Do you struggle to keep up with communicating with customers and potential customers? It’s long been said that the fortune is in the follow-up – and staying top of mind is critical when it comes to marketing your business. But how do you stay top of mind with multiple past clients while nurturing new prospects with all the value that you can provide to them and maintain a work life balance and your sanity? Let us introduce you to the wonderful world of CRM automation!
In today’s world, manually tracking information can be painful – paperwork is cumbersome, difficult to locate on the fly, and not environmentally friendly. In a world where customers expect and demand great service fast, leveraging technology is critical. Luckily technology has advanced to the point that you no longer need to have files for customers, you can have everything you need at your fingertips within seconds. Keeping all those details organized, accurate, and secure is easy with the right tools.
That’s where CRM (customer relationship management) automation software comes in. It can make everything run so much smoother. In this guide, we’re going to explain how CRM automation can streamline your processes and improve your entire sales process from start to finish. Let’s dig in.
What is CRM Automation and Why Use It
Imagine you have a restaurant. CRM automation is like having a smart system that automatically keeps track of all your customers – when they visit, what they order, if they have any special requests or preferences. It’s like having a super-organized waiter who never forgets anything about your customers.
CRM automation software helps your marketing, sales, and customer service teams stay on top of every interaction with customers, past and potential. It’s like having a detailed customer diary that everyone can access and update easily. This transparency lets you see exactly where each customer is in their journey with your business, from being a prospect to becoming a loyal client.
The software also takes care of repetitive tasks like housing customer data, freeing up your employees to focus on more important things like finding new customers and nurturing relationships with existing ones. It’s like having an assistant who handles the busywork so your staff can spend time on what really matters.
CRM automation is part of a bigger picture called customer experience automation. This means streamlining every single interaction a customer has with your business, kind of like rolling out the red carpet for them at every step.
Benefits of CRM Automation
CRM automation helps make things simpler and faster when working with your customer management system. It helps your sales, marketing, and customer support teams do their jobs better and more efficiently.
Here are some of the main benefits of using CRM automation:
Increased Productivity
With automation, your team can save time doing repetitive tasks like entering data, sending follow-up emails & texts, and generating reports – freeing up your team to focus on more important things like building relationships with customers.
Better Pipeline Management
Automation can keep track of leads as they move through the sales process. It can identify any roadblocks and make sure leads get followed up with on time. This helps nurture leads better and convert them into customers faster.
Shorter Sales Cycles
By automating communication and ensuring leads get the right information at the right time, the entire sales process can move quicker.
Fewer Errors
Humans make mistakes when entering data manually. Automation reduces these errors, giving you a cleaner, more reliable customer database.
Improved Customer Service
Engagement Automation can trigger personalized emails, birthday greetings, or special offers based on what you know about each customer. This helps strengthen your relationships with customers and keep them happy.
Data-Driven Decisions
CRM automation provides valuable data and insights into how customers behave and how well your sales are performing. You can use this information to make smarter decisions about marketing campaigns, resource allocation, and overall business strategy.
Better Collaboration
With automation streamlining communication and information sharing across teams, everyone has access to the latest customer data and activity. This helps teams work together more effectively.
How to Set Up a CRM
Getting your customer management system set up correctly takes some planning and customizing to make sure it works best for your business. The most important piece of the puzzle here, as with any marketing campaign, is to define and understand your ideal client.
Here are the basic steps to get started:
- Define Your Needs and Goals
Once you have a good grasp on your ideal client, it’s time to map out your customer journey – the steps that your customers take from their first contact with you to becoming loyal, raving fans. Understanding your customer journey and the key steps in your sales process, marketing campaigns, and customer support interactions that bolster that journey is where you begin setting up the CRM system properly for their experience.
- Select the Right CRM Platform Explanation
Look at features like contact management, sales tracking, reporting tools, and how well the CRM can connect to other software you already use. Choose a CRM that can grow as your business grows over time. And consider the pricing – some CRMs are free to start, while others have higher costs for larger businesses. At OWS, we use Go High Level for our clients – it’s an affordable and robust service that offers multiple options for CRM Automation, and it’s quickly becoming the industry standard. With over $1500 of individual services packed into one low $97/month price, it’s a natural choice for many of our clients.
- Import and Organize Existing Customer Data
Gather all the customer information you have from emails, spreadsheets, marketing tools, and any other sources. Clean up this data by removing duplicates, fixing any mistakes or inconsistencies, and running the emails through an email authenticator to avoid a high bounce rate. Then import all the customer data into the new CRM, using the import function or working with the CRM’s support team.
- Customize CRM Fields and Workflows
Create custom fields to track any specific data that’s important for your business, like property preferences for a real estate company. Set up the sales stages to accurately match each step of your sales process that a lead goes through. Also automate common tasks and communications by setting up workflows, such as sending follow-up emails after meetings or triggering birthday greeting emails for customers.
- Integrate CRM with Other Tools
Link the CRM to your accounting software for streamlined invoicing and order management if that feature is available.
What Should You Do Monthly with Your CRM?
Your CRM needs regular attention, it’s not just a one-time setup. There are important things you should do every month to make sure your CRM continues to be a useful tool for your business.
Keeping Your CRM System Up-to-Date
If you are using your CRM to its fullest ability, then you will regularly be updating data, including removing duplicate entries, updating outdated information, fixing mistakes or inconsistencies, and validating emails. We recommend to re-validate your emails monthly if you are regularly sending out information to keep your list as up to date as possible and prevent email from landing in spam.
Train Your Team to Update
Train your team members to update customer information in the CRM after every interaction. This way, you’ll always have the latest contact details and preferences for your customers.
Analyze CRM Reports and Metrics
Regularly analyze the reports and metrics available in your CRM system. Keep an eye on important numbers like how many leads are turning into sales, how many customers you’re losing, and how satisfied your customers are. Look for patterns or trends and identify areas where you can improve or find new opportunities for sales, marketing, and customer support. Additionally, use the CRM’s reporting tools to create custom reports tailored to your specific needs and goals.
Refine Your Marketing Strategies
Use the customer information in your CRM to divide your customers into different groups based on factors like their age, interests, and purchase history. Then, use these customer groups to run targeted marketing campaigns that are designed to appeal to each group specifically. You can also use the customer preferences and information in your CRM to personalize things like marketing emails, website recommendations, and customer support interactions.
Train New Employees on CRM Usage
When new employees join your team, provide them with a standardized training program to teach them how to use the CRM system effectively. Offer ongoing support resources and mentorship opportunities so new team members can feel comfortable using the CRM. Additionally, hold regular refresher courses for existing team members to remind them of best practices and introduce any new features or updates in the CRM.
Getting the Most Out of CRM Automation
You don’t want to automate processes just because you can. Instead, have a clear strategy for which tasks you want to automate and why. This ensures the automation has a specific goal and allows you to get a good return on your investment in the automation tools.
Set some guidelines for how to use it
Anytime you bring in a new system, you need some guidelines for how to properly use it. Think about things like where to save files, what data gets logged, and how each team should interact with the automated CRM. Having these practices established upfront is important.
Pick a platform that fits your goals, not the other way around
Think about what exactly you need the CRM tool to do to help you hit your targets and align with your business plans. Consider how and where different teams will be using it. For example, what kind of data analysis capabilities do you need?
Find software that’s user-friendly
Look for automation tools that are simple and straightforward for your team to use right away without needing tons of training. Things with drag-and-drop functionality or that don’t require coding are ideal.
Figure out what other tools it needs to work with
Beyond just collecting customer data in the CRM, you’ll want to analyze and make use of that information. Make a list of what programs your marketing and sales teams currently use, and find a CRM platform that integrates smoothly with those existing tools.
Choose a CRM that meets your team’s needs
Think about how your employees will actually be using and interacting with this automated platform. Does it need to be accessible online from anywhere? What devices – like phones, tablets, laptops etc.- need to work with it? And how secure does the data need to be?
Conclusion
In conclusion, a CRM system with automation can greatly streamline your business operations and sales process. However, it’s crucial to maintain your CRM regularly through data cleaning, analysis, and employee training. With the right approach, CRM automation can significantly boost productivity, customer engagement, and business growth.
At Obsessed With Success, we are CRM automation experts! Book a free marketing session with us to unlock the full potential of CRM automation and take your business to new heights.
