CRM software: the potential of analytical CRM

CRM software, which stands for Customer Relationship Management, refers to :

• a strategy for managing relationships with customers,
• but also a set of tools at the service of the latter.
  

Indeed, a CRM software allows to centralize and exploit the interactions and data related to the actors outside the company (customers, prospects, suppliers...).

Today, we will focus on the analytical CRM and its features and functionalities that can be useful to increase the activities of a company. But to better understand how it works, we will also talk about other CRM software, because to get optimized results, their combined use is the winning solution.

In this article, we will present you the ABCs of CRM software with a focus on analytical CRM.

What is a CRM ? Definition

A CRM tool, also called customer relationship management or CRM software, allows you to manage data, relationships and interactions with all your contacts, which can be of different nature: customers and potential customers. But also members, partners, users, collaborators, partners, suppliers, etc.

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Strategic CRM

Strategic CRM focuses on the customer, his needs and requirements. The objective of strategic CRM software is to continuously collect customer data in two different ways, i.e. with a specific or generic focus, but with reference to a segment. 

The analysis of this data and a report on the current market trends allow the company to propose new solutions to the customer that can meet and anticipate his needs.

The importance of a strategic CRM is to keep the best customers for as long as possible. This way, they will not be tempted to analyze competitors' proposals. 

One of the most common examples of strategic CRM is that of telephone operators who regularly call their customers to propose new, cheaper offers. With this strategy, the customer receives a personalized treatment, constantly updated according to market trends. If it is done in the right way, the customer will hardly turn to the competition. 

Operational CRM

Operational CRM is about all the strategies and tools that govern "outbound" or "inbound" interactions with customers. Operational CRM allows you to automate all stages of the customer relationship: from acquisition to retention, with a particular focus on after-sales and customer follow-up.

Operational CRM supports the sales department in the following activities

• Automated customer relationship management: automatic collection of a set of information, leading to a targeted analysis for the company;
• Back-office order tracking: control of order registration and execution;
• Sales assistance: assisting the sales team in all their operations within the company, outside and on the territory;
• Improved customer service: key customer support and after-sales services are managed more efficiently, such as calls to the call center, databases used by the sales force to be faster in their work, reports and customer personnel files.

Analytical CRM

Analytical CRM works in close collaboration with operational CRM. Indeed, the information gathered through the work of the operational CRM is processed, through a series of methodologies and tools, into fundamental reports to better understand its own customer base and allow managers to implement more targeted decisions. 

Analytical CRM must be carried out over the long term in order to see the fruits of its labor: salespeople will be able to trace a precise profile of the customer, understand what he wants and how he reacts to promotions, new sales and company proposals. 

The last functionality of CRM analytics is the analysis of the relationship between the company and the customer: for example, how to manage complaints with the call center service, the follow-up of loyalty surveys and the speed of response of the direct mail service. 

All the analytical CRM work is useful for: 

reporting on the customer portfolio: how to categorize customers according to certain factors established by the company such as geographical area, age, gender, frequency, habits, buying behavior, reaction to promotional campaigns ;

Creation of targeted promotional campaigns for its own clientele: create communication and marketing campaigns based on the information gathered about its own clientele in order to correctly establish the target, the budget and the promotional channels;

Automated analysis of statistics: the customer relationship cycle and the performance of sales campaigns are compared to the ROI of other activities carried out by the company and to the choices made by management. 

Collaborative CRM  

The introduction of the Internet into our lives has brought about a huge change in social interactions. People are increasingly sharing and interacting with each other through all the channels made available by the digital community, which is becoming more and more interconnected. 

Therefore, a company cannot overlook the role of digital communication for the success of its business. Analytical CRM must be able to work closely with social platforms: analyzing customer profiles, collecting documents, comments and reviews. Analytical CRM systems will be able to move to a more intimate and personalized analysis of their customers and their next targets.   

Social platforms have expanded the spectrum of information that can be collected about customers. Today, you can capture data about people's likes and dislikes, learn more about their likes and dislikes, and use that data to create more personalized marketing campaigns. 

The decision to set up a media channel, combined with the CRM analytics we mentioned earlier, allows you to get a complete view of a customer's sketch and potential customers by adding data from social media and the web.

If a customer decides to get in touch with them through social platforms like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, with collaborative crm, the company will have a faster and more efficient response time with targeted responses to meet customer needs. All these activities will be handled with the ease of a phone call or email.                             

The benefits of analytical CRM 

Analytical CRM software allows you to capture and analyze customer information and make accurate analyses to optimize exchanges. Better meeting customer expectations and refining the quality of the product or service offered is a real asset provided by CRM software.

Access to information is facilitated and the analytical crm promotes a better understanding of each customer's profile. The relationship between the customer and the company is better controlled and sales can be predicted. Promotional offers and suggestions to discover certain products are indicated to targeted customers.

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