You have a fast and attractive website that is optimized for online marketing, is SEO savvy and is loaded with tons of good content for your clients. Your social media profiles are integrated with your site, and you have analytics set up to check up on your performance. Are you ready to go start building your online presence? Not quite!
There is one final piece of your Internet promotion puzzle that is mainly invisible to everyone but you (or your website administrator). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems are a way to assimilate even more modern marketing techniques into the function of your website. Emphasize Website Design of Calgary’s inbound marketing packages include the latest in CRM technology to make your – and your customer’s – lives a whole lot easier!
CRM Explained
According to Marketing Fellow Dan Lyons of the HubSpot blog in the article What Is CRM? [FAQs], “Customer relationship management refers to a set of software programs that let companies keep track of (that’s the “management” part) everything they do (that’s the “relationship” part) with their existing and potential customers.”
Not to be confused with a CMS (which stands for Computer Management System, and is a totally different thing), there are a lot of functions to a good CRM. If you’re considering including a CRM in your online marketing plan, look for one that not only keeps track of contact information, but can also:
- Track open rates of emails
- Track links clicked in emails
- Track delivery rates of emails
- Track bounce rates of emails
- Send customized emails
- Answer and store phone calls and messages
- Schedule appointments
- Log and categorize customer service calls
Sales Success
Sales teams can find a lot of use in a comprehensive CRM. By keeping everyone’s contact information and service history in one place, representatives can solve problems faster and keep customers happier.
A flexible CMS platform should allow for data to be retrieved and reviewed easily. For example, your CMS system should be able to display the open and bounce rates and links clicked in emails in a viewable format such as a spreadsheet or easy-to read form. Also, a CMS should point you in the right direction for leads immediately. If someone has shown particular interest in a product – either by clicking on a link in an email or by making an inquiry over the phone – your CRM should flag those people for further follow up.
Some of the more popular types of CRM systems include:
- Sugar CRM
- Highrise CRM
- Netsuite CRM
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM
- Pipeliner Sales CRM
- Infusionsoft CRM
- Nimble Social CRM
Marketing Software and the CRM
When used in conjunction with each other, marketing software and a CRM will provide a closed circle of data flow from your website to your salespeople and back. And that circle should grow smaller and smaller as you learn how to more effectively target customers. Is there a particularly successful Call-to-Action (CTA) on your site for a product or offer? Why not incorporate that into your monthly newsletter or email?
Just as every other function of your website must be watched, analyzed and tested, though, so must your CRM. Those using it must be diligent about filling in information when warranted. As well, it’s probably wise to keep those with administrative powers to a minimum!
Calgary website design by Emphasize integrates a number of elements into your online marketing packages that will improve your Internet presence for lead generation and sales. We take the work off your hands so you can concentrate on running your business by managing your online marketing campaigns for you. Our goal is to always provide remarkable results for our clients.
