Customer relationship management (CRM) is easy to dismiss as the domain of corporate organisations with big databases. However in its simplest form, CRM describes a way to communicate with existing and potential customers to boost loyalty and sales. If it sounds like business 101, that’s because it is!
The challenge for small businesses when using CRM technology is to automate the process somewhat, yet maintain the very personal approach that provides the edge over bigger rivals.
Here are some thoughts on how to do just that.
Clarify your CRM goals
Research consistently shows that finding customers is the biggest challenge for business owners – particularly when starting out – and yet 44% of businesses report investing little or no time in ongoing activities to address this. Having a CRM strategy puts you ahead of the game here.
Its efficacy is proven in the long term, with 76% of those who’ve been in business longer than five years reporting they rely most strongly on repeat business rather than marketing to attract new opportunities.
This clearly suggests that growing revenue is not only about attracting new customers, it’s also about extracting more revenue from those you already have.
Think about your own situation and decide whether your primary CRM goal is to attract new customers, consolidate your existing ones, or a combination of both.
Get the basics right
Given the digital focus of many communications tools, your website is generally the heart of the machine. So as a priority, it’s worth investing in a professional brand identity and website for your business. This will go a long way to establishing credibility.
Ensure your website clearly communicates exactly what you do, who you do it for and how will it benefit them. Strip out the corporate speak and impersonal language and boil your message down into plain English. It’s surprisingly common to see sites filled with waffle and yet time and again simple messaging is proven to win. If you need to, consider enlisting a professional copywriter to help sharpen up your message.
With blogs, emails, social media and text, there are more mediums available than ever before. While this gives you lots of options for getting in front of prospects, resist the urge to start randomly firing out emails, posts and reminders! Be cautious of not bombarding people, instead ensure the messages you share are delivered as part of an overriding strategy.
Keep customers in the loop
Just how do you cut through in an age of saturation? One sure fire way is to tailor your messages to your customers and respect their need for useful information. Many customers grumble that suppliers keep them in the dark during a project – doing the work, but not updating on progress – so having a policy of sending regular email updates can immediately set you apart. It has numerous benefits, such as reassuring those worried about deadlines, demonstrating that you’re organised, thorough and focused on their project and it confirms you’re not rushing at the last minute. Ongoing communication throughout your project delivers certainty, and who doesn’t love that?
At other times, regularly touching base with your clients providing information that adds value elevates you from just another supplier to a reliable partner.
Newsletters and automated reminders are great, but truly personal, thoughtful and helpful interactions are more highly valued by your customers.
Collect the data
As a business owner, you meet, email and work with lots of different people. Over the years, that adds up to thousands of individuals. But unless you conscientiously maintain a database, it eventually all becomes a mess of random email addresses, business cards and half-remembered names.
A detailed and up-to-date database (even if just in Excel to start with) can be of enormous value. It quickly becomes an essential tool for launching new services, starting email newsletters, keeping in touch with prospects and sharing sales information with an interested and engaged audience. Make a commitment to regularly adding and maintaining this list.
As well as the standard name, email, mobile number and associated columns, be sure to add a ‘Notes’ column where you can record where you met along with any information to help you remember the individual down the track.
Then find the right tools
Once you’ve got the basics in place, defined your objectives and gathered the data, it’s time to hunt down the best tools for the job.
While a search for ‘CRM software’ will reveal dedicated solutions including Zoho and Salesforce, you may not need to make a large investment initially. Plenty of progress can be made with clever use of data captured across your existing channels like your website, phone, email software, brochures and social media.
Beyond that, you can go a long way with powerful email newsletter and autoresponder tools like MailChimp, simple survey tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms and online lead generation tools like OptinMonster.
Another option is to introduce a live chat tool on your website, with a service like Zopim that lets people ask questions in real time and can often start a relationship and allow you to demonstrate the importance you attach to customer service.
The best bit is that these are all free or very low-cost options!
Customer care on the go!
The beauty of a lot of these tools and ideas is that with a mobile device and a good data plan, you can apply and interact them wherever you are. For example you can capture new contacts into your database on the fly, sign up customers at events, or check your analytics on the run.
With the convenience of purchasing apps with your plan, Vodafone’s all-in-one business solutions are designed to make sure your small business is prepared today for the challenges you’ll face tomorrow. Whether you’re starting out or you’re expanding, the Business Apps Marketplace lets you choose the solutions that suit you.
Visit vodafone.com.au/business to learn more and take the Ready Business Indicator online assessment.
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