Whether you are the owner of a SME, a startup, or even a well-established business, your primary goal is most likely business growth. However, growth doesn’t simply happen after the business plan is in place. Growth, no matter the nature of your business, goes hand in hand with sales. Sales, in turn, depends on the kind of relationship you have with your clients.

American businessman Michael LeBoeuf said that a satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. But, in a world where it takes months to acquire a customer and only seconds to lose one, how does one go about converting relationships with satisfied customers into business growth?

A strategic business philosophy

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) offers a comprehensive, integrated method of dealing with customers on a day-to-day basis. It involves using technology to organise, automate and synchronise business functions such as sales, marketing, customer service and technical support.

How does CRM benefit businesses?

According to Steve Jobs, “how you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose.” CRM enables businesses to gain a comprehensive view of the customer lifecycle as well as gather valuable customer data to develop a strategic approach to strengthening customer relationships and providing a positive customer experience.

Not only can CRM increase customer retention by as much as 27%, it can also increase revenue by 41% per sales person. But customer relationships isn’t the only area of your business that can stand to benefit from CRM. Other benefits to business include:

  • Advanced organisational technology
    Easily quantify and categorise data for future reference while eliminating the risk of human error. Enhance inter-departmental communication by providing detailed customer data to anyone who might need it.
  • Improved customer service
    Anticipate the needs of your consumer based on historic trends to pre-emptively provide solutions and focus on closing leads. View all available activity with regards to past purchasing behaviour to find the right solution for each individual.
  • Increased sales
    Develop better timings and identify needs more effectively by understanding your client’s specific requirements. Use data to identify profitable customers and cross-sell other products to them by recommending alternatives or relevant enhancements.
  • Integration for analytical data and reporting
    CRM’s can empower business owners to generate automatic reports, share, and easily locate information such as customer profiles, sales data, performance reports, etc.

While these are only some of the ways in which CRM can benefit your business, the indisputable truth is that data-driven integration is a crucial element for any business wishing to grow and boost revenue in the digital age. A CRM solution that is seamlessly integrated into all core business functions and processes, as offered by Unsilo.me, empowers businesses to leverage applications to support functions within an organisation while simultaneously nurturing your customer relationships for long-term profitability. Sign up for early access here http://unsilo.me/?page_id=4216. Read our next blog http://unsilo.me/blog/ to find out how businesses can gain, manage and retain customers with integrated CRM.