5 top tips on how to effectively manage your CRM
What is a CRM?
When we talk about Customer Relationship Management (CRM), we are usually referring to a CRM platform: software used for the management of sales, contacts, companies, suppliers and more. A CRM platform is designed to save time on customer service since all your contacts are in one location with their information readily available, but the effect can transfer to other areas of your business, too.
What is CRM Management?
While managing a CRM might sound counterintuitive or confusing, it simply refers to effectively maintaining and keeping up to date the system that you use to manage your contacts. CRM management is important because it not only improves the productivity of your sales team but also makes many of your office processes easier in the long run.
Here are our top 5 tips on how to effectively manage your CRM and why they are important:
1. Make sure your data is formatted correctly before importing it
It is important to add new leads to your CRM platform as quickly as possible while the task is fresh in your head, but only if you know that your new information is accurate.
When it comes to CRMs, always ensure your customer data is formatted correctly before importing it. This includes confirming that there are no spelling or numerical errors in emails or phone numbers, or any other typing error that could accidentally appear in your CRM.
2. Complete contact records whenever possible
From a customer service or lead generation point of view, there's nothing worse than trying to get in touch with a customer only to find out that some (or all) of their details are missing. Not only does it waste your team's time, since they're trying to contact someone unreachable, but it also clogs up your CRM with information that is not useful to anybody.
Always try to complete your customer records and import them all into the system together. This helps to avoid confusion and time-wasting for your team and yourself as well.
3. Avoid duplicating data
There are many annoying things about duplicated data in your CRM- mainly realising that you have been sending more than one email or text to the same customer, and then having to take time out of your day to remove the duplicate info. Try to avoid duplicated data whenever possible in order to keep your CRM from becoming cluttered.
4. Remove clutter regularly
Even if you and your team are trying to stay efficient, duplicated data and other useless information can appear in your system accidentally from time to time. That's why it's important to regularly review your CRM platform and make sure it's not filled with clutter that could slow down you or your team.
5. Don't hang on to unresponsive contacts
Do you have a customer in your CRM system who sounded really interested in your sales pitch, but never got in touch? Maybe you're hanging onto their contact info just in case they have a question, or they change their mind about your company and would like to request your services. Don't waste your time.
If the customer has been in your CRM for a long time and has not interacted with your company, remove them from your database. In doing so, you'll be de-cluttering your sales team's system and allowing them to move on to new customers who are more likely to be interested in a sale and interact with you.
How can we help?
Zigaflow's CRM module is designed to help you grow your business- unlike most CRM systems, it automatically connects all your tasks, leads, and quotes to your contact records without the need for manual updates. Its intuitive design allows you to go about your routine tasks in an organised way while automatically building up customer history and details as you go.
To learn more about Zigaflow's CRM and how it can help your business, book a free book a demo with our team today.