We all want those ride-or-die customers—the ones who are the first in line to buy your new product, test out your new services, or boast on social media about your brand. But how do we get them on board? One way: customer relationship management software. Below, we’ll dig into some of the ways CRM software fosters brand loyalists and how your brand can reap the rewards.
Credibility is Key
Credibility is crucial to the success of a business. Without the customer’s trust, there’s no chance at building brand loyalty. Customer relationship management software improves a business’s credibility through its many capabilities, including:
Bolster the Customer Experience
A major factor in building loyalty among your customer base is your brand’s ability to craft a meaningful customer experience. From initial interaction through the sale and beyond, your customer’s experience with your brand needs to be consistently impactful. With a CRM solution, you’ll have the tools and resources at your disposal to build an unforgettable experience for your customers. For example, each interaction between an employee and a customer can be documented within CRM. Sales and customer service reps are then able to rely on that historical data when assisting a customer through the purchasing process, or simply during a customer query. By using the powerful resources a CRM provides, you’ll be much more equipped to maintain a consistent experience for your customers.
Provide Consistent Customer Service
As anyone who’s worked in a customer-facing role knows, the level and quality of service someone receives can make the difference between customer loyalty and betrayal. As such, without a consistent and effective customer service effort, brands have no chance.
While it’s commonly referred to as CRM, it may also be accurately acronymed CSM. Customer service is at the heart of customer relationship management software. From incident and defect tracking, to a centralized knowledge database, case escalation, and more, CRM has the tools needed for customer service reps to provide top-notch care.
Treat Loyalty Like Royalty
Per 2017 research by Accenture, 54% of people said they’d switched providers in the past year, and 78% say they’re willing to retract loyalty faster today than they did three years ago. Loyalty has never been more essential for a brand’s success. So, what do you do when you’ve got a loyal customer? Treat them like royalty.
Giving customers the royalty treatment has never been easier than with CRM software. For example, interaction personalization makes your business stand out and provides the one-on-one focus your customers are craving. A CRM solution equips sales reps with a centralized database of historical customer data and email marketing automation tools to stay personalized and creative in a world of overly-broad email clutter. Personalization through CRM might give your brand the leg-up on competition and foster a new loud-and-proud loyalist.
As you can see, customer relationship management is way more than its name suggests. It’s customer service management, email marketing automation, personalized selling, customer experience empowerment, credibility-fostering, and so much more.
Ryan Sweeney is a content strategist at WorkWise, the provider of OnContact CRM software.