Webinar CRM Systems in Marketing

Understanding Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

“Did you know your employees switch apps and interfaces more than 1,100 times a day? That’s hours of clicking between programs, dividing their attention, and copying and pasting information that might get compromised along the way.” Zendesk.co.uk

Definition and significance of CRM

“Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.” salesforce.com

Key components of CRM systems

1. Workflow Automation – rules that trigger actions based on specific inputs
2. 3rd Party Integration – linking with Sage, Dropbox, Outlook etc.
3. Customer Service – integration of all customer contact from marketing to sales
4. Employee Tracking – cross-referencing and reporting of staff inputs and performance
5. Marketing Integration – linking with Mailchimp, social media, website lead generation
6. Analytics and Reporting – integrated and customisable, multi-function reporting

The Role of CRM in Marketing

Enhancing customer segmentation and targeting
Personalising marketing campaigns and communication
Tracking customer interactions and touch-points
Analysing customer behavior and preferences
Optimising lead generation and nurturing processes

CRM Integration with Marketing Automation Platforms

“The main difference between CRM software and marketing automation software is that CRM software is used primarily for sales purposes and marketing automation is used mostly for marketing.” BusinessNewsDaily.com

Popular CRM and marketing automation platforms

MondaySales CRM (free 14 day trial, no coding, fully customisable)
Pipedrive (good first time CRM, strong lead tracking)
Hubspot (free option, basic software, no forecasting)
Capsule
Freshsales
Salesforce
Zendesk

How to Choose the Right CRM Software for Your Business (top10.com)

Setup Time
∙ Cloud-hosted solutions can be deployed faster than on-premises ones. 
∙ Look for a CRM with good support and a large user community to easily resolve setup difficulties.
Ease of Use
∙ Many CRMs put a strong emphasis on ease of use. 
∙ Find a tool with good data visualisation and that provides streamlined apps to help your salespeople enter and access data on the go.
Price 
∙ Most CRMs offer a free trial, to help your team evaluate the tool at no cost. CRMs range in price from “free” to “high-ticket enterprise sales”; find one that works within your budget.
Add-ons
∙ What does the CRM offer besides lead capture and outreach? Consider looking for a tool with a rich integration library to take advantage of connections with other services you may use.
Customer Service
∙ What hours is the support team available? Look for a support team accessible in your time zone and which provides more than simple ticket support.
Interface
∙ Is the CRM you’re considering visually pleasing? Opt for a tool that makes it easy for your salespeople to visualise their diary and priority appointments.

Developing customer-centric marketing strategies

“CRM integrations that can greatly benefit your company include:
Email integrations (e.g. like email tracking)
Calendar integrations (e.g. Google Calendar)
Prospecting software integrations
Social media integrations
Team communication integrations (e.g. Slack)
Calling software integrations (e.g. Fireflies)
Form and survey integrations (e.g. Survey Monkey)
Many of these integrations are available with top CRMs and should be used to their fullest extent. The more you can centralize all of your data and communications, the smoother your operations will run.” Zendesk.co.uk

Aligning CRM processes with marketing objectives

Blending with investment in an Application Programming Interface (API) requires investment and time but:

“APIs play several roles in CRM integrations:
System APIs pull data from large systems when access is needed — like a rep requesting information from the marketing system.
Process APIs work specific business transitions involving multiple systems needing to function at the same time. For example, when a rep pulls up a customer profile, the payment history system, the communications and tickets system, and the marketing profile system need to simultaneously come together.
Experience APIs combine both and focus largely on end-game situations, usually handled by customer service teams.” Zendesk.co.uk

Leveraging CRM data for marketing decision-making

Monitor and Analyze.
Segment and Profile.
Implement CRM Personalization.
Add Video Personalization.
Using Your CRM for Personalization. idomoo.com

Case Studies: CRM Success Stories

Examples at https://crmside.com/crm-case-studies/

Recommended resources for further learning

Getting Started
https://www.salesforce.com/eu/learning-centre/crm/crm-systems/

Certification and Courses
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/topics/crm-software

Finally: “How do you leverage data in marketing?

Collaborate On Solutions
Evaluate Market Trends.
Identify Patterns Through Machine Learning
Create Personalised Lead Generation Messages
Contextualise Your Data
Evaluate ‘Propensity To Buy’
Analyse Customer Behaviour
Focus On Quality, Over Quantity” forbes.com