CRM
Updated at: 7 October 2024
## What is a CRM-system
A CRM system is a comprehensive software solution (program) that allows companies to build effective relationships with customers at all stages of the sales and service cycle. CRM systems allow companies to collect, store and analyze customer data and customer interaction history to improve marketing, sales and customer service. The term is widely used in marketing, sales and management. It is one of the key concepts that describes an approach to customer relationship management and is an important part of a company's promotional strategy.
## The main features of CRM
Unlike simple customer databases, a CRM system solves a whole range of tasks:
- contact management - storing detailed information about customers and company contacts in a single database;
- sales automation - sales [funnel]() management, automation of sales stages: from tracking leads to closing deals;
- marketing and campaigns - segmentation of the client base, sending emails and sms, analyzing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, content creation;
- customer service - registration and tracking of customer requests, history of interaction with customers;
- analytics and reporting - analyze data on sales, customers, marketing effectiveness, generate reports;
- integration - CRM-systems can be integrated with other business systems of the company, such as ITSM, financial, mail services, etc.
## Types of CRM-systems
According to the type of implementation are distinguished:
- boxed (circulation) solutions - a ready-made product from the vendor, which is installed at the customer;
- individual development - CRM-system is developed for specific tasks of the company from scratch.
By the method of deployment:
- On-premise - installation of CRM on the company's servers;
- Cloud/SaaS - CRM as a cloud-based online service.
By business scale:
- CRM for small business - simple and inexpensive systems with basic modules and functionality;
- CRM for medium business - advanced functionality, integrations, analytics;
- corporate CRM - powerful systems for large businesses, thousands of users.
By type of customer interaction:
- **B2C** \- focus on automating short cycle transactional sales. Focus on maximizing the simplification of processes, reducing costs and increasing the speed of service to the mass consumer;
- **B2B** \- focus on automation of long and complex cycle of consulting sales. The system provides support for specialized techniques and tools for qualified salespeople, tight integration of marketing and sales. An example of such systems is SimpleOne B2B CRM.
## How CRM systems work
CRM-system acts as a single information space for collecting, storing and analyzing all data about customers and work with them. It automates the following business processes:
- attracting new customers - fixing leads from different sources, automatic mailing of commercial offers, assigning responsible managers;
- negotiating - registration of stages and progress of deals, sending reminders and planning tasks for managers;
- sales - forming and tracking the status of commercial offers, creating contracts, integration with 1C;
- marketing - segmentation of the client base, email newsletters, targeted advertising in social networks;
- support - registration and classification of customer requests, routing by departments, notification of new tickets;
- analytics - building reports on various indicators, ABC-analysis of clients, calculation of sales efficiency;
- management - KPI for employees, control of department efficiency, analyzing the reasons for customer churn.
All information is consolidated in the CRM-system, providing employees with an up-to-date picture of each client and transaction in real time.
## What tasks the CRM-system solves
Implementation of CRM-system allows you to comprehensively approach the solution of the following strategic and tactical business tasks:
- increasing sales volume by automating routine processes and increasing the efficiency of managers;
- improving the quality of customer service by storing the entire history of interaction with customers in a single database;
- personalization of the approach to clients based on the analysis of preferences and behavior;
- reducing the cost of attracting new customers through marketing automation;
- increasing customer loyalty through personal bonuses and special offers;
- optimizing pricing based on the analysis of demand and purchasing power of segments;
- identifying new growth points by analyzing customer needs and the life cycle of customer relationships;
- reducing customer turnover by monitoring NPS and reasons for dissatisfaction;
- increasing team efficiency by controlling KPIs and motivating employees.
In summary, CRM enables comprehensive management of the customer experience at all stages, from engagement to sales and service.
## When a CRM system is needed by a business
CRM systems are most in demand in companies with the following characteristics:
- **A large number of customers.** Maintaining such a customer base manually is extremely labor intensive;
- **many simultaneous transactions in operation. **It is difficult to track progress and plan tasks without automation;
- **high level of competition. **Need tools to retain and increase customer loyalty;
- **Constant interaction with customers.** Requires storing all relationship history in CRM;
- **wide geography of clients and remote offices. **Consolidation of data in a single CRM is important;
- **wide variety of customer segments.** Tools are needed to personalize the approach;
- **complex multi-level sales structure.** It is important to clearly set up business processes in CRM;
- **high analytics requirements for strategy development.** CRM provides deep analytics;
- **rapid company growth.** CRM allows scaling of business processes.
The higher the need for process automation, data management and analytics, the more valuable an asset a CRM system becomes.
## Benefits of implementing a CRM-system
Implementing a CRM system provides companies with the following key benefits:
- Increased sales and profits due to increased efficiency of managers and automation of routine;
- Reduction of customer acquisition costs due to marketing automation;
- Acceleration of the transaction cycle due to clear planning of stages in CRM;
- Improving the level of customer service by storing the full history of interaction;
- reducing the workload of employees by automating mass routine operations;
- improving interaction between sales, marketing and support departments in a single system;
- obtaining up-to-date analytics for strategic decision-making by the business;
- personalization of the approach to customers based on the analysis of preferences and life cycle;
- increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty through an individual approach;
- reaching a new level of business development through integrated customer experience management.
Before choosing a CRM system for your business, it is recommended to read reviews, compare tariffs and decide which one will be the most suitable. The benefit of CRM is to analyze data and optimize processes to increase sales. With its help, you can effectively manage work with customers, reporting and control processes. It determines whether the manager can track the performance of the team and forecast future sales. CRM will also help to collect statistics on communication channels, assess customer satisfaction and even forecast future sales.