How CRM Software Can Boost Operational Effectiveness

Many businesses use CRM software, but they not all be enjoying the full benefits a CRM system can provide. CRM is short for Customer Relationship Management. Companies use CRM software to store customer information, improve the customer experience, and standardize the customer experience across different departments.

Deploying CRM software can create real value for businesses in the form of increased sales, better customer relationships, and higher retention rates. Using CRM software can boost revenue up to 41% per salesperson and increase customer retention rates by up to 27%. Many businesses can expect to see a return of between $5.60 to $8.71 for each dollar invested in their CRM system.

Here are 4 ways businesses can leverage their CRM to boost operational effectiveness.

1. Use It as an Operational Tool

At its most basic level, CRM software can serve as a glorified rolodex. (For younger readers, a rolodex was originally a rotating card holder used to store people’s contact information.) The software does store people’s names and contact information like email addresses and phone numbers, but a CRM can do much more.  Marketing can use a well-structured CRM to identify customers at different stages in the buyer’s journey or people interested in specific product categories to target for new marketing campaigns. Your overall CRM strategy should involve multiple departments, including sales, marketing, and customer service. CRMs help break down silos between different departments, which provides a better experience for your customers.

2. Identify Bottlenecks to Improve Your Processes and Workflows

CRMs help you better track and analyze your customer data.  Using CRM dashboards and reporting tools, you can identify what sales tools and processes have the best results, as well as what tools may be harming your sales process. Robust software will allow you to craft consistent processes and remove bottlenecks or other pain points that hinder the sale.

3. Automate Processes and Establish KPIs

With your CRM, you’ll be able to track or automate some parts of the customer journey and customer communications. It will help you establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) so you’ll know if your processes and workflows are working, as well as what areas still have room for improvement.

4. Integrate Your CRM and ERP

The final way your business can get the most benefit from your CRM is to integrate it with your other business software, specifically your ERP. This will allow you to view your financial, operational, and customer data together so you can make the best decisions for your business.

The Best of Both Worlds: Pairing Your CRM with Your ERP

Businesses achieve the best operational results when they integrate their systems. This removes data silos and presents a complete 360° view of your data. This allows you to make the best decisions for your business and remain on top of changing marketplace conditions and regulatory requirements.

How We Can Help

At CertiPro, we work exclusively with Sage ERP. Sage is one the oldest providers of ERP software in the business. They offer different software solutions tailored for businesses of different sizes and industries. They’ve been fixing corporate pain points and bottlenecks since the 1980s, which means they’ve seen it all. We provide and implement Sage software for our clients. While Sage is best known for their ERP software solutions, they provide CRM solutions as well. Sage CRM is designed to fully integrate with Sage, which means the systems were built to work together. When you go with Sage, you don’t have to worry about having a shallow integration between your ERP and CRM or about data limitations.