CRM System: Give Meaning to Your Data

A customer relationship system (CRM) system uses technologically-driven strategies to assess customer needs and buying behavior. This allows businesses to market their products and services more effectively. The ever-increasing level of technology available to a CRM system can, however, provide an overwhelming amount of information to a company, not all of it useful. Large corporations compile enough data in their 'data warehouses' each day to occupy a team of marketing analysts for a lifetime. In fact, 'data mining,' a relatively recent term coined by marketers and data analysts, was coined from the attempts to sift sales trends and associations out of the mountainous volume of data constantly pouring into a company.

This information overload has created a need to give useful meaning to data. This is where a CRM system can be essential. A CRM system takes data mining to the next level by focusing on data that will paint the clearest customer portrait possible. If a CRM system works properly, a number of important benefits should result, including:

· Customer retention improvement
· Increase in call center sales conversion rates
· Sales agents are able to more effectively cross-sell products
· Deals close more quickly
· New customer inflow
· Increase in revenue

To get the results listed above, a CRM system must take the name, address, and other important demographic information into account. Moreover, the system must be able to gather information from a wide variety of customer 'touch points', or instances of customer contact. These can include faxes, emails, direct mails, personal sales, etc.

The most important function of any CRM system is to provide you with an accurate profile of your customer. If you can identify your customer, you know how to market, where to focus R&D funds, and what kind of potential growth road blocks you can expect.

With all the different options available to businesses wanting to pinpoint customer profiles, how do you know what to look for in a CRM system? With ever more sophisticated technology and techniques available, making this decision can be difficult. Let me share a few CRM system features that will not only help you track customer information, but also help to create new revenue.

Power Dialing CRM systems equipped with power dialing allow you to significantly increase the number of sales calls made by your outbound call center. Anyone who's worked in an outbound call center (myself included) will tell you that it's only a matter of time between two calls that end in a sale. This feature helps you shrink that time dramatically.

Voice Messaging A CRM system that includes this feature will allow our sales agents to automatically send a pre-recorded sales message to potential customers with the intent of eliciting a return call. By using voice messaging you will be able to multiply your efforts dramatically without paying for additional staff.

Customizable Fax and Email The ability to customize mass correspondence with potential clients will go a long way toward improving your sales conversion rates. Moreover, the ability to do this quickly will ensure that you don't miss out on time sensitive sales opportunities.

System Flexibility Since every business is different, the CRM should be flexible enough to accommodate your business's particular needs. Make sure that whomever you buy from is willing to work with you until the system is working properly.

With the right CRM system working for you, you can expect a significant increase in ROI.

Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in ranking automation. For information on how a CRM System can boost your revenue, visit Inside Sales .

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Beyond Repair: The Fixed-price Model

Don't get me wrong. I certainly don't think the majority... Read More

Creating a Marketing Plan for Your Website

Have you created a marketing plan for your Website? If... Read More

Radio Advertising Works With These Tips!

Advertising on the radio can be an effective lead generation... Read More

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover

Are you on track for hitting all your business goals... Read More

Market Research ? How Good is the Data?

"Make money for taking surveys"," Cash for your opinion", "Make... Read More

You Cannot - Not Market

Everything you do - or don't do sends a message... Read More

Direct Mail Still Works!

Direct Mail CampaignsDespite the proliferation of communication facilitators--mobile phones, faxes,... Read More

Basic Marketing Dope

Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not... Read More

These Four Things Will Make Your Direct Marketing Successful

Direct marketing is built on four things. The other way... Read More

Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed

What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

Where to Find Cheap Brochure Printing

Whether it is for is a real estate listing, a... Read More

Why Surveying Matters

What is the single most important thing you can do... Read More

How to Leverage Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Second in a series of three articles:What if you could... Read More

Using Direct Mail

The advantages of using direct mail to promote your home-based... Read More

Promotional Magnets: Promotion that Sticks

Some people are happy with just a business card. For... Read More

Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment

"Dig your well before you're thirsty" is the title of... Read More

11 Ways to Turnaround a Cash-Strapped Business or Practice

This past weekend I received a disturbing message from a... Read More

Have You Captured Me Today?

There are many Web sites I visit every day and... Read More

So What Do You Do?

Once you have the attention of a business prospect, at... Read More

Terrific Titles, Happenin Headlines

You've probably heard the slogan, "You never get a second... Read More

Off The Shelf Software for Making Business Lists

Available to all small businesses are business lists, which come... Read More

The Marketing Secret Every Child Knows

Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want.Mom, Mom,... Read More

How To Turn $100,000 Into $1,191,817 In Just One Year Part II

Turning a modest $100,000 annual turnover into $1,191,817 may sound... Read More

How Effective Customer Surveys Will Help Innovate Your Business

Have you ever wondered why the phones aren't ringing the... Read More

How to Protect Yourself Against the Hidden Cost of Shipping to Trade Shows

Trade Shows are lots of work, but they can generate... Read More

How To Market Effectively Even If No One Understands What You Do

So how do you effectively market your product or service... Read More

Direct Marketing Puts Information In The Buyer?s Hands

Direct marketing is advertising from a manufacturer or front-end supplier... Read More

High Response Marketing With Low-Cost Postcards

Postcards can drive a huge amount of traffic to your... Read More

Marketing Lessons From Apples iPod

Apple Computer just announced that their earnings from the last... Read More

Good Marketing is Like a Bad Habit

You know those bad habits we get. Like raiding the... Read More

15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time

Do you think you don't have enough time to market?... Read More

Choosing Networking Functions

Time is a concern for all of us. We only... Read More

The Right Logo

The Logo: a little historyLogotype, commonly know as a logo,... Read More