s contact information in my phone when I’m with them to make sure everything is still correct.”
The next step might be to track customer information electronically via an excel spreadsheet or other database system. You can then share this across users via Dropbox or other sharing platforms.
Of course, there are more technical CRM software systems that allow multiple users to share a plethora of information about customers, similar to what BioZyme uses. These can track basic customer information, orders, marketing, shipping, contact methods and conversations and more. These come with a price tag, but are worth the investment, especially in a growing business.
The bottom line is the customer likes to feel valued. Make sure you know that customer and his or her vital information and manage that information using a system that works best for you and your business. You and your customers will find success!