CRM – What is it and why do you need it?

A Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) is a great tool for creating a relationship between yourself and your clients that is mutually beneficial for both parties. A CRM manages the entire working relationship that a client has with your company under one dashboard which shows a comprehensive history of work, status of orders, work outstanding, service issues, etc. It creates an opportunity for you to learn more about your clients, grow a relationship and forge new ones with new clients. Here is some more information on what a CRM is, why you need one and why they are important to have.

  • What is a CRM?                                              

A CRM is not only a platform that keeps track of the work you and your clients do together – it also helps you stay connected to each existing and prospective client. A CRM stores all relevant information on each client – from their websites, social media profiles, phone numbers, email addresses and more. A CRM is also able to pull all new relevant information about your client into one place such as news, recent activity and personal preferences. A CRM allows you to stay connected to all of your clients, streamline processes and improve profitability.

  • Why are CRMs important?

A functional and effective CRM will nurture and deepen your relationship with each client, as well as service users, colleagues, suppliers, partners and more. It creates an opportunity to forge good, communicative relationships with prospective clients, which is crucial for growing your business, keeping clients and gaining more over time.

An effective CRM is what forward-thinking businesses use when they look to the future in order to grow.

  • Why have a CRM?

Various divisions of a business can use a CRM for their daily workflow, however marketing teams use this software for clear and accurate forecasting of each client, where they can map out the entire work history of a client or map out a potential lead. You can also align a client’s social media profiles to a CRM, showing their likes and dislikes, which could help gain a better understanding of them as a person on a more personal basis instead of seeing them as a potential or regular cash injection into your business.

There are a number of CRMs available, such as Agile, Salesforce, Zoho, Orical, Infusionsoft and more. Agile is one of the most recommended CRMs because it is an all-in-one software with every function in a CRM you would need, and when you consider all of the features it provides, it is very affordable. Agile is a user friendly, cloud based SaaS service and offers a free version that allows you to store your client’s contact details for business growth, connect plugins and automations as your business expands.

A CRM is an asset to any company, regardless of the industry you are in as it allows you to nurture a mutually beneficial relationship with your existing clients, as well as prospective clients who have not yet signed with you. Its time you invested in a CRM – such as Agile – to keep track of each client, job in progress, and payment history.