A friend of mine always says “Information is Everything”. I think I’ve heard this phrase a million times. And you know, for a long time I kind of ignored it, the way you ignore clichés because you are tired of hearing them. But clichés exist for a reason, like stereotypes, and that reason is that they are often true! So eventually it hit me and I realised that my friend’s motto couldn’t be more accurate – Information is everything.
You have the right information at hand, you know which buttons to push and if you push the right buttons, you get the results that you want.
It is not only simple but also quite true, not only in life but in business too. When it comes to business, however, we are all facing the same challenges in terms of information.
There’s too much of it!
With technology at our fingertips, with the internet and the possibilities it gives us to share information, we are all rather overwhelmed with it sometimes. The truth is we don’t have the time to deal with it all, and so a filtering process must occur. We live in a competitive world, where our lives revolve around time schedule, endless errands and businesses to run.
Yet information often times is the key, the tool and the solution to the one main focus and goal we all have – to get more business in. That being said, we can’t afford to ignore the need to deal with information and the way to do that is simple: structure.
When we have the tools to collect, structure and aggregate information, we can manage it and managing it properly means we can leverage off it.
When you’ve got the information you need, at the time you need it, then ultimately all processes are optimised, the sales cycle is seamless and the results are inevitably better.
At DB Computers we work with various companies, from start-ups to medium sized, to large organisations across different industries. And they all seem to go through the same struggles – endless spread sheets, miscommunication, doubled efforts because of that, mistakes in human input of data, time wasted on data duplication, etc.
And here’s what we would say to them:
You need to get a proper CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) in place!
Why? Because it works.
As simple as that. It optimises a number of business processes, it improves communication, saves you time and money, and ultimately leads to more sales and better business results.
Here are some reasons why Customer Relationship Management systems are great and how a CRM could benefit your business:
- CRM Systems improve efficiency
A Customer Relationship Management, such as Sage CRM, is effectively a platform that stores all the information you need to have about a lead or a client. From contact details to previous purchases, to enquiries, to past issues, to payments, etc. The information needed by 3 departments stored in 1 place, and in the cloud.
In other words, instead of entering the same information in three different spread sheets and running the risk of missing out on an important detail or wasting time getting updates from colleagues, your employees can all have access to quality information at all times and update it as they go along so that everybody can avail of the latest information.
Sales people can update it on the road, marketing people can do it at the office and you can do it at home if you happen to work late. It saves you time and ultimately it saves you money.
- CRM Systems optimise your marketing efforts
As mentioned above, a CRM system is a place where you have all the information about your prospects and your clients handy. And that includes past purchases of each client as well as enquiries they’ve made and questions they have asked. This means that you can analyse trends in their needs and preferences such as at what times of the year they need a product, what their budgets are, what kinds of products they buy, etc. Knowing all those details is invaluable when it comes to marketing because it gives you the opportunity to target each client in a much more tailored way. You can send them customised updates on the types of products they buy, you can give them a call around the time they normally purchase, and so on.
In other words, you can develop a stronger, much more personal relationship with your clients because you get to know them a little bit better. That knowledge can easily translate into more personal approach which often results in more sales. So rather than wasting time and money on generic marketing and advertising efforts (the results of which are often inferior), you can customise your offering to each client and significantly improve your chances.
- CRM Systems help you see the bigger picture
CRM Systems have the inbuilt option (which can be customised to your needs!) to use all the information you’ve put into it and produce various reports. Such data is invaluable when it comes to evaluating your marketing efforts, your products’ performance or your business performance in general.
You can run reports to see how much revenue you make each quarter; what percentage of all enquiries actually turn into sales; what the success of a certain marketing campaign is, and whatever else you need. And it could all be presented in a very visual way, with graph and charts, so that the information is easy to present and digest. Needless to say how such analysis can help you adjust your strategies, improve your efforts and enhance your results.
- CRM Systems improve collaboration, co-ordination & control
Because CRM Systems are effectively platforms where everybody can add information and access information about the recent developments on each account, your employees will no longer need to make unnecessary trips to each other’s offices or miss out on important details because somebody is on sick leave. Relevant information is accurately collated and updated, and is all up in the system for everybody to see. In other words, CRM Systems optimise the collaboration between your staff.
They also help organise and optimise their daily routine and efforts because a CRM package allows them to set up tasks and reminders for themselves so they can get in touch with their clients on a regular basis; follow up on proposals, etc.
Furthermore, it allows you to assign accounts to employees and give them responsibility while at the same time having transparency and accountability. A CRM System allows the user to keep track of who is working on what and how far they’ve progressed.
Bill Gates once said:
“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other.”
And we couldn’t agree more.
In today’s complex world, being able to organise and manage information is a matter of both success and survival. You don’t need to be a large company to benefit from a CRM system either.
DB Computers have a team of in-house experts who can help you organise for
- Scoping
- Installation
- Training
- Customisations
- Workflow
Our Sage CRM can be customised in terms of functionality so that it caters for your specific needs. And it will be an investment you won’t regret!
If you want to know more and see how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 061 480980 or info@dbcomp.ie