Customer relationship management (CRM) can become all-too predictable. Sales use it to track leads and opportunities. Marketing uses it to send newsletters, updates, and promotions. But what do your customers think about all this? Can you use your CRM system in new ways that surprise, delight, and inform your customers?
These three ideas for your CRM system may shock or surprise you. Some can seem counter intuitive to what you've been told by business gurus about how to use your CRM system or what to share with your customers. But you'll find that customers appreciate honesty, openness, and transparency when it comes to communications. The more you can use your CRM system to support these three concepts, the better.
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Admit when you mess up
Nobody likes to make a mistake. We're all striving for excellence in customer experience and service. The tendency is for companies and employees to pretend that everything is fine, a minor glitch, or blame the system when they realize a mistake has been made. "Oh, I'm sorry, the computer is messed up" or "No, I'm sorry, I can't look that up now, the computer is down" are all phrases we've heard but ones we had never hoped to hear uttered to our customers.
If instead of hiding a problem you were open about it with your customers, what's the worst thing that could happen? Admitting you made a mistake and ordered green instead of blue widgets, forgot to include the free gift with purchase, or made another kind of mistake just shows that you're human.
You can use the CRM system to be completely honest with your customers. If your system is down for maintenance, let them know. If weather conditions close your business, say so.
The more information you can share with your customers, the better. -
Love the complainers
Most people dread getting "those" kind of calls in the office. You know the kind. The whiners, the complainers, the people who are angry about something.
If instead of dodging those customers you embraced their needs, what would happen next? People who call with complaints are doing so for a valid reason. Your company's products or service didn't meet their expectations. Something was wrong, it broke, it didn't perform the way it should, or it didn't look the way it should have.
One way you can use your CRM system to "love the complainers" is to start a running log of the complaints that come into the company. Using such a system can help you pinpoint possible problems with products or consistent threads that show problem patterns rather than one-off complaints. Information can then be shared with other departments to help prevent future problems.
You can also use information about problems and solutions to revise FAQ pages on your website. These make informative social media posts, too. Problems and complaints aren't to be avoided. Embrace them and find out why customers love the honesty! -
Surprise and delight good customers
Your CRM system tracks more than name and address. With the sales history available for your customers, you can surprise and delight frequent shoppers with an unexpected treat.
Set specific customer levels, either by recency, frequency or monetary value of purchases, to reward. Come up with some truly outstanding rewards beyond the usual discounts. Offer a free basket of products to your best customers, free samples, or an adjunct offer that complements something that they purchased from you. Think differently when it comes to rewarding good customers, and they'll be back for more.
CRM: An Approach Rather than a System
We like to say that customer relationship management is an approach to business rather than a specific software or system. A CRM mindset will enable you to treat your customers like royalty and succeed like a rock star in the world of business. It's all in how you look at things, including your CRM system.
Blog: Your Guide to CRM
BAASS offers insight, support, and information to companies seeking business systems such as CRM. We can help you choose from among many good business systems and cloud computing to find the right fit for your needs. Contact us or call 1-888-650-5544.
