Customer relationship management, or CRM, is an important strategy for business that should extend across all levels and facets of a company. The best CRM platforms are customized powerhouses that can bring together data from all corners of an organization as well as outside of it to provide a view of the business’s customers and consumer interaction. Custom CRM solutions are often hailed for their abilities to improve business operations and growth as companies use this data to make informed decisions on a variety of marketing strategies.
What some organizations fail to recognize, however, is just how much is entailed with CRM, and business leaders can become overwhelmed with managing full client loads, sales, marketing and customer service. Custom online database software is geared toward making customer data and lead management a more streamlined, easily endeavor. With CRM software, businesses often receive increased performance, efficiency and revenue.
Looking at this infographic, in general, experts predicted that 2012 would see $12 billion spent on CRM software, with social CRM representing 8 percent of total spending at roughly $1 billion. Experts also predict that by 2016, 50 percent of all CRM applications will be delivered by Software-as-a-service, or web-based apps.
As mentioned, businesses can enjoy numerous advantages of implementing a CRM system. Looking mainly at financial incentives, a custom CRM solution can offer a business a return on investment of nearly $6 for every dollar spent. On a per sales person basis, research indicates that a CRM solution has delivered an average of 41 percent increase in revenue. In addition, CRMs contribute to a 23 percent decrease in sales and marketing costs on average. Customer retention improved by 27 percent with a CRM.
For larger organizations, CRM solutions become even more important to deal with the problem of big data. Research indicated that 24 percent of a sales person’s time is spent looking for information, which equates to an approximate revenue loss of $2.6 billion for the average Fortune 500 company. The problem with big data is that it can commonly result in the loss of opportunities, and nine of every 10 sales people attribute lost opportunities to information overload. However, roughly 75 percent of sales people agree that they would be able to close more deals with the assistance of big data technology.
As social media best practices continue to evolve, many are still noting the value of data found on social platforms. Social data can be integrated with an organization’s CRM, allowing that valuable information to be applied, assisting with important business decisions.
