Last Updated on July 1, 2019 by
Managing relationships with customers is always important in business, and it has become a lot easier in recent years, as well. Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms that centralize all the most important information and capabilities have become mission-critical to many companies already.
Another significant evolution of the field is now underway, with more and more businesses benefiting from CRM systems that automate common tasks. There are four CRM automation features that are the most frequently useful of all.
Powerful Automation Capabilities Make CRM Easier
There are now hundreds of different CRM systems on the market, an increasing number of which focus solely or significantly on automation. As resources like Sharpspring.com/hubspot-pricing-and-reviews make clear, automation-focused CRM platforms can be as cost-effective as they are powerful.
Choosing a CRM automation system will always be easier given a clear idea as to the features that generally prove most useful in practice. Some of the capabilities that most often benefit businesses are used to automate important CRM activities like:
· Lead management. Effective lead management requires the collection and analysis of large amounts of data. That turns out to be something especially well suited to automation, as some of the most successful CRM platforms are now proving. Automated lead management can log information pulled from sources like web sessions, social media activity, and email interactions. What used to be tiresome, menial, but challenging work becomes a breeze when automated effectively.
· Lead cultivation. CRM automation systems that do a good job of managing leads are generally well positioned to nurture and cultivate them, as well. Once lead management has been automated successfully, the logical next step is to do the same for the responses and solicitations that go into nurturing them. While some manual setup will normally be required to ensure the appropriateness of each bit of automated outreach, doing away with the need to nurture leads by hand will oftentimes repay that minimal investment many times over.
· Customer support. For many businesses today, customer support remains a cost center that seems especially resistant to reduction. Automating customer support without undermining its quality can end up being one of the most significant accomplishments of all. It turns out that strategic automation can even improve the customer support experience while cutting costs and delivering other benefits.
· Deal management. Sales professionals often spend inordinate amounts of time keeping track of various deals at different stages of development. Automating this important work will free up these experts to focus and deploy their valuable talents more productively. CRM systems that allow for customized deal stage characterization can be used to automate the process for virtually any type of company. Reminders and deadlines can be automated to ensure that sales teams always remain on top of every opportunity.
Automation Means Having More Time to Focus on the Essentials
By automating what would otherwise be relatively repetitive, routine activities, CRM systems free up valuable resources to be leveraged in more interesting ways. Automation is not necessarily a panacea, but it can make the important work of CRM a lot more efficient in just about any situation.
Choosing a CRM automation platform that excels in these areas will always provide a strong foundation for success. Businesses that make the best possible use of CRM automation today can count on staying ahead of the competition in an increasingly significant respect.