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Benefits of Investing in CRM for your Business

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The major reason why you need to invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is to improve the relationship with your current customers, engage with potential customers, and win back former customers. You can implement this system in your business by using a software that enables you to collect, organize, and manage customer information. An upgraded CRM system is good for both small scale and large-scale business enterprises. Here are some of the benefits of investing in a CRM system for your business.

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CRM Image Credit: ITAlley.co.nz

Enhanced communication

The prime reason why CRM is good for your business is enhancing communication. A CRM system will provide every employee in your business access to the same customer information (single customer view), and thus enable them to provide the same important level of service across the board. In some cases, a customer may have a single point of contact in a business and it can be very hard for another employee to handle such a customer without access to the customer’s data. However, with an upgraded CRM system that collects, organizes, and manages customer information, every customer can be handled efficiently and satisfactorily by any of your employees. In other words, it doesn’t really matter who is working currently with a client because all employees have access to the same information. Furthermore, since CRM is cloud-based, it can be accessed from any location at any time provided an employee has a stable internet connection.

Improved customer relationships

A good email marketing CRM system that meets the current market dynamics can improve the relationship between your business and its customers incredibly fast. Good customer relationships translate into customer satisfaction and good Returns on Investment (ROI). The CRM system will make all dealings with the marketing and selling of products or services to your customers to be organized and systematic / process-led. Being able to provide services to customers through understanding their issues will help improve customer loyalty and ease of purchase. Your customers will be more inclined to recommend your products or services to their friends and close family members if they’re satisfied with your business.

Customized marketing strategies

A CRM makes it easier to increase your company’s revenue with customized marketing strategies. With the collected customer information, you can analyze data using other tools such as Big Data analytics to understand the behavioral patterns and shopping trends of your customers. With this data, you can customize marketing strategies that target different types of customers more effectively.

Maximize upselling and cross-selling

The CRM system will enable you to offer your customers premium products that fall in their preferred shopping categories. It can also help you to give customers complementary products based on what they purchased earlier. This can be achieved through the improved customer relationship which gives you room to interact with customers in a user-friendly manner.

A CRM system will help you understand your customers’ needs and be able to personalize your products or services in such a manner that it suits their specific needs or desires. The collected information from a CRM system is stored in a central database that is accessible to all employees, and thus it will promote internal communication.

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Youth Entrepreneur Organisations in New Zealand

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Youth Entrepreneur Organisations , New Zealand

Youth Entrepreneur Organisations in New Zealand

I put a question out to my network on behalf of an Australian organisation who are running a similar programme and want to partner.

Here’s the results list thus far.

  • Young Enterprise runs the Y.E.S Programme in schools.
  • Ministry of Awesome (coworking space in Christchurch)
  • University of Canterbury Centre for Entrepreneurship
  • CORE Education
  • OysterCatchers has a new training programme ‘Learning to Fly’ for awesome female entrepreneurs
  • vimeo.com/233527720
  • Generation Zero,
  • Bizdojo,
  • Lion Corp Young Entrepreneur Scheme
  • Alexia Hilbertidou of GirlBoss New Zealand
  • Auckland University Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Includes Velocity programme, lots of other extra curricula and the Unleash Space a new innovation hub and maker space
  • Social Innovation NZ – engages with students to make a change within their community through social impact such as a social enterprise
  • Entre a student run entrepreneurial NZ registered company, that also runs as a student club on the campus of University of Canterbury. Our website is: http://www.entre.co.nz and our Facebook webpage is: https://www.facebook.com/entre.at.uc/

Check out these as a starting point for your own individual needs.  And please use the comments to add others to the list.

 

International opportunities

As I notice others, I will add them on the list below

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My Internship Experience at Creative Agency Secrets — Antoinette Nguyen

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Hello, my name is Antoinette Nguyen and I am the latest intern for Creative Agency Secrets. After spending two months here in New Zealand, I’ll be heading back to California to finish my final year of university. I’m grateful for all the learning opportunities I’ve been afforded from working at a marketing agency, and have had the joy of meeting some brilliant people. It will be an interesting transition back to the classroom after having had a taste of the working world.

Looking Back: What I’ve Learned

While at Creative Agency Secrets, I had the chance to work with a diverse clientele and employ a wide range of tools. I’ve progressed from shadowing Rebecca, Conrado, and Tabhitha as they manage their clients, to being responsible for a few projects of my own. I have also learned how to ensure new development pitches lead to securing new clients, while avoiding soliciting free work—one of many lessons in how to successfully run a marketing consulting business.

Email marketing is an integral aspect of many businesses, as I learned first-hand how newsletters that feature regularly updated content can ensure ongoing relationships with existing consumers while simultaneously attracting new customers. Using Feedblitz and other CRM platforms, I designed newsletters and managed email lists to drive greater brand awareness and potential sales.

Data analytics is another cornerstone of effective online marketing, and I worked with tools like Google Analytics to evaluate and suggest actionable steps to improve clients’ online presence. I created reports for clients that appraised their website SEO strength and rankings, on top of tracking incoming traffic. SEO optimization weighs heavily on content, but I learned how much website design and functionality matter as well.

Through operating several client blogs and websites, my copywriting skills and knowledge of web development have grown considerably. I also drove engagement through several social media accounts, with the help of applications like Buffer and Hootsuite. One of my larger projects was overseeing a Facebook ad campaign from start to finish—including editing multiple versions of ad copy, overseeing the A/B testing results, and reporting back to the client. And to top it all off, I also gained experience in organizing a promotional giveaway on an international scale.

A Heartfelt Thank You

My internship wouldn’t have been nearly as fulfilling without the guidance of the whole team at Creative Agency Secrets. Thank you Rebecca, Conrado, and Tabhitha for taking me under your wing and being wonderful mentors in my professional development—I’ve learned so much in this short time! You all have my best wishes for the future.

Best of luck,

Antoinette

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How to Increase Buy-In From Your Sales Reps

How to Increase Buy-In From Your Sales Reps

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In the words of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” This advice wasn’t just for himself. He was constantly seeking to encourage his teammates to give it their all — no matter what.

There are many ways to get the same point across. No risk, no reward.

Carpe diem. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

In business, the most simple one might be the best of all: Scared money doesn’t make money. For people in sales, the takeaway should be that you have to put yourself out there, and you can’t grow complacent. 

These days, there is so much data and intelligence available in the form of advanced, easy-to-use platforms. Let’s take a look at how the right tools can increase buy-in from your sales team.

Getting Your Sales Reps on Board

So how do you follow Gretzky’s lead and inspire your sales reps to get with the program?

Some of it comes down to having the right people. As any manager can tell you, it is often more important to have people with the right attitude than an exact set of skills. It is hard to teach motivation and instil a willingness to grow, so hiring will always play a big part in this.

That said, you go to war with the army you have. Maybe you can make some new hires down the road, but that isn’t going to help you this week, this month, or maybe even this quarter. So you need to acknowledge that different people are inspired by different things. 

Set clear goals and do not micromanage your team. A little bit of freedom might be all they need to start getting better results. On the other hand, if your culture already does give people the space they need, recognize that certain team members might need a little more oversight. It might not even take much; just offer the right amount of encouragement and incentives to get everyone on board.

Getting Your Sales Reps the Best Tools

You can also get better results by giving your reps the right tools. Communication is maybe the most important. Many companies are finding success by adopting mobile-first options like Slack channels or digital conferencing solutions like Zoom. Especially for reps who aren’t checking in every day, this can create much better results rather than relying on e-mail alone. 

When it comes to dealing with customers and leads, you also need to be using top-tier customer relationship management (CRM) system. It needs to offer the right blend of qualities and capabilities. It has to be powerful, but easy to use. It should have mobile capabilities, and it has to present all the right data and info at the click of a button.

While there are many CRM platforms out there, few tick off all the right boxes like Infor CRM offered by Infor customer partner CustomerFX. Among the many benefits, Infor CRM will help you generate predictable sales revenue and provide constant visibility into team performance. This empowers your sales reps to spend their time working to sign deals. 

The tracking features only compound these benefits; as a manager, you can always see what type of results each rep is getting. With granular metrics, it’s easy to find problem areas and correct them. This way, you won’t have to micromanage anyone and potentially cause frustration. You only need to intervene when things get off track. 

Getting the Employee Buy-In You Need

When it comes to sales, you either land the deal or you don’t. So make it your mission to get the best sales reps you can, empower them to seize the day, and be sure to equip them with the tools they need and want to use. 

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Simple Ways to Attract Your Ideal Customers

Simple Ways to Attract Your Ideal Customers

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In as much as finding your ideal customers is important when you run a business, so is attracting them to you. As your business becomes more established, you hope for customers to find you through word of mouth, online marketing or any other means. There are specific things that you can do to increase discoverability and attract buying customers. Although some may require you invest a significant amount of money, others will require simple changes in your messaging or giving customers incentives. Here are simple ways to attract your ideal customer if that’s your end goal.

Don’t Neglect Word of Mouth

Although every form of marketing has its own appeal, it can still be argued that word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing. With that being said, ensure that you focus on offering quality services to every customer that you engage with as this will increase the likelihood of them referring you. This can be done by improving the entire customer experience from start to finish. A couple of tips for doing that is working towards meeting customer needs and streamlining communication.

Improve Your Website

Your website is a powerful tool when it comes to attracting customers, so work on improving it periodically. When you have an effective website, you’re more likely to have engaged customers on your site that follow through with calls to action. Below are a few ways that you can upgrade your website and make it better.

Design: Your website should look appealing and represent your brand as well as what you stand for. Pay attention to your choice of typography, as well as the colors that you use. Hire a professional to design your website; it may be best to choose one that specializes in your industry. If you happen to run a law firm, then justlegalmarketing.com would be an ideal company to handle your design.

SEO: In addition to the design, SEO is another major aspect of your website to work on. This is where organic traffic will come from and one of the simplest ways to attract customers to you online. To improve SEO, be sure that all of the content that you create has targeted keywords and you optimize titles, URLs, and tags.

Content: The language, lexicon, and tone of your content will either draw prospects in or turn them away. Think about your messaging and whether it truly appeals to your audience. You can look at the language used by successful competitors and use that to gauge how effective yours is. Also, pay attention to the pages that get the most engagement, as it could indicate you’re doing something right.

Offer Attractive Services

At the end of the day, one of the easiest ways to attract customer is by offering competitive products or services. You can do so by truly understanding what your customers’ needs are and meeting those needs through your incentives. For some customers, premium service may be their need while for others, it could be low rates. Value for money is ultimately what will also give you the word of mouth and competitive advantage you need.

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