A CRM platform is more than a database with lots of customer information.
If you use it right, it’s also a great tool for improving customer relationships.
Strong customer relationships are important to your business.
Especially in these turbulent times, you want your customers to stay. And the best way to make them stay is to keep them happy. 😍
Not only are happy customers less likely to churn, but they’re also more profitable over the long term.
Here are 6 CRM tips that will put a smile on your customers’ faces – even on those rare occasions where they might not feel like smiling at all.
1. Let customers help themselves
Let’s be honest – customers can be fickle.
In the past, when customers had a problem with your product or service, they used to pick up the phone and contact customer service. They were more than willing to “hold the line” until they could speak with a support agent.
Those times are gone.
Today, customers have little patience and would rather solve the problem themselves. They find it much faster and more efficient.
That’s why you need to use your CRM system to offer customers 24/7 self-service. Set up FAQs, how-to articles and a knowledge base.
This way, if your customers have a problem outside of business hours, they won’t have to wait until the next day to get an answer. Instead, they can go straight to your support portal and find what they need.
2. Celebrate relationship milestones
Traditionally, relationship milestones are seen as significant because they represent "growth" in a relationship.
For example, the first time you say "I love you" to your partner is seen as a big moment because it's the first time you've vocalized that sentiment.
The same thing happens with a financial milestone, such as the first time you decide to share bank accounts or the first time you register for something together.
Most people like to celebrate important “firsts” because those are significant moments.
Carry this practice over to your customer relationships.
Customer loyalty is important, but even more so in these turbulent times.
In fact, repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers, and they’re a lot easier to sell to than new customers.
Showing customers that you value their relationship is smart business. It’s good for you, and it’s good for your customers.
There are several ways you can show your appreciation. For example, recognize your customer when they’ve reached important sales milestones.
Or, if a customer has been loyal to you for several years, thank them with a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine and a handwritten card.
At SuperOffice, we surprise customers who have been with us for 10 years with a success cake. (And who doesn’t love cake?).
3. Welcome customers with a handwritten card
Are handwritten thank you notes a thing of the past?
Not at all!
A handwritten note goes a long way in our technology-driven world. Typing and texting gets the job done fast, but they’re impersonal.
Handwritten notes are more meaningful. They show the receiver that you took the extra time to show your appreciation.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou (an American author and poet)
Thank you notes are not hard to write. Add a few personal sentences referring to an experience that you had together. Be specific and thoughtful. This makes the note more personal.
Here’s how Help Scout does it:
4. Recommend related products/services
If you’ve ever purchased a product on the Amazon website, you’ve encountered upselling and cross-selling.
Yes, extra product or service recommendations help increase company revenue. But, at the same time, customers appreciate complementary and relevant recommendations.
How can you use this same approach in your company?
A CRM captures recent purchases and engagement activity, so let’s put that data to use.
Let’s say you want to follow up with customers who have recently purchased one of your products. Make a list of customers who have purchased Product X, but don’t have a complementary Product Y. Now, use email marketing to send them an offer.
Here’s how Evernote upsells customers to a Premium or a Plus version of their software:
5. Speed up the sales quotation process
Creating sales quotes isn’t easy.
Sales reps usually:
- Switch between different platforms (CRM, ERP, Excel, etc.)
- Check and double-check the right price structures, and
- Gather appropriate approvals before sending a quote to a customer.
All this takes time.
The time that you don’t have. The time that the customer doesn’t have either!
Research shows that 35-50% of sales go to the vendor who responds first.
If you want to win the deal and keep your potential customers happy, you can’t let a disjointed quote process slow you down.
Improve the “time to quote” process by managing the entire flow through your CRM system.
In one place, you’ll keep track of forecasting, sales pipeline, as well as where your customer is in the sales process.
Streamlining the quote process leaves you more time to focus on your customer, and lets you spend less time on administrative work.
Here’s how SuperOffice does it:
6. Remind customers of an upcoming event
Events are a great way to keep customers engaged, but only if they attend.
How often have you signed up for an event, only to forget about it? It probably happened once or twice. The same happens for your customers. We all get busy and forget that we signed up to attend.
Use your CRM system to trigger automatic reminders and follow-ups to help customers remember the event.
You can do this through email, and/or through SMS.
At SuperOffice, we automatically send a confirmation email with relevant event information when customers sign up.
Two days before the event, we like to send a reminder email. And on the morning of the event, we’ll welcome attendees with an SMS message.
Of course, there’s no right or wrong way. Every company has their own style.
Here’s a sample of an event reminder from Tasty Food that includes the agenda:
Keep customers happy with these CRM tips
A CRM system is more than a directory of phone numbers, addresses and emails.
It’s key to building strong customer relationships! 🤝
Remember, B2B customers are people too. And like all human beings, they want to feel that they are important and that you care.
Use CRM technology and data to build trust, show personality, inspire confidence, and deliver a great customer experience.
There are dozens of ways you can use the data to put a smile on your customers’ faces. Use these six CRM tips above or come up with tactics of your own.
If you’re an existing customer, contact us today and we can show you how to implement these CRM tips in your SuperOffice solution.
For new customers, book a demo to find out how SuperOffice CRM can help improve your customer relationships.
