You see it everywhere. You hear everyone talking about it—but what exactly do CRM tools do for you?
CRM tools, aka Customer Relationship Management tools, enable you to manage and understand your customer’s online behavior so that you can better tailor your conversations with customers. Think of CRM like a digital crystal ball—an essential part of your digital marketing toolbox.
Are you ready to become a CRM master? Cool, ‘cause today, we’re going to give you a few ways to put this valuable tool to use.
CRM Helps You Get Personal
One of the best ways to connect with your audience is to understand them. When people feel understood, they’re more likely to listen and engage with your business. That’s huge.
Integrating CRM tools into your digital marketing strategy makes it easier to know who your customers are, and aren’t. You probably even have a couple of different types of customers, and knowing that allows you to market to those specific groups.
Here are a few smart ways to utilize CRM and personalize user experience.
Email Marketing
Creating segmented lists, using a customer’s name, and targeting offers to specific groups shows that you know who you’re talking to.
To do that, CRM tools will collect data and organize it an easily digestible way. You get insights on their needs, interests, and habits all from the way they interact with an email. Once you know your customer, you can engage with them more effectively and show them they truly matter. We’re all about that.
All of this data can be segmented into demographic and geographic information, but more importantly, into psychographic information. Susan Baier of Audience Axis says that “demographic and behavioral information only give marketers part of the story they need to effectively segment a customer base.” But psychographic information gets to the root of why customers do what they do.
Once you have solid data, you can start personalizing emails, which can help you increase conversion rates and nurture prospective clients with content they care about.
Customized Buying Experience
During the sales journey, your customers may want more information. This is where CRM tools become your best friend. Just like a fortune teller sees into the future, CRM tools track patterns in customer behavior to offer more of what they want, or what they didn’t even know they needed.
What does this mean for your digital marketing strategy? It’s one more way to connect with your clients. Whether it’s a sales team member reaching out, email responses, or suggestions, CRM helps you demonstrate to your customers that you’re willing to go the extra mile for them.
It’s All About Timing
When you have a business that provides repeat services, or is looking to enhance their digital marketing strategy, CRM is a great way to go.
Let’s say you’re an accountant and you have a new client. Surely you’ll need to collect a bunch of information pertaining to their lives. But instead of just stuffing that information into a file cabinet, you can input that information into their CRM profile. With that information, you’re able to improve customer experience by sending them timely reminders, special offers, or exciting news about your business.
Most importantly, timely information builds loyalty with your customers. It shows that you value and recognize their business and who they are, beyond just a number on a screen. And we could all use a bit more recognition.
Get Your Online Reviews on Track With CRM
If you’re a small business, online review sites like Google My Business can be crucial to your business. Receiving positive reviews can help with reducing customer hesitation. On the flip side, negative reviews can be a real thorn in your side—and your sales.
But using CRM tools in your digital marketing strategy goes beyond a good or bad review.
By integrating CRM software with online review platforms you can get a wealth of unbiased information. You can see trending conversations, how customers feel about your product quality, service, and value, and compare reviews across platforms.
Using this valuable data gives you insights necessary to make changes to your advertising, products, service, or digital marketing strategy. Or, continue with the strategies that are already working.
This all comes down to one huge factor: ROI. Accessing data from review sites gives you the most honest information you can get—and once you have that, you can make sure your marketing dollars are going to the right place.
CRM Goes Social
No matter what your business does, social media is one way to elevate your digital marketing strategy. CRM tools are easy to integrate with social media platforms to give you an abundance of information about your followers.
Using CRM tools on social media can help you:
- Create ads for very specific sub-segments of your target market
- Respond to comments and questions in a timely manner
- Analyze hashtags to identify potential connections and relevant conversations
- Build relationships with your audience
Remember, even though social media is digital, people still want to feel connected across the screen. CRM tools are a great way to discover who your followers are so that you can tailor your digital marketing strategy to reach them.
We know that it can be easy for marketing to feel robotic, but we’re all about adding that bit of human touch. If you want to know more about how to get your digital marketing strategy on track and connect with your customers using CRM tools, contact Wayward Kind. Relationships matter, even in the digital world.
