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Why Is Customer Relationship Management So Important?

At its core, customer relationship management (CRM) is all of the activities, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage their interactions with their current and potential customers. A saying frequently heard and said in many businesses is “customer is king.”

CRM helps businesses build a relationship with their customers that, in turn, creates loyalty and customer retention. Since customer loyalty and revenue are both qualities that affect a company’s revenue, CRM is a management strategy that results in increased profits for a business. At its core, a CRM tool creates a simple user interface for a collection of data that helps businesses recognize and communicate with customers in a scalable way.

Leslie Ye, editor at Hubspot’s Sales Blog, describes a CRM in the following way: “Beyond contact info, CRMs log reps’ touchpoints with their prospects, including emails, phone calls, voicemails, and in-person meetings. Some CRMs offer the ability to track deal stages and reasons for closed-lost and closed-won deals.”

According to Gartner, CRM software totaled $26.3 billion in 2015 and predicts that that figure will continue to rise through 2018.

At its core, customer relationship management is simple. However, it can be implemented in a huge array of methods: websites, social media, telephone calls, chat, mail, email and various marketing materials can all be integrated into a CRM solution. Due to CRM’s diversity, it doesn’t only benefit larger businesses — using and maintaining a CRM tool is the basis for a scalable sales and marketing system. Any company will benefit from maintaining a record of which conversations, purchases and marketing material can be associated with leads and customers.

At UE.co, we advise companies to make CRM a part of their strategy before the number of clients makes a CRM platform absolutely necessary. Small businesses and even freelancers can benefit from CRM processes as well. After all, who doesn’t want to increase their customer retention and, as a result, their profits? Some of the major ways in which CRM accomplishes this goal are listed below.

• Learning. CRM helps businesses learn about their customers, including who they are and why they purchase your products, as well as trends in customers’ purchasing histories. This allows businesses to better anticipate their customers’ needs and, as a result, fulfill them. Effectively using customer relationship management can also provide a strategic advantage. Well organized customer data helps companies select the correct recipients for promotions and new products.

• Organization. CRM allows businesses to become more efficient by organizing and automating certain aspects of the business. From sales processes to marketing campaigns and business analytics as well as customer data, CRM automates and streamlines these processes for businesses. This allows the businesses to organize these processes into simpler, easier to understand data.

• Optimization. Finally, CRM software allows businesses to optimize their customer interactions. By simplifying and streamlining many of the more complex customer interaction processes, CRM increases customer satisfaction.

Types Of Customer Relationship Management

There are many different types of CRM. However, most CRM software primarily focuses on one major category below.

• Operational. Operational CRM usually has to do with one of the three types of operations: marketing, sales and service. Operational CRM is an important tool for lead generation because it frequently deals with past customer data such as previous marketing campaigns, purchases and service satisfaction. CRM software also aims to automate these processes to create a better experience for both the businesses and their customers. Because of its concentration on efficiency, operational CRM is a great fit for companies with a shorter sales cycle and high repeat sales like e-commerce or business to consumer retail verticals.

• Analytical. The main function of analytical CRM is to analyze customer data so that management can better understand market trends and customers’ wants and needs. The goal of analytical CRM is to improve customer satisfaction. Analytical CRM frequently uses data mining and pattern recognition to accomplish this task — it works well for companies in higher priced markets with a lot of competition.

• Collaborative. Collaborative CRM is when companies share customers’ information with outside companies and businesses. By pooling their data, certain businesses are able to create an even greater experience for their customers by obtaining data which they otherwise would not have had access. It’s an excellent fit for markets where innovation and new product development is paramount to success because the additional data creates very detailed pictures of what consumers are currently responding to.

CRM is an excellent tool that allows companies to increase not only their customer satisfaction but also their efficiency and profits. CRM comes in a wide variety of strategies and applications, which allows it to be modified to fit virtually any business type. Almost every business can benefit from CRM software, and it is much better to start using a CRM for your business before it becomes necessary. It is important for companies to consider their operations and sales process when considering which CRM solution to use: What customer information is relevant to your sales process? How many times do you usually make contact with a client before they purchase? How important is repeat business to your company? As a business owner, not exploring your CRM options could be a huge oversight for your company.

Arete Automation: All in One Marketing CRM. Capture leads using our landing pages, surveys, forms, calendars, inbound phone system & more!

Credits to: Jason KulpaDate Posted: Oct 24, 2017 Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/10/24/why-is-customer-relationship-management-so-important/?sh=4995c7357dac

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Leveraging Technology: Meaning, Importance and Examples

Gone are the days when businesses were just on papers and business functions requiring no technology. We are living in an era where the world is driven by technology. In the modern-day market, due to extreme competition, only those businesses survive who are incorporating technology. Leveraging technology in business is all about using technology for the growth of the business.

Undoubtedly, technology can take any business to sky-heights in the modern-day market. Not only it increases the efficiency of the business, but it also reduces the expenditure by a considerable margin and saves a lot of time.

Businesses have noticed exponential growth in their return after incorporating technology into their functions. It can draw the fine line between a struggling business and a stable business.

Technology has become an essential factor for modern-day businesses. From the customer’s point of view, technology helps in enhancing the customer experience, which eventually helps the business.

Let’s get in deeper and understand the essence of leveraging technology for the businesses –

Why is Technology Leverage important for businesses?

Take a few seconds and imagine anything randomly — there are high chances that there is a relevant website/app to whatever you have imagined.

This is how technology is assisting us in our day to day tasks. It is not difficult for us to understand the application of technology for businesses. Not only technology saves a lot of time in regular business functions, but also it makes the process more comfortable than ever.

To understand the essence of leveraging technology for businesses, you can think of several examples like data analysis, marketing, customer support, and so on.

All these functions of any business have become efficient and easy due to the leverage of technology. Let’s understand these examples in detail –

A few examples of Leveraging Technology for businesses

1. Data analysis

No one can deny its importance for businesses of any type and size. Unless and until you have a proper analysis of the humungous data around you, you can’t predict anything about the market trend and your business’ position in the market.

You must know who your audience is and what are their interests and opinion to prepare a suitable product for them.

Data analysts, as well as different data analysis software, are the result of the incorporation of technology in the businesses. The efficiency of the businesses increases due to proper data analysis backed by technology.

2. Marketing

Marketing is the backbone of any business. The business can’t survive without proper marketing. The efficiency of digital marketing is known to all. You can reach a vast number of audiences around the globe through digital marketing.

You can target your audience in multiple ways and get them through the sales funnel successfully.

There were days when marketing was just about printing pamphlets and distributing them door to door for brand’s marketing. People these days hardly prefer reading hard copies to aware themselves of any brand or product.

People prefer digital sources for these purposes. Digital marketing is all about this. It not only increases the reach of the brands but also helps the audience in getting familiar with the brand easily.

Technology has undoubtedly made marketing more useful than ever. Moreover, it saves a lot of time and effort.

3. Customer support

Customer support is a critical business function that can decide the fate of the entire business. Better you connect with your customers post-sale; stronger will be the trust in-between.

Retaining customers is as important as generating new customers. If your customer support is weak, you can’t retain your old customers. Technology has helped a lot in making this process easier and efficient for businesses.

Social media, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI), is helping businesses in providing better customer support.

Undoubtedly there are a lot more other examples that you can think of to understand the essence of leveraging technology for businesses. Let’s understand the role of technology in small and medium scale businesses –

4. SMBs and leveraging technology

With digitalization, people have changed the way they interacted with each other. This has made all businesses shift their functions to the digital medium to match the market trend. Small scale businesses grow slowly; hence it is more critical for them to leverage technology for their growth.

As the expectations of customers from the businesses are rising day by day, small scale businesses need to cope with those. Moreover, people are changing the way they used to work for the organizations. Remote work is getting popular, and people are praising it. With this becoming a trend, it has become essential for small businesses to incorporate technology.

Leveraging technology in businesses saves a lot of time so that SMBs can focus on other essential areas to grow their business. Innovation in the modern-day world is directly/indirectly related to technology, and SMBs can survive in the market with innovation.

There are different other areas which require the leverage of technology in SMBs to enhance the efficiency and match the market trend. Like –chatbots. Chatbots help businesses in automating customer support by making bots to answer regular queries.

SMBs need to think about the future, which will be driven entirely by technology. SMBs will be able to survive by incorporating technology into their functions. Moreover, the rising expectations of customers are another factor that they should look for.

Let’s understand how businesses can correctly leverage technology to get the maximum out of it –

Doing it right

Technology, when incorporated correctly, can be boon for any business; otherwise, it can increase unnecessary expenditures. It is essential to know what your business requires before incorporating any technology.

1. Consult with an expert

Before implementing the technology, you must know what your goals are and then consult with an IT expert for incorporating any new technology. The IT team within the organization should be aware of your IT strategies.

It is essential to assess the vision multiple times and discuss it with the expert before moving forward. Once you are transparent with it, stick to it throughout the process.

2. Don’t hurry

We understand that time is precious, but doing things in a hurry can be disastrous. Take your time to think before doing anything innovative with your business. Plan well and then implement it with perfection.

You can’t expect perfection if you are doing things without proper planning. Set up a team and strategize for your technology enhancement. You must prepare a roadmap as well to ensure everything falls at the right place and time.

When the implementation occurs on a pre-set roadmap, chances of success are high. Hence, take your time to strategize well.

3. Monitor

Keep an eye on your business after you have implemented the new strategy. If anything goes wrong, fix it then and there. Claiming that your plan is perfect is foolish, there are chances that there might be loopholes that are not visible in the beginning.

You can set up a monitoring team to keep an eye on your implementation and look for any shortcomings.

Final Thoughts!

So, this was all about leveraging technology.

Its essence can never be neglected, and all businesses should incorporate technology in their functions according to the requirement to get maximum growth.

How important do you consider leveraging technology for optimizing reach, channelization, and ROI of businesses? Share your views in the comment section below.

Arete Automation: All in One Marketing CRM. Capture leads using our landing pages, surveys, forms, calendars, inbound phone system & more!

Credits to: Hitesh Bhasin Date Posted: September 21, 2020 Source: https://www.marketing91.com/leveraging-technology/

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What is SaaS and how can it help your business?

How understanding the benefits of SaaS can save you money and build your business

What is SaaS and how can it help your business?

Nowadays many industries are beginning to look for new software to meet the demands of business in the 21st century. As of 2020, most of the technology world is focused on the Software as a Service (SaaS) products. Even though digital integration has become a more common place topic, there are still a lot of companies that are not familiar with the term SaaS. Given that many businesses, especially in industries like distribution and logistics, are moving away from on-premise commercial installations or pen and paper to SaaS solutions. This article will give you some basic information if you still do not know what SaaS is and how it can help your business, likely in any industry.

What is Software-as-a-Service?

Let’s start by defining SaaS, it stands for software as a service and the title pretty clearly explains itself. Instead of buying an expensive commercial software outright, think Microsoft Office before 365, you rent a software, at a steep price reduction. SaaS is offered in a variety of forms like cloud storage, hailing a ride or running field services. However, even though SaaS can support any industry thus showing the flexibility of the model, they all share a few things in common. The software is always hosted, updated, and maintained on a central server (i.e. the cloud) by the developing company. The customers of SaaS access the service via the internet instead of having to store everything on their own devices. Generally, the only thing you must store is the basic portal that allows you to use the SaaS platform. Lastly, users generally pay a monthly, annual, or some other type of service fee for the software, these amounts vary considerably depending on the service rendered.

Why is SaaS Important and how can it help your business?

SaaS businesses offer several benefits to their customers, whether that be for finding a ride, or a song they like, hosting huge amounts of data, or running multiple field agents. There are many benefits to utilizing SaaS for companies including the reduced upfront costs of commercial software’s, need to install software on individual machines, service scalability with a business’s growth, integrations with other software’s, and instant updates to all users. That is just a few of the benefits. One of the major benefits is that the software never goes out of date, it just keeps getting updated. Thus, there is no potential hold up, we all have dealt with a software 5 years too old that continues to work, but just doesn’t cut it anymore. The biggest benefits of all, though, is flexibility of using the software on your terms and the cost savings over time with the pay-as-you-go model. If you try the software for a short period of time, there is no buyer’ s remorse, you just cancel your service -depending on the terms and conditions — and move on. This means that the SaaS company has an inherent interest in how you use the software. They must make a better experience for you and your business or you can just choose something else.

Tips for looking at implementing SaaS for your business

1. Understand the Cost

With software license costs, SaaS should be a lower cost option compared with the traditional model. However, this is highly dependent on what service you are looking for. Subscribing to a niche service may cost more than a Spotify account, but what would be the alternative commercial software cost. What value is the service going to give your business and what potential cost savings does it offer. Furthermore, SaaS has become an extremely competitive space in the last five years driving down prices and this gives you opportunities to look around the market for a cost that fits your budgets. SaaS should give any business, but especially small and medium sized businesses the advantages of traditional software, with a better cost-benefit analysis. Maintenance, IT, training and other costs should be reduced as well, because the provider supports the environment, offers personal support, and constantly releases new updates.

2. Can it scale and integrate with your operations?

Integration is arguably the number one element of wanting to adopt a SaaS software into your businesses. Integration between multiple softwares, sounds like a difficult task, but actually it is not as hard as one may think. This can be completed with Application Programming Interface (API) integration. This refers to how two or more applications (i.e. softwares) can be connected to each other via their APIs to perform some joint function. In other words, your business can use a SaaS software and integrate it into other on-site or other SaaS softwares. This is an important feature to look for in a SaaS offering. Scalability offers to customers the ability to access more, or fewer, services or features on-demand. Suppose one or two months a year you need 20% more scale from the software, with a SaaS this is easily done. Suppose you need a specific feature set that is not available in the software, but if added would make your business so much simpler. If you talk to the company you may be surprised at the ability for them to build that addition specifically for you, likey for a small development cost.

3. Ease of use and support

SaaS applications should be user friendly since they are supposed to be designed with best practices at the core. Look for options that allow you to demo and try the software first. It is almost like buying a new car, try it and see what you like or do not like because there is a lot of variability in how SaaS offers ease of use to their clients. Look for simple clean layouts that do not overload you with a complex series of steps. You should be able to complete most tasks with simple processes that follow logical and easy to understand tools. Further, look to see what type of support materials, on-boarding process they offer and how responsive the SaaS is to requests for help.

4. Data ownership

In terms of data ownership, you should make clear when discussing or reviewing terms and conditions of a SaaS agreement that there is a clause in the agreement that states unequivocally who owns the data. Most of the time, given you are paying for this service, SaaS vendors will allow you to export your data and back it up locally any time you wish. GDPR is another aspect you should investigate when considering any SaaS service. GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, and it is pretty much an industry standard at this point. This regulation, originating from the EU, is a series of rules about what companies can do with data that is their clients. This can be both personal and business data and although it mainly applies within Europe, many companies operating outside Europe have also adopted the framework. Look to work with companies that follow GDPR standards.

5. Data safety

Security of your data is always one of the most important factors to consider when allowing a partner to maintain your sensitive data. However, with the practice of online everything, major security issues have built strict security & safety parameters. SaaS vendors can invest in security, backups, and maintenance more and beyond any small to medium enterprise. They have the expertise, the understanding and correct implementation for building proper security systems. Web-based systems have stronger on-going security measures in action than an on-premise system. One additional thing you can look for is something called SOC 2. SOC 2 is an auditing procedure that ensures a SaaS provider effectively secures the data of their clients. The certification is there to show external audits confirm the protected interests of your organization and the privacy of your data.

There are many benefits to utilizing a SaaS service for your company. It allows flexibility, cost savings, API integrations, and ease-of-mind on data security. Organizations can take advantage of the benefits that many in the private sphere already know including increased savings, better data collection, greater team efficiency, sustainability, and more adaptability in offering services. The key is for you to analyze what you need out of a service and take the time to look around for one. The experience will show you what you may have been missing out on for years.

Making improvements to your business operations in a necessary part of operating in the ever-changing business environment. Businesses are coming to expect more out of the services they are required to pay for. For example, in field service management, making a small improvement such as adopting a SaaS software to compliment your team can mean more than happier clients, it can also mean increased efficiency and cost savings. Improving your field service operations does not have to be difficult, if you are looking to improve your field service operations with a SaaS company then take a look at Hellotracks and see what solutions and advice we can offer you. We have lots of articles and experience explaining how we can help your company grow and thrive.

Arete Automation: All in One Marketing CRM. Capture leads using our landing pages, surveys, forms, calendars, inbound phone system & more!

Credits to: Hellotracks, LLC Date Posted: 2022 Source:https://hellotracks.com/en/blog/What-is-SaaS-and-how-can-it-help-your-business/

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All You Need to Know About an All-In-One Marketing Platform

There are 3 people: you, the person next to you on the train, and that person’s best friend. You all are marketers and are in the search for an all-in-one marketing platform.

All-in-one marketing platforms typically offer several digital marketing and sales features and functions, as an integrated software, instead of purchase each separately. All-in-one platforms come with capabilities that might include marketing automation, CRM, content management, SEO, social media marketing, and e-commerce. So, when it comes time for you to look for an all-in-one marketing platform, you must know what features you’ll need, how you’ll use those features, how robust the features need to be, and more.

For instance, you may do marketing for a small business in your local town who doesn’t need the benefits of every single feature a fortune 500 company may need. Also, your small business most likely doesn’t have a huge team of sales and marketers to manage the platform. This means your platform needs to be built for small businesses, not Fortune 500 companies.

Do you see where I am headed? Not every platform is a perfect match for you. Some companies opt for multiple platforms to fit their needs. However, as a small business, you can’t afford the time it takes to manage various platforms nor the expense. But you don’t want to lose out on any of the amazing features and functions either. So, an all in one platform is perfect for you!

Let’s continue to dive into why.

What is an all-in-one marketing platform?

An all-in-one marketing platform is a digital marketing software that brings together your essential sales and marketing tools into one platform. A marketing platform enhances the way a marketer can develop, deploy, and manage all their marketing efforts. An all-in-one platform comes with capabilities that might include marketing automation, email marketing, CRM, contact segmentation, content management, SEO, social media marketing, e-commerce, and integrated reporting.

Whether you are a start-up or a company that has been around for a while, investing in an all-in-one marketing platform is a good idea, especially if you are looking to grow your business with more than word of mouth.

Why do I need an all-in-one marketing platform?

With an all-in-one marketing platform, all your marketing and sales efforts are in one place instead of across multiple platforms. This can positively change your workweek. Below are a few benefits of an all-in-one marketing platform.

Boost efficiency. An all-in-one marketing platform allows for your team to work and perform more efficiently because they have all the necessary information at their fingertips, in one place.

All your data in one place. You have better control over your data and can easily access it in one place. This allows you to see what’s working and what’s not in one dashboard.

One bill and one customer support number. An all-in-one platform means you have just one company to pay and reach out to for questions, concerns, and help. You can build a better relationship with one company vs. juggling multiple vendors.

A complete view of a customer. Track every interaction a customer has with your company — Email, Sales Meetings, Phone calls, Social — to capture a comprehensive view of your customer journey.

Analytics in your lap. All your metrics in one place to measure, track, and report on sales and marketing efforts.

With an all-in-one marketing platform, you are guaranteed less stress and more time to focus on other projects to grow your business. With the power of a platform like this, you’ll be steps ahead of your competition!

How do I choose the best all-in-one marketing platform for my business?

It’s a big decision. It’s the only platform you are going to use and hopefully use for an extended period. The platform you choose must meet your expectations for your business. Remember, just because it is all-in-one, you don’t want to give up any features that are crucial to your business. Below is a list of the most popular features you will see in an all-in-one platform. Review this list and decide which features you’ll need. This will help you understand the right all-in-one platform for your business.

Marketing automation — technology that automatically initiates campaigns, posts, and emails across multiple channels.

Email Marketing — Send bulk emails to targeted groups of contacts.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) — manages customer interactions, tracks leads, streamlines processes, and identifies sales opportunities.

Contact Segmentation — the ability to organize your contacts into separate groups or lists based on information such as products purchased, titles, interests, demographics, etc.

Content Management System — manage and create the content for your website via a backend system.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

Social Media Marketing — the process of creating content that you have tailored to the context of each social media platform to drive user engagement and sharing.

Integrated Reporting — get actionable insights into your business across all marketing and sales channels.

When looking for an all-in-one marketing platform, be aware of the features l listed above. These features are essential for small businesses and their marketing and sales efforts. They are needed for a small business, especially if you are jumping into marketing. To learn more about DirectLync’s features, check them out here.

Power to the small businesses

As a small business, you may feel like you can’t do as much marketing as a larger company, especially when they have a bigger budget. But that’s not necessarily true — you just have to be smarter. That’s why an all-in-one marketing platform is powerful for a small business. An all-in-one marketing platform not only makes a marketer’s life easier and helps them be more efficient during the workday but more enjoyable too. Think about all those google docs, excel sheets, and sticky notes with content ideas that you have on your desk and in files. You can transform those ideas into an eye-catching email in a few simple steps, and even design it to fit the tone and voice of your company. You can convert that excel sheet of contacts right into the CRM module to keep a more organized contact list with all their details and conversations in one view. CRM also helps build stronger customer relationships. And these are just a few examples. There are countless ways an all-in-one marketing platform can help; you can stay more organized, save time, and build a strong marketing strategy. You’ll regret ever using that excel sheet in the first place!