3 factors so that the CRM software transforms your business after COVID-19

COVID-19 has situated us in a unique moment to transform business and increase its resilience, productivity and profitability. It is now that we need to take that huge step forward in the digitalisation process at all levels: from the tools to the culture of the organisation.

It is, therefore, time for organisations to strengthen their commitment to CRM software. And Customer Relationship Management tools are going to be fundamental in a new environment where capturing new customers will be much more complicated than before. Now more than ever, companies are going to value the benefits of CRM solutions such as:

• Loyalty of the customer base, as we know, is more profitable than attracting customers
• Personalised service for each customer
• Improve the Customer Journey and the customer experience

However, this type of tool should be seen as supplemented by a significant amount of previous work at the heart of the organisation, especially in the 3 factors we will see below.

What 3 factors will make CRM software the best option in the new situation?

The interesting article “Now it’s time to build”, published in the corporate blog of SugarCRM, shares the idea that we launched at the start of our post: it is a great time to establish the bases for the future in the organisation, and CRM software is going to play an important role.

In the opinion of experts from SugarCRM, the three factors around which this process revolves are the optimisation of:

• Relationships with customers and their management
• Business technology
• Employees (business culture)

Let’s look a little closer!

Factor 1. Optimise relationships with customers

For many companies, attracting new customers is going to be more difficult than before. New opportunities should be managed with maximum efficiency but, at the same time, the relationships with customers should be maintained more actively than ever.

It is, therefore, the time to cultivate further the human dimension: according to Forbes, the strengthening of empathy is one of the main changes in the commercial and marketing processes of the new situation. It is more necessary than ever to listen carefully to customers, ask them how COVID-19 has affected them, and what they need now, discover what their new objectives are in this new environment. This way, it will be possible to make the necessary modifications/adaptations in the processes and CRM solutions and the automation of the marketing of our company, with the aim of optimising elements such as:

• Customer journey
• Customer experience (UX)
• Omnichannel strategy

Our organisation, for its part, should communicate clearly how it can help you to be more competitive in this situation and in the future. Appearing close and receptive is a characteristic that will reinforce customers’ trust, it will improve the experience of current customers and will lay the foundations to optimise relationships in the future.

Finally, the rest of the actors involved in commercial management must not be forgotten. It is the time to form even closer relationships also with suppliers, investors and employees. All of these contacts will help us to establish a 360º picture of the current status of the commercial and marketing processes, identifying the necessary adaptations and finally improving the experience with each one of these actors.

Factor 2. Technology

For many organisations, the new situation brings with it a review of investments in technology. In this sense, CRM solutions and marketing automation solutions will be critical for business, also standing out for being one of the most profitable and priority options.

Depending on the company, investment in this type of solutions and associated technology (for example, workflow) will include:

• Firm commitment to platforms 100% on the cloud.
• Acquisition or adaptation of specific modules of these solutions (if they are already installed).
• Integration of CRM solutions and Marketing Automation with other resources of the company (for example, corporate website or social networks).
• Optimisation and redefinition of the Customer Journey offered.
• Definition and application of genuine omnichannel strategies which improve the user experience (UX).

The essential criteria for carrying out these investments is to think about the future: it is necessary to avoid solutions or platforms without a roadmap (roadmap of its evolution) or possibilities of customisation. If it is a roadmap solution, one recommendation: you shouldn’t opt for the cheapest software from the outset, rather, it is important to compare the options properly and choose the one that best suits the characteristics of the organisation.

In this respect, tools like SugarCRM or Salesforce offer guarantees both in terms of the future and the response to the needs of organisations, which means that investing in them is highly profitable and guarantees full competitiveness of the business.

Factor 3. Optimisation of employee performance

Employees, especially those from Sales and Marketing teams, are one of the main treasures of organisations. The closer, more motivated and more aligned they are with the business culture and strategy, the better the profits will be and the company’s competitiveness in the new environment.

Due to the new characteristics of the market, managers of these teams should take advantage of this time to:

• Inform employees clearly of the new strategies: collaboration tools, videoconferencing or VoIP, to guarantee the same information regardless of whether someone is working from home or in the office. These tools should be used between the teams themselves and between the different departments of the organisation.
• Offer and boost training (online and face-to-face) to increase the skills of each employee and reinforce their self confidence in the service they offer the customer.
• Finish instilling into all of the internal actors of the organisation the 100% focus on the customer in all of the business processes (fundamental aspect).
• Stimulate the innovation capacity, encouraging the contribution of ideas that help to improve both the organisation and the relationship with the customer.
• Invest in the employee through health plans, well-being and training, to make them feel valued and increase their engagement with the organisation.

At Intelligence Partner, we share SugarCRM’s visionabout the importance of laying a solid foundation for the competitiveness of the business through relationships with customers, technology and employees, that will increase the effectiveness of corporate CRM solutions.

Thanks to the wealth of experience and knowledge in CRM software projects, especially associated with solutions such as SugarCRM and Salesforce, we are able to turn customer management software into a fundamental ally for your business in this new environment.

You just need to state your requirements and objectives to our experts. They will show you how to compete successfully in this new situation thanks to these solutions and the transformation of your Sales and Marketing processes.

Let’s talk?