Customer Relationship Management

12 Benefits of CRM: Why Your Business Needs One

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Managing customer relationships is essential for building a loyal customer base and achieving long-term success. But how do you keep track of every customer interaction and ensure that every opportunity for follow-up is utilized? That&#8217;s where a customer relationship management (CRM) tool comes in.
In simple terms, <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/crm-examples/">a CRM</a> is a software application that helps businesses manage customer interactions and data. From tracking customer purchases and preferences to organizing email campaigns and scheduling follow-up calls, a CRM tool streamlines the entire customer relationship process.
For small and local businesses, a CRM can make all the difference. With limited resources and manpower, it can be challenging to provide the kind of personalized service that larger companies offer. But with the right CRM, you can level the playing field and give your customers the same level of attention and care that they would receive from a big business.
In this article, we&#8217;ll dive deeper into the specific benefits of CRMs for small and local businesses. 
<h2>12 CRM Benefits</h2>
From improving customer satisfaction and retention to boosting sales and revenue, there are various ways a CRM can help you build long-lasting customer relationships. Let’s get into the specifics. 
<h3>1. Helps Businesses Understand Customers&#8217; Needs and Preferences</h3>
Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball telling you everything you need to know about your customers&#8217; needs and preferences? Look no further—a CRM is the magic solution you’ve been dreaming about. This software solution tracks every interaction your business has with a customer, from initial contact to purchase history and beyond. 
By collecting and analyzing this data, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ interests. For example, you can identify which products or services are most popular and which ones need improvement or retirement. You can also learn about patterns and trends in customer behavior, such as common purchasing habits or the most popular time of day for website visits.
<h3>2. Provides a 360-Degree View of Customer Interactions and History</h3>
Your customers literally keep you in business—knowing them deeply and personally isn’t optional; it’s a must. One of the most significant benefits of a CRM system is that it provides you with a complete view of every customer interaction—from initial contact to after-sale service—and their history with your business. 
This kind of information helps you maintain a holistic overview of customer data, such as preferences, demographics, purchase history, interests, and leads. With a 360-degree view of customer data, you can personalize your customer interactions, prevent misunderstandings, and improve overall customer satisfaction.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-26645" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-920x1024.jpg" alt="Podium customer management solution" width="640" height="712" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-920x1024.jpg 920w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-269x300.jpg 269w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-768x855.jpg 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-449x500.jpg 449w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-360x400.jpg 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-144x160.jpg 144w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-314x350.jpg 314w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-90x100.jpg 90w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header-308x343.jpg 308w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/https___cms.podium.com_wp-content_uploads_2022_03_contactprofiles-header.jpg 1184w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
<h3>3. Improves Customer Communication and Engagement</h3>
 A CRM system facilitates communication with customers, which is crucial to building trust and loyalty. The software provides a centralized platform that enables businesses to interact with their customers through different channels, such as email, phone, social media, or text, integrating all communication in a single place. 
By centralizing all customer communication, you can better ensure that your business follows up with customers, stakeholders, and leads, increasing the likelihood of conversions and improving customer engagement all around. 
<h3>4. Enables Personalized Marketing and Sales Campaigns</h3>
Nobody likes to be sold to—that’s why personalized marketing is so effective. It allows you to reach customers in a way that feels less like a sales pitch and more like a solution they sought out themselves. 
A CRM allows you to personalize your marketing and sales campaigns by utilizing information from different customer interactions, such as interests, purchase history, and demographic data. Personalized content is more relevant (meaning happy customers) and leads to increased conversions (which makes for a happy business).
<h3>5. Streamlines Sales Processes and Increases Efficiency</h3>
Sales processes can be tedious and time-consuming, especially if you don&#8217;t have a holistic view of your customers&#8217; data. A CRM system can help you automate your sales processes, reduce administrative tasks, and improve sales efficiency. 
And the cherry on top? The software can track a customer&#8217;s journey throughout the sales funnel and provide metrics to help businesses identify and address bottlenecks, ultimately resulting in higher conversions.
<h3>6. Improves Customer Service and Support</h3>
Quit wasting time searching through messy spreadsheets and switching between 20+ tabs. A CRM system allows you to store and access all of the customer&#8217;s relevant information in one place—music to your ears, right? This enables you to respond to customer queries, concerns, and issues with greater speed and efficiency, resulting in improved customer satisfaction. 
Why does this matter? Remember, great customer service is what gets people hooked and keeps them coming back for more. In fact, <a href="https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics/">86% of buyers</a> are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. 
<h3>7. Helps Businesses Identify Cross-Selling and Upselling Opportunities</h3>
A CRM offers insights into your customers&#8217; buying patterns and preferences, allowing you to identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities. This means you can recommend additional products and services that complement their current purchase, resulting in increased sales and revenue. 
Pro Tip: SMS marketing is one of the easiest ways to upsell to existing customers. Check out <a href="https://www.podium.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing/">this guide</a> to learn more. 
<h3>8. Provides Real-Time Data and Analytics</h3>
Stop making decisions that aren’t backed by data—it’s a waste of time and resources. A CRM collects and analyzes customer data in real time, allowing you to make informed decisions that are backed by data, rather than just guesswork. With the right CRM, you can track KPIs, understand customer trends, and identify areas for improvement across your sales process and marketing campaigns.
<h3>9. Automates Various Business Processes</h3>
Running a business is hard work—do you ever wish you could automate some of those repetitive tasks? Good news: A CRM can help you out. CRMs can automate your sales process by streamlining lead tracking, nurturing, and conversion. They can help you automate the review collection process and boost your online presence, automate your customer support processes and free up more of your team’s valuable time, and so much more. 
We get it: You need to move fast. The competition is fierce. Resources are limited. Automation is the key to coming out on top.

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<h3>10. Helps Businesses Track and Manage Customer Feedback</h3>
<a href="https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-service-statistics/">50% of consumers</a> will switch to a competitor after one bad experience—are you willing to take that risk? We’re guessing you’re not, which means you need to be on top of customer feedback. 
With a CRM in your toolkit, you can easily collect and organize feedback from your customers in one place, making it easy to track issues as they arise and take steps to address them as quickly as possible. This can help to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, as customers are more likely to stick with a business that addresses their concerns in a timely and professional manner. Furthermore, a CRM can help you identify patterns in customer feedback, allowing you to address underlying issues that may be causing dissatisfaction. 
<h3>11. Increases Customer Retention and Loyalty</h3>
When it comes to <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/build-a-great-customer-relationship-management-program/">customer retention and loyalty</a>, a CRM can be a game-changer for your business. By providing a personalized and consistent experience across all channels, a CRM can help you build relationships with your customers and keep them coming back time and time again. By taking advantage of features like automated text campaigns and loyalty programs, you can create a sense of community and connection with your customers, ultimately leading to increased loyalty and repeat business.
Moreover, a CRM allows you to identify customers who are at risk of leaving and take proactive measures to keep them engaged. By tracking customer behavior and engagement across multiple channels, you can provide relevant and timely content and offers that keep customers hooked. 
<h3>12. Enables Remote Access to Customer Data and Interactions</h3>
A CRM can be a lifeline for businesses that operate remotely or have teams in multiple locations. By enabling <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/managing-interactions-on-the-go/">remote access to customer data and interactions</a>, a CRM allows team members to work collaboratively no matter where they are. 
Additionally, a CRM can facilitate communication with customers across multiple channels, allowing businesses to stay connected with their customers and provide excellent service no matter where they are. Whether it&#8217;s via text, social media, or a phone call, a CRM makes it easy to stay on top of customer interactions and ensure that every customer receives exceptional service.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-26646" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-1024x597.png" alt="Small business owner looking at her CRM" width="640" height="373" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-1024x597.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-300x175.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-768x448.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-600x350.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-360x210.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-160x93.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-350x204.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-100x58.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM-588x343.png 588w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Small-business-owner-looking-at-her-CRM.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
<h2>Podium: A CRM Built for Small Businesses</h2>
You need a <a href="https://www.podium.com/contacts/">CRM that was built for small businesses</a>. That&#8217;s where Podium comes in. 
Podium allows for a single view of every customer interaction and conversation history from every channel, making it easy to deliver the kind of <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/customer-experience-webchat/">personalized customer experience</a> that drives loyalty and boosts sales. Furthermore, with Podium, you can search for, organize, and manage conversations with customers, initiate payments, take phone calls, text your customers, and more—all from one convenient platform. 
Running your business is about to get a whole lot easier. But we don’t just expect you to take our word for it—<a href="https://www.podium.com/free-trial/">try Podium for free</a> for 14 days.

12 Benefits of CRM: Why Your Business Needs One

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