What is CRM and how can it improve your business sales?

When we talk about CRM a lot of questions can arise. It's a popular topic these days, but what is CRM really? In this post we tell you what this solution consists of and how it can help increase your SME's sales. 

What is CRM? 

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is the technological solution that helps companies like yours to manage customer relationships. It is normally applied in three areas: sales management, marketing or customer services. In short, it is introduced in areas where the objective is to maximise the profitability of the business through customer relations. CRM will help you to know and strengthen the link you have with your target audience, improving and adapting your commercial activity to their needs. It allows you to anticipate and design unforgettable experiences. 

CRM or how to ensure the success of your SME. 

Now that you know what CRM is, we will tell you about the scope or fields of action of the existing CRMs, the characteristics of each one of them, and if you decide to implement a CRM in your SME, how to find possible tools to help you make it happen. Let's have a look at what types of CRM exist. 

1. Operational CRM 

This type of CRM is suitable for use in business, marketing and sales management. It is perfect for SMEs with small and medium-sized sales teams, who need to improve their customer relationships and sales.  

It allows you to:  

• Develop commercial work and interact with potential customers.  

• Centralise information on potential and current customers.  

• Manage email marketing campaigns.  

• Manage customer service processes.  

This type of CRM is recommended if you are looking for something practical and simple. The tools used are easy and appropriate if your goal is to achieve good sales management and communication with the rest of the team. 

2. Collaborative CRM 

This type of solution focuses mainly on establishing a strong link through the offer of products and services that meet the needs of your customers, taking advantage of all the channels offered by CRM such as email, chat or mobile phone. 

It allows you to:  

• Centralise and organise all the information on each customer. 

• Establish an omnichannel communication between all departments of your company and the customer.  

• Improve the company's relationship with the customer.  

The best thing about this type of CRM is that it allows you to centralise all your multichannel customer communications and manage them with the rest of the company's departments. If your goal is sales, maybe this CRM is not the most suitable, but if your case is like a call centre or support company, it is perfect for you. 

3. Advanced analytical CRM 

If your business is a little more advanced and the idea is to go one step further towards a complete knowledge of your customer, this is the CRM for you. Its purpose is to use the data collected to gather detailed information on customer behaviour.  

It allows you to:   

• Offer products or services adapted to the real needs of your customers.  

• Target marketing and sales actions.  

• Evaluate the results of the campaigns and actions carried out. 

• Create structured databases with all the information collected. 

Analytical CRM is a more ambitious CRM that can help you identify insights that improve strategic decision making. It requires more complex tools, so the learning and adaptation process may take a little longer 

Still not sure how to start choosing the best CRM for your business?  

We suggest you use information and/or comparisons from leading analysts, such as Gartner, which provides a quadrant evaluating a few suppliers. This report shows the annual analysis of customer service, sales and marketing service providers according to: 

• Gartner's perspective on the current ecosystem for customer engagement center (CEC) technologies.  

• The issues to be considered by companies and CECs wishing to implement these technologies. 

• The specific capabilities that the providers of these tools need to have. 

Image 1: Magic Quadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center 

Source: Gartner Magic Cuadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center.