As a growing SME, you’ll be familiar with the constant struggle of retaining your client base. You invest so much time, money and resources into following sales leads, developing marketing strategies and enticing potential clients, the idea of them being tempted by a competitor is disheartening, to say the least. Not forgetting that developing a subsequent client retention strategy is also costly and complicated to execute effectively.
But, are you really doing all you can to keep your customers onside? You might consider yourself to be a client-centric company, but does your company behaviour really reflect your core values? To prevent the likelihood of losing clients, many companies are investing in CRM software to help support their client retention schemes, and to cement themselves as a client-centric firm.
Want to know more? Read on to discover how to retain customers more effectively with a CRM tool.
To understand how CRM can help you retain your client base, you need to know some CRM basics. CRM software (or customer relationship management software) is a cloud-based platform that gathers customer data in one centralised location. This platform is available across your organisation, streamlining not just your customer service department, but also your marketing and sales practices. As client data is collected, employees can track and record every customer interaction, giving them the tools they need to solve queries quickly, to craft personalised responses and connect with your clients at every stage of their customer journey. Many of these tasks are automated, saving your business time and resources.
So, how can it help you retain your customers?
CRM makes it personal
As your company grows, it’s all too easy to lose sight of your clients as you scrabble to ship orders and answer queries, their faces and names turn to numbers and lists. This lack of personalisation can be enough to turn clients away, regardless of what stage of the customer journey they’re at.
As CRM records and stores client information and interactions, you can place more emphasis on personalisation, letting your software do all the hard work for you. Personalised messages, specific offers, and even birthday and celebratory messages all add that personal touch that will keep your clients engaged.
Say goodbye to blanket marketing
You want your clients to see what you have to offer, so advertising the latest products and services makes sense. However, this constant bombardment of sales pitches and poorly timed marketing ploys can grow tiresome. Especially if the products in question aren’t relevant or wanted. CRM gives you the data and insight you need to create hyper-targeted marketing campaigns, tailored to your clients’ interests and wants. This keeps them engaged and on your books.
And finally, spot the trend – before they leave
Even long-standing clients can leave without warning, but with CRM you’ll have all the insight you’ll need to spot the trends and warning signs of a customer who’s heading out the door. Detailed client data insights will highlight issues and engagement trends, giving you the information you need to create email campaigns, or to even drop them a personal message and (hopefully) pull them back in.
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