Tools of the Trade: 5 Benefits of Using a Marketing-driven CRM service

An introduction to the benefits of CRM systems for small and medium businesses

Opportunities can be fleeting without the correct tools to serve your clients. Unfortunately, many smaller businesses are falling behind in their use of technology and missing out on potential sales opportunities.

According to a recent survey, only 34% of small business owners use technology for customer relationship management, and only 18% have marketing data fully integrated with their CRM.

To remain competitive, your business must be able to compile information, analyze data to create dependable leads, and actively build relationships with customers. A marketing-driven CRM has the power to simplify these time-consuming tasks and take your company’s sales strategy to the next level.

A marketing-driven CRM can help you:

•  1. Analyze relevant data

To help qualify a lead, a CRM tool can track demographic and risk-related information for an agency. If you’ve gathered all the relevant data about a prospect, you can create concise and sensible solutions that fit his needs. Tracking and reporting these opportunities automatically eliminates the grind work and leaves you time to focus directly on your existing customers.

• 2. Meet customer needs

Determining complex needs can be intimidating for customers. A CRM tool can help you alleviate your customers’ stress or confusion by automatically notifying customers about renewals and policy round-outs and build loyalty by optimizing discounts with multiple policies and in-house incentives. By having all the necessary information about a customer at your fingertips, you ensure quick, reliable, and pleasant service interactions.

• 3. Maximize marketing efforts

A CRM can automate your outbound marketing, which allows for more effective communication with current customers and prospects. With a CRM, reporting all sales and marketing metrics, you’ll know where to focus your efforts and be able to see the exact results of your time and money investments.

• 4. Consolidate and close sales

Understanding where customers are in the sales funnel helps you manage leads more efficiently. Taking advantage of technology-assisted sales correctly has been proven to increase initial lead-to-closing ratios dramatically. A California agency in the property and casualty sector was able to effectively utilize a marketing-driven CRM to increase revenue by 25% and total insurance policies by 35%.

• 5. Create your distinct brand

Branding your business has never been easier than with a marketing-driven CRM tool. It can communicate any information you have to prospects, leads, and customers. Is your company doing something great in the community? Use the tool to communicate that to potential customers. You can build relationships and keep up with your existing customer base without ever picking up the phone.

The days of combing through files for possible leads are gone. No longer will you miss a chance to round out a customer’s policy or allow changes to his coverage slip through the cracks. The technology available today makes managing your relationships and data easier than ever, which allows you to focus on your customers — and your business’s growth.

This post from Mary Butlin gives 4 examples of cloud-based CRM services.

Thanks to John Boudreau for sharing their advice and opinions in this post. John Boudreau is the COO and co-founder of Astonish Results. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.