Most organizations, small to large, have understood the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and have implemented it. However, the holistic customer experience suffers, as CRM only deals with Sales Qualified Leads (SQL).
The stages before SQL, right from awareness to lead and nurturing those leads, are not part of the CRM scope. It remains a missing component.
Do we realize the consequences?
Let me narrate my own experience. I am a salesman. My marketing counterpart attends an event, and comes back with a fishbowl full of business cards. She simply hands over the fishbowl, as if it is full of potential leads. I enter it in my CRM, and try calling these folks in vain, as most of them say they just inquired. It leads to waste of time and ends up with infighting between our team – sales with the marketing folks.
How do we fix it? We need a good marketing automation to help our marketing teams to nurture these leads they generate, before passing on to sales.
Here are the top 5 reasons why one should always have Marketing Automation with CRM:
- Managing huge Leads list efficiently: Vast potential customer list is no good unless it is managed properly. Streamline the lists with marketing automation. It can store, segment, track and prioritize leads.
- Nurture the leads and streamline the marketing funnel: The leads are nurtured by having regular campaigns and an engaging relationship with them. By integrating the Marketing Automation with the CRM there will be smooth transition of leads from different stages of the marketing funnel. At last! I will no longer get junk leads from my marketing team!
- To identify the Sales qualified leads (SQL): Knowing the lead’s interest in the product or not prior is a lot better than random calling to sell. This not only saves salesmen time but also the costs and enhances the customer experience greatly.
- Customer digital footprint means excellent sales pitch: If the sales person has access to the top of the funnel activities of the customers with their digital footprint, he can pitch the product in a more compelling way. It is because he knows the customer history and their sentiment towards the product or brand.
- Enhanced customer retention: Once a prospect becomes a customer, it is vital to engage them, provide product inputs, and maintain a stronger bond. It can be done by sending him a welcome campaign, providing him with the vital information to use the product / service better. Going forward they can be nurtured for brand’s new launches, offers etc. through a cross-sell or up-sell campaign.
Hope this short blog helps. If you are an organization using CRM without Marketing Automation, or a CRM seller – it is time to change!