CRM: What is it and why does it matter?

CRM (or Customer Relationship Management to give it its official title) – is one of the most underrated and underutilised channels within most businesses that we work with. For anyone who thinks CRM doesn’t sit within a marketing team – we honestly don’t think you could be more wrong, and in our latest blog – our founder Jordan explains, what a CRM marketing specialist does, what companies are getting wrong when it comes to CRM, and the benefits that a well thought out CRM strategy can do for your business. Still need convincing. Read on…

What does a CRM marketing specialist do?

The first thing to be understood about CRM, is that it is the nerve centre of a business – it is where the richest of data is collated and where ultimately, your customer experience, and reputation lives and dies. When CRM sits within a company’s marketing team – this data turns from, well, just that, data, into insights that can dictate when the best time is to launch products, which communication channels are best for generating sales vs generating brand awareness and so much more.

So, what are most companies getting wrong?

In short – most companies aren’t employing CRM specialists. While companies have provisions in place for email marketing campaigns or more recently campaigns via WhatsApp – they are treating these as an afterthought, rather than a key component of their strategy. A lot of companies we deal with say they do email marketing, but just send content out without much thought around what they want people to do, the data they are trying to collect. It’s just – something they do because they think they should – and these are the ones who are at least doing something.

The other side of the coin are businesses who don’t do anything with the enquiries they generate via paid acquisition channels like PPC, social media or other third-party platforms. In this scenario these businesses are literally giving themselves one bite at the cherry – only valuing the customers that convert after an initial enquiry – and they are no doubt paying for these people to come back into their business time and time again via the paid channels mentioned previously. So, what happens to all the enquiries that don’t convert on the first interaction? Nothing – literally – nothing. They sit in a database somewhere and are never spoken to again. Absolute madness. These are people who have shown an interest in what you sell or offer – and now you are going to ignore them? Are you alright?

5 reasons to include CRM in your marketing strategy

If the above hasn’t convinced you, then keep going – here are our top 5 reasons that CRM is crucial within your marketing strategy.

It is your 24/7 direct line to customers.

In contrast to campaigns across third party platforms, or even your own social media accounts which need to be approved by the Facebook and Instagram gods – CRM is your 24/7 direct line to your customers. You can say what you want – when you want. (Although we would stress no one likes a spammy Susan, so go easy people).

It allows you to build measurable insights.

Done properly – CRM, and the various tools that are available on the market, can allow you to gather valuable insights about your customers that you can then use to optimise future campaigns – and even shape campaigns that are running across other platforms. Within a marketing team, CRM specialists can tell you – the best time to send emails, what content your customers find most engaging, and a host of other pieces of useful information.

As a channel, it is top of the leader board for engagement.

Because these people have already enquired with your business at some point, they have already signalled to you that they have an interest in what you offer. This means that rather than your company name being a random business in their inbox they have never heard of – they recognise it and are more likely to engage. Over time (providing the content being sent is relevant and useful) your own database will not only be engaged, but it can be one of your best routes to market and driving ROI.

It targets people who already want your product or service.

This is so obvious, but it really is one that is overlooked. It is crazy how many businesses are willing to spend thousands every month, and potentially millions over a year to attract new customers – but don’t invest into marketing to the people who have already shown an interest in what they offer. Bottom line is – if someone enquires about your product, the chances are they are in the market for it – this might not be immediately – but they are a hell of a lot warmer than Joe Bloggs on the street, and if you don’t keep reminding them of what you offer – they will go somewhere else.

It can be ultra-personalised to individuals.

The level of personalisation that marketing communication software now offers is unbelievable. Long gone are the days when it was impressive to get an email from a business with your name on, now businesses can send all their customers the same email – with variants in everything from visuals to written copy – totally dependent on the customer. What’s more, businesses are now able to ensure their communications land at a time when their customers are most likely to be looking at emails – so don’t be surprised if your inbox is suddenly flooded when you’re attending to admin during your morning wee!

If you are thinking about introducing CRM to your marketing strategy or want to understand how your business could benefit from a CRM specialist – then get in touch and let’s have a chat.