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 .

---

Business Cards that Make Them CALL

How would you use business cards for gift certificates?I asked... Read More

Beware of Magazine Style Yellow Pages Ad Design.

I have been designing Yellow Page ads for the past... Read More

The Future of Marketing Part 1

It used to be if you were a small business,... Read More

Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in... Read More

Writing Guarantees that Sell

"This offer is good but can you guarantee it."Why write... Read More

Developing the Unique Selling Proposition

The "Unique Selling Proposition" advertising campaign was developed by Reeves... Read More

Identify The Ideal Target Audience With These 5 Tips

Narrowing your focus to one primary group of people is... Read More

Do Not Consider Running the Same Yellow Page Ad until You Read This

Grant Businesses have a love-hate relationship with the Yellow Page... Read More

Refresh Your Web Site

So you have a Web site. And so does most... Read More

Pre-Cleaning and Updating Addresses in Your Database

When you send a direct mail piece using the Addressed... Read More

Custom Lanyards - The Perfect Solution for Promotion, Branding, and Marketing

Lanyards are fast becoming the new "must have" promotional item.Events... Read More

How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Examples of solid Marketing

As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many decades... Read More

Hispanic Market Reality and Purchasing Power

How many Hispanic people live in the US currently. Well... Read More

Tricks of the Trade: Design your Booth for Maximum Impact

The fight for your customer's attention at a tradeshow has... Read More

Loyalty Cards ? Tips To Consider Before Committing To One

Loyalty marketing has been around for as long as retailing... Read More

Direct Mail Response Rates Mislead if You are Careless

I could tell you that the average temperature in the... Read More

Promotional Marketing Products ? Selecting the Perfect Item

People are known to shop on impulse- buying an item... Read More

Determining Marketing Effectiveness Even If You Didnt Track

What if you've done a variety of marketing activities over... Read More

Consumer Thinking And Search Marketing

12/20/04According to a recent article by ComScore Networks, about three-quarters... Read More

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Headlines Fail

Many professional copywriters estimate that the headline contributes to 80%... Read More

Corporate Branding and Trade Shows - 8 Tips for Marketing Managers

Trade shows are part of the marketing mix and the... Read More

Building Credibility for Your Business

Small companies that rely on business-to-business sales often find it... Read More

How Simple, Small Changes Can Add Real Money To Your Pocket

I want to share with you a story. This story... Read More

A Jack Of All Trades Is Often The Master of None

You've heard variations of that saying your entire life. Consider:... Read More

How To Bond With Customers So That They Stay With You Longer

How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly... Read More

How to Avoid the Line Extension Trap

If you follow the prevailing logic of most modern companies,... Read More

Your Plan For Marketing Success

The most important, yet overlooked aspect of marketing is an... Read More

Shine a Spotlight on Your Professional Service Firm

As a life-long dancer, I know a bit about the... Read More

Create A Business Card That Sells and is Effective

Why does your business need a business card?Business card is... Read More

Tackle a Newsletter and Come Out On Top

Unlike any other marketing vehicle, newsletters give you the opportunity... Read More

Four Super-Deadly Marketing Sins - And How To Fix Them

It seems nowadays every marketing guru and their brother-in-law has... Read More

Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA

Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow... Read More

How to Successfully Promote your Business to an International Audience

Breaking into the international marketplace can catapult a company into... Read More