CRM 101: Customer Relationship Management for Small Businesses
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What is CRM and why do you need it?
CRM is a customer database to help you keep track of customer interactions with your business so you can serve them better. CRM stands for “customer relationship management” CRM helps you follow up with potential customers.
The lack of follow up is one of the biggest reasons why you’re not converting more “potential” customers to “active” customers.
We, small business owners, know we need to follow up. We know we need to keep track of our customers. However, many of us do it by writing it down on a sticky note, by using Excel, or some other method.
These methods are NOT good enough.
If you do not have a database of your customers, one that enables you to know what they bought and know what future customers are CONSIDERING TO BUY, how can you follow up? How can you remind them to work with you?
Follow Up is Everything
There are “future customers” who want to work with you. They’ve heard about it and know about your services.
Maybe they’ve even given you their business card.
It is YOUR JOB to follow up with them, and CRM helps you do this, and remind them that you have the solution to their problem
[See Ramon’s Facebook video on this]
You are not the priority in your customer’s minds unless you sell “fire fighting services” and there’s a house on fire!
You are not the priority in your customer’s minds unless you sell “fire fighting services” and there’s a house on fire!
Why Software is So Important
Manual is “ok” if you only have 1 or 2 customers. However, as your customer base grows and your potential customer base grows you cannot remember everything.
You need to remember to FOLLOW UP with your current customers and nudge them to buy more from you.
You need to FOLLOW UP with potential customers (leads) and remind them that you have the solution for them.
Software can help you with all of these things and more.
[More CRM Resources from SmartHustle.com]
[Marketing Automation Resources from SmartHustle.com]
Email marketing vs CRM vs Marketing Automation
Email marketing software, from vendors like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp and others is great.
This enables you to send an email to an email list.
CRM, from vendors such as Mailchimp, Keap, vCita, Thryv, Salesforce and many others enables you to keep track of your customers.
At the simplest level, you can store names, addresses and other information about your customers, and ideally, track what they’ve bought and other details.
Marketing automation, also from vendors such as Mailchimp, Keap, vCita, Thryv, Salesforce Active Campaign, Aweber and others goes a step further than just email marketing and CRM.
Marketing automation enables you to have actions that are automatically triggered based on other actions.
For example, IF someone clicks a link inside of an email newsletter, wait 10 days and then ask them if they’d like to attend a follow-up webinar.
If they’ve attended the webinar then send another email inviting them to schedule a call with you.
This is the POWER of marketing automation.
More CRM Resources from SmartHustle.com
Marketing Automation Resources from SmartHustle.com
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