1. It allows you to register your leads and contacts. You never know when a lead is ready to buy from you. Probably not today anyway. Keep them warm. It is never too late to start organizing your customers and contacts. You need some basic categories to make your data efficient so that you can implement your CRM strategy to fulfill their needs. You need categories like Customers, Lost Customers, Prospects, Suppliers, Partners, Potential Partners, Influencers and Inactive Customers. You could also consider dividing customers into A-, B- and C-customers depending on different customer programs for each segment. So you might get rid of your complex spreadsheets once and for all.
2. You can track all customer interaction – from everyone in your company. Next time you talk to a customer or prospect, you get the upper hand when you know what that company is talking about. You can get the person to feel seen and important. And this history builds a long-time relationship. Emails should be in your system, and not in each person’s mailbox.
3. It reveals possibilities. How many prospects have you “not sold to” yet? Most likely a lot. I usually tell my sales team that a “no” most likely means “not today”. Most companies keep their current supplier until they are ignored. That’s why keeping them alive and kicking in your CRM database is so important. And if you have an opt-in newsletter or a great seminar plan, their business might be yours for the next quarter.
4. It makes your most valuable asset – the customer data – remain. People change jobs. Have you ever experienced someone leaving you, and nothing is left behind? The pipeline wasn’t up to date. The contacts wasn’t updated. The important contacts wasn’t registered – because all relevant information was stored locally. Don’t let it happen to you.