The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services
The first rule of CRM for Financial Services:
Hi. I'm Jim, a marketing guy at XYZ Bank. If you're like most people, you probably know very little about CRM and have no interest in learning more. That's fine with me: this article is for the other 98% of folks who need to understand the basics so they can make good decisions about their businesses. My goal is to cut through the jargon and teach you just enough to get by!
If there's one thing that every financial services company needs, it's more customers: current ones are always leaving and new ones never arrive. And since my main job is to sell products, my primary goal is to make you buy. This article will explain how a CRM system can help me do that -- and more importantly, help a wide range of other people get the most out of their marketing and sales efforts.
Those who choose to stay in the industry know that the hardest thing about being a salesperson is finding new clients. With CRM there's no need to worry about this issue: we can now call on every one of our former customers, whenever we want!
The first part of this article discusses each party's need for CRM -- both in general terms and with specific examples -- as well as what CRM systems are and why they matter to you. The rest of the article explains exactly how CRM systems work and how they're becoming an integral part of every business.
The need for CRM is clear: the ability to contact customers and prospects on a daily, weekly, monthly or even more frequent basis is crucial to success in any industry. However, for many reasons (primarily budget and organizational structure), many businesses choose not to implement a CRM system.
You've heard all the buzz about CRM: "this is the future", "RevenueMax can save you $10 million", "CompuServe can help you sell more" -- all of these claims are, quite simply, true. CRM systems are a proven method for companies to connect with their customers and prospects, and can help them make more sales.
After all, what good is being a salesperson or marketing professional if you can't reach out to your clients or customers? If you have great products or services, you need to be able to reach those who want them. If you're big enough and good enough, you'll get the right clients without much work. But if the people that matter most to your business no longer want what they used to buy from you...or if they're never around when they should be...then it's time for something new.
One of the most important things about CRM is that it allows for more efficient and effective marketing, which makes more money. Without more effective and efficient marketing, salespeople can't take advantage of potential customers and prospects. And without salespeople taking advantage of potential customers and prospects, there's no point in investing a lot of time, money and effort into all that marketing.
If you're a manager responsible for promoting products within an organization (marketing or sales), then you need to know exactly how your business can benefit from CRM. This includes how the system works, why and when it should be used, and how your business can grow.
If you're responsible for business development -- for example, sales or marketing in a small company -- then you should understand how CRM will help you find and reach potential customers. Does it really matter if you know more about your prospective clients? Yes! If you want to win deals, it's pretty much required that you know who needs what.
CRM is all about relationships: knowing who your customers are and keeping them around so they'll buy more from you!
CRM is essentially a database of information about the contacts in an organization's network. The most effective CRM systems are:
Transactional : this type of CRM contacts the customer and delivers a high level of service, such as orders / purchases.
: this type of CRM contacts the customer and delivers a high level of service, such as orders / purchases. Relationship-based : this type of CRM uses data about who your customer or prospect knows to reach out to them with customized information, news and offers that are tailored specifically to their needs.
: this type of CRM uses data about who your customer or prospect knows to reach out to them with customized information, news and offers that are tailored specifically to their needs. Relationship intelligence: this type of CRM uses data about who your customer or prospect knows to identify the people that should be contacted next and/or the people who should be contacted first.
A lot of customers are confused by the term "CRM". Companies use their marketing and sales tools for a wide range of purposes. For example, here's an explanation from Salesforce.com:
CRM is comprised of two parts: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation (MA). The terms refer to two different types of software applications, each with its own set of features, benefits and drawbacks. Marketing Automation is software that helps companies manage their marketing tasks, programs and campaigns. CRM software manages a company's sales pipeline and customers:
By managing the interactions between your organization and your customers, you'll have the information you need to improve your marketing -- which ultimately improves your business.
That's a great overview of CRM, but it's time for a little more detail -- let's dive in!
A customer relationship management system (also called a customer relationship management database ) is a collection of data about an organization's customers and what they're doing. In most cases, this data includes things like:
The first step in analyzing this data is to create "profiles" for everyone who uses the CRM. In this way, you'll understand the language that your clients and customers use when they interact with you. The profiles will usually include information about:
Once you have a profile for every customer and prospective customer, you can create a comprehensive database that's designed to help your business grow. This is especially true if the CRM is integrated with other tools, such as marketing automation systems (MA).
The main function of an effective CRM system is to help your business connect with its customers and prospects in a relevant manner. However, there are many ways to do this: CRMs are typically used for everything from lead generation and outreach to post-sale support.
For example, you could use a CRM to:
Of course, many businesses will end up using a CRM for more than one of these things. If that's the case, then it's important to plan ahead. Otherwise, your system could slow down and cause problems for everyone involved!
Think about how you plan to use the CRM for your business. Then make sure that:
There are a few different ways that you can set up the data in your CRM system...but most organizations will choose to use one of three methods:
The first method offers the best balance of flexibility and automation -- which is why most businesses opt for this type of CRM.
Conclusion
Creating a CRM doesn't have to be complicated. When you start with the right kind of system -- and some planning -- your business will be ready to take advantage of all the benefits that CRM can provide.
In this article, I shared how easy it is to create a customer relationship management system that's suitable for every kind of business, from big corporations to small companies. You'll learn how easy it is to integrate a CRM with other tools and systems, so that everything works together like a well-oiled machine.