Another day another marketing acronym.

You really do need to know this one though. In fact, it could be an absolute game changer for your business.

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Manager. And as the name suggests, Customer Relationship Manager software is designed to help you to manage your customer base and your relationship with your customers.

You may be thinking that it sounds pretty basic. Names, email addresses, purchase history — nothing a spreadsheet can’t handle… And you would be wrong.

A CRM (that is, a good CRM) can supercharge your business like nothing else, and here’s how:

1. Easily access all your customer data in one spot

Emails, spreadsheets, little notes stuck everywhere — that’s all well and good (kind of) up to a point. Your customer data is pure gold and should be treated as such.

A CRM can help you store it, manage it and keep tabs on everything all in one easily accessible spot. A CRM system shows every interaction, every contact point and paints a beautiful picture of your blossoming (or not so) relationship with leads. It’s not surprising that job satisfaction is increased by 17% for sales teams when a CRM is adopted.

2. Level up your customer service

When you can access all your customer data in such a simple way, creating a stellar customer service process becomes a lot easier.

With a CRM system in place, you don’t need to worry about forgetting to reach out to a lead or a returning customer. Prompts can be set up to alert you and your team when follow ups are necessary. Or you might even look at automation…

3. Automate processes for sales and marketing

Automation is a blessing when used properly. Not only will you save lots of time, but you can create a sophisticated automated process that makes your business look so good.

With automation carefully designed for your sales and marketing funnels and workflows, your team will have more time to focus on the customer directly. And don’t worry — automation doesn’t have to mean impersonal.

4. Access actionable customer insights

The power of a CRM behind your business offers the chance to learn more about your customers than ever before.

Customer insights including trends and patterns can inform highly targeted marketing strategies, help identify red-hot prospects and even assist with cross-selling from other areas of your business that you may not have been aware current customers were interested in.

5. See how your business is tracking at every stage

You can get a clear picture of how your business is tracking via your CRM.

Whether you want to see where leads are coming from or what stage they are at, compare your sales team members to see how each individual is doing or identify opportunities to allocate additional resources, your CRM has got your back.

6. Improve efficiency

A CRM can save you precious, precious time.

Those repetitive, menial tasks that are either forgotten or rushed can be automated to perfection. Long hours spent gathering and analysing data are no longer required. Knowing who needs to do what and when is identified for you.

Choosing the right CRM for your business

Chances are, you’ve read this and are excited at the prospect of getting your business hooked up with a CRM. And so you should be! With research indicating that 91% of companies with more than 11 employees are now using CRM software, CRMs are here to stay.

Here’s the catch — there’s a zillion to choose from. Each has its own special way of approaching things and neat features to lure you in. Different CRM software is best to integrate with other software businesses use, mobile options are available, and there are often upgrades for various features too.

If you’re feeling CRM-ready but overwhelmed with choice, start a conversation with us. We can help you make the right decision that will meet your business's specific needs and goals. You’ll be CRM-savvy in no time.