Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is very important for every business be it large or small. In this process, a business develops ways in which they can interact with their customers to maintain long-term relationships. Customers form the major backbone of every business because they are the stakeholders that either contribute to a rise or fall in sales and income. There are various ways that a business can maintain long lasting relationships with their clients. CRM is a process that is not just done theoretically but it also involves the use of data analysis techniques. Data analysis will help you to check the history of your customers’ behavior and how someone can manipulate this data to achieve business success.

History of CRM

This concept has been in existence for the longest time. Since the 1970s, businesses realized that sales and revenues are not the only important building factors towards a successful business. The relationship that one has with their customers is much more important as customers will act as referrals to other potential customers.

In this era, a survey was conducted to analyze how customer satisfaction can affect a business. The very first CRM structure was built by Tom Siebel and this was quickly followed with other similar solutions to business growth including Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP). The CRM system has greatly advanced over the years to meet the changes that happen every day in the corporate world. Some of the great changes that have taken place are the linking of CRM systems and business communication systems as well as business Artificial Intelligence to achieve greater impact. Changes are still happening to this structure with businesses now focusing on how they can move away from CRM systems that are global specific to those that are business specific to meet the needs of a particular business.

Types of CRM systems

There are different types of CRM that a business can use to achieve the desired success levels.

  1. Operational CRM

The three main areas of focus that Customer Relationship Management system is to focus on include sales, marketing and customer support. When it comes to sales, this type of CRM works by ensuring that the levels of sales are considerably high. This is done by ensuring that every potential customer is transformed to an actual customer through promotions and following up on them. In terms of marketing, operational CRM works to make sure that marketing is done in automated way that will ensure that many customers are turned into actual clients who will help increase sales. In terms of Support, operational CRM will work to ensure that every customer can have access to the business every time in case of a query.

  1. Analytical CRM

As can be denoted from the name, this type of CRM is used to analyze the data of the customers so that the business will be able to make better decisions that will work for the good of the business. This type of CRM works by evaluating customer behavior patterns and evaluating various data to find out how these customers are reacting towards the customers.

  1. Strategic CRM

This type of CRM focuses more on how the business can change its culture to make it more customer-oriented. This is done through such means such as changing the way the business interacts with the customers as well as ensuring that the business is friendly to the external social culture of their potential customers. This is to help increase the sales.

Why a business needs CRM

One major reason for every business to use CRM is to increase their sales. This is because when one is able to please their customers, they will be able to have more people to purchase their products or services and the customers will refer other customers to the business if they are satisfied.

The system will also help you to better price your products. This is because you will be able to analyze data and customer patterns to find out how the current price is affecting purchases. Finding an optimal price will ensure that you not only attract customers but you also maintain and increase your business revenues.

A business will also be able to provide products and services that are customized. These ones have been produced to meet the needs of the customers. This is done by data mining and analysis to find out which products and services the customers prefer.

With a well-developed CRM system, a business will be able to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. This will help to build long lasting relationships with the customers, which is a factor that will see the success of the business the long run.

Another reason why businesses should adopt the CRM system is that it will help them to have a platform where all their customers can be connected. This will be a platform where the customers can ask questions and the business will be able to respond to these queries .An integrated platform will also ensure that you have all your data in one place, which makes retrieval easy. The business can use this data to improve their customer service.

Conclusion

CRM systems are very beneficial and they are necessary for those businesses who want to turn every potential customer to an actual customer. There are different types of CRM systems and a business should choose to work with the one that is more linked with their business goals. Benefits of the CRM are endless. The main benefit however lies in having customers who are satisfied with your products and services. With a proper CRM system that is synced with your business, you will be able to have a profitable business that will not only record high sales, but also one that will create long lasting relationships.