CRM

What is CRM

CRM (customer relationship management) represents a set of activities that enable a company to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.

The software used for this purpose is at the heart of the processes put in place, as it enables the management and analysis of data collected through a variety of communication channels (website, telephone, e-mail, chat, marketing materials and social media).

More specifically, a CRM software–from the operational point of view–allows, not only to create business rules, approach and promotion, homogeneous for all interlocutors, but, above all, to track every contact, obtaining a report of the business activity, which is really a company asset.

Why Adopt a CRM

Success comes from the business ability to know how to win and keep customers.

The spread of social and web communication channels has multiplied potential customer-business interactions.

To take full advantage of this information, without missing a single opportunity, it is then necessary to evolve into a “digital enterprise” through sophisticated business relationship management achievable only with the help of specific software.

The classic ERP, the “management system,” is not suitable for accomplishing these goals.

The solution specifically designed to do this work, however, is CRM – Customer Relationship Management.

Benefits from CRM adoption

control and address

An effective way to monitor sales network activities

Salespeople's activity can be monitored (number of e-mails, appointments made, quotes sent, phone calls), and this enables effective management of workloads within the team.
New contacts or customers can be assigned (or transferred) with automatic rules or manually with one click.
Every information and relationship with contacts and customers will never be lost and no historicity will ever be lost, even in the case of loss of vendors.

Information Management

A powerful, automated repository of all interactions between the company and customers

Emails sent and received, contact person data, contracts, agreements, price lists, appointments, comments--everything magically finds its place in the customer file.
Everyone contributes to the same record, no matter who wrote to whom, whether it is a business, technical, or administrative document-the information is complete, up-to-date, and in a defined place.
No more searching for e-mails and documents on all the company's PCs.

data analysis

Measure
To decide based on numbers

Have reports available at all times that concretely show the action of salespeople on customers, i.e., how many new potential customers were contacted in the month, where the names came from, how many quotes were made and for what amount, how many turned into orders.
Every activity is measurable and comparable over time: mastering numbers means managing effectively.

internal document management

Corporate forms always aligned and updated

Create standard documents approved by management, and be assured that each bid will automatically conform to the updated version.
Establish predefined workflows and approval procedures that can be managed online and remotely by designated managers (e.g., for management approval of extra scale discounts).

marketing

Speeding up and simplifying customer contact

Only CRM makes it easy to measure the commercial return of trade shows and other marketing campaigns over time.
No more wasting time copying by hand the data of contacts acquired at the fair, but capturing business cards via cell phone and automatically updating the archive.
Contacts from the site or social media can also be automatically entered, assigned to a salesperson, and even create in the salesperson's calendar the task of contacting him or her.

more information

What experts write about the benefits of adopting a CRM

Salesforce is used by multinational companies and is considered the "Rolls-Royce" of CRMs.
This article on their blog explains the benefits of CRM well

Read the article

More than one Software

Selecting the right CRM is not like buying just any software.

Rather, it is a matter of taking the opportunity to rethink the way the sales department works and structuring it in an optimal way. One must, therefore, know the different functionalities of the products on the market and compare them with the specific needs of the company.

Leaving, as is often the case, the choice of CRM to someone exclusively skilled in information technology is a mistake.

Much broader expertise is needed, including knowledge of business dynamics, the mindset of those working in this field, and, most importantly, preparation in the organizational field for effective system set-up.

Nor is it advisable to rely on a software house, which will only be able to offer a limited range of products. It is, in fact, why I4D Consulting-not being tied to any brand-is free, from time to time, to choose the software best suited to the client’s needs.

Instead, one must start with an analysis of the customer’s needs, the organizational and functional goals they propose to achieve and, based on this, choose the most suitable CRM (although, at first glance, the features of the programs on the market seem very similar, the differences are there).

I4D Consulting, which has always promoted digitization in business as an efficiency tool, after testing dozens of CRMs, is able to identify the most suitable tool to meet specific needs, set and customize it, and train staff to achieve the desired business organization.