Improve your customer relationships and boost your leads with a CRM strategy.
A CRM strategy is a valuable asset for your company. From lead generation to return on investment optimization and increased turnover, it offers numerous opportunities that make it an essential element for ensuring the successful development of your company. However, implementing a CRM strategy and using the right tools is not always intuitive and requires some guidance.
What is a CRM strategy?
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy encompasses a set of customer-centric processes implemented across various departments within a company (sales, marketing, customer service, etc.). This type of strategy relies on a clear definition and understanding of the target's needs and problems, with the aim of providing a tailored solution and an excellent customer experience.
Why implement a CRM strategy?
Implementing a CRM strategy within your company offers numerous advantages.
1. Improve your sales performance
A CRM strategy can significantly improve the productivity of your company's sales teams. This is particularly the case through the use of certain customer relationship management software, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or Zoho CRM. These offer, for example, the ability to work offline or via a mobile application.
The fully customizable nature of these CRM tools allows sales teams to save time by automating certain processes, particularly data entry, and to focus on their expertise: sales.
2. Easily Enrich Your Customer Database with a CRM Strategy
Some features offered by CRM software allow you to automate certain processes related to customer data entry. It becomes possible to standardize some of this data (the address format, for example) and use it more easily to design, among other things, marketing or emailing campaigns.
This type of tool allows you to automatically and easily import your customers' personal data, as well as remove duplicates (thanks to automatic updates) and group the data in a relevant way to facilitate its use.
3. Use a CRM strategy to qualify your leads.
Marketing automation is an essential aspect of a CRM strategy. Thanks to the features of certain tools, it is possible to implement lead nurturing policies, in particular by offering tailor-made content to leads already identified and listed in the CRM. Interactions with these prospects are therefore encouraged through inbound marketing campaigns.
These allow you to maintain the interest of qualified leads in your company, clearly identify their needs and challenges, and develop quality relationships with them.
4. Promote collaborative work
Developing a customer relationship management strategy promotes collaborative work. By synchronizing all information in one place, team members across your company can easily access data and improve their productivity.
How to create a CRM strategy?
To create an effective CRM strategy, we recommend following five essential steps.
To implement a relevant CRM strategy, it is essential to have a good understanding of your company, your market, and your ideal customer (your marketing persona). Only after defining these three criteria will you be able to determine an effective action plan to meet the needs of your customers and positively mark their minds.
1. Have a clear vision of your company and target audience
2. Define Your Objectives
It is impossible to design a relevant CRM strategy without first setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic) objectives. This step will allow you to develop the plan and marketing actions to implement. In addition, thanks to KPIs (key performance indicators) based on these same objectives, you will be able to track results and optimize your strategy accordingly.
To boost your customer satisfaction, you will need to review or implement new, appropriate processes within your company. These should occur at each stage of the sale:
- Before: analysis of the target's needs, collection of detailed information on prospects;
- During: automation of reminders, contacts and customized commercial proposals, definition of a personalized customer journey;
- After: online assistance and support to help resolve customer issues faster.
3. Focus your processes on customer satisfaction.
4. Opt for a multi-channel strategy
Increasing the means of contact with your prospects is essential to build loyalty and face the competition. To do this, there are many sales and communication channels that you can use as part of a CRM strategy:
- Email marketing campaigns
- your website;
- social networks, etc.
Leveraging your customer database allows you to design personalized and highly effective communication campaigns. Don't hesitate to segment your audience and develop a customer journey scenario tailored to each prospect to improve cross-channel engagement.
5. Fully exploit the information in your database
CRM software
CRM software, also known as customer relationship management software, is an integral part of a CRM strategy. Thanks to their various functionalities, they allow you to effectively implement your action plan.
More than just a project management tool, a CRM is a true collaborative workspace. Each department can add its own data, ensuring the overall productivity of your company. This type of software helps promote customer acquisition and loyalty, precisely define the sales offer, and improve collaboration between different departments.
The different types of CRM software
There are different types of CRM solutions on the market, with characteristics that vary depending on how you intend to use them.
- "Suite" type solutions enable the complete management of a company, both in terms of project management and administrative management.
- Ex: Salesforces, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Dynamics;
- Generalist solutions allow you to master the entire customer relationship, particularly with regard to sales, marketing, and customer service.
- Ex: Hubspot;
- Specialized solutions are dedicated to each player involved in the CRM strategy.
- Ex: Pipedrive, for the sales department. SendinBlue or Mailchimp to manage emailing campaigns. Zendesk for customer service.
- "Suite" type solutions enable the complete management of a company, both in terms of project management and administrative management.
How to choose your CRM software?
Selecting a CRM software requires considering three essential aspects:
- First of all, the tool you choose must be adapted to your sales policy and allow you to achieve concrete objectives.
- It should be able to integrate the history of information and data of your customers, enabling you to make the most of it.
- Finally, a CRM software must respect your budget and concretely meet your needs.
By taking these three criteria into account, you will be able to choose the best tool for your customer portfolio management strategy. However, if this is still a bit unclear for you, KESTIO has developed the CRM Quick Choice © approach, based on a benchmark of 20 of the most relevant CRM solutions on the market, to help you in this selection process.
Furthermore, if you would like to know more or develop your CRM strategy, do not hesitate to contact us. We would be delighted to help you!