Since its inception in the late 90s, the proponents and providers of CRM have been promising a new nirvana of customer centricity. Software platforms and social technologies promise to engage customers, educate them, analyze their buying behaviors, etc.

In today’s marketplace, the stakes are higher. So many transactions have transitioned to subscriptions, so getting and keeping relationships has much more value than previous, single transaction business models.

But what has CRM really done to make the customer’s experience better than ever?

In this report, we redefine customer relationships and share insights on how modern-day businesses can build long-lasting customer relationships and reach their business goals.

Peek inside:

  • Redefining the meaning of customer relationships in CRM
  • Using data to build long-lasting customer relationships
  • Bringing customer insight across channels
  • Making every relationship unique

 

Key takeaways:

  • As you revisit your customer philosophy and CRM expectations, resist the temptation to focus on quick sales, and instead start building a culture in which all your employees view your customers first and foremost as individuals and are able to connect at a human level.
  • Establish a systematic way of applying data-driven customer insights (from your CRM and other sources) to personalize every interaction with your customers.
  • Share customer information across your sales, marketing, and customer support teams, so that no matter where and how you connect with your customers, you are able to create a highly personalized, consistent, and memorable experience at every touch-point.
  • Revisit your post-sale interactions with customers and make sure your sales team has a visibility into customer feedback and marketing interactions after the sale and uses that knowledge to follow up with customers for new opportunities, including upsell.
  • Use a CRM that allows you to build lasting customer relationships and aligns with your business goals, core values, and brand vision. Your team should be able to easily adopt and customize a CRM, so that they spend less time on mundane tasks, like data entry, and more time on nurturing authentic and mutually-beneficial relationships with your customers.
  • And, if you stay focused on the relationship part of CRM, you’ll be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors, earn customer loyalty, and build lasting customer relationships.