Digital Transformation of the Customer Relationship Management Function

The digital transformation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) function has been in the works for a long time now. In many organizations, CRM has been limited to just selling the product, that is, just the time it takes for the prospect to go on to become a customer. However, it is essential to take a wider view of the CRM function, to bring both the marketing as well as customer support business functions to the ambit of the CRM function. All the customer-facing business functions have to work together to make CRM a success, and digital transformation of the CRM function makes this possible and easier.

Better Collaboration Through Digital Transformation

The salespeople of the organization are the ones who have the most to lose and, conversely, the most to gain from the interaction with the customer. As such, it is they who have the best idea of what the customers want, and are in the best place to make it possible. Marketers want to report that they have the most number of leads, and therefore, can be prone to bringing in leads that are not really in the best interests of the organization, the leads that salespeople cannot possibly convert. Therefore, it is incumbent on the salespeople to tell the marketers what kind of leads they want, that is, they need to build the ideal profile of the lead or opportunity that has a high chance of being converted.

By using a CRM solution, since sales and marketing teams are now on the same platform, both business functions can now work together closely. Salespeople can, in real-time, qualify the leads generated by the marketing team, which will show the marketing people what they need to look for in their leads, and the kind of customers they need to market to. After all, both teams have to work together for the betterment of the organization, and it is not competition or criticism but valid feedback that improves the efforts of both business functions. Also, by concentrating their efforts on the place that is likely to offer the most returns, the efficiency of both business functions can be improved.

Furthermore, with digital transformation come better intelligence and insights. The software is not just an enabler of different benefits for the business functions but also acts as a repository of all the efforts of the business functions, which means that the collective intelligence of all the business units is present in the software. Users only need to tap into this repository to become better at their efforts. This intelligence also helps the salespeople make the case regarding their ideal prospect profiles, as the data will support their postulations.

Customer Account Management

Another good thing about the digital transformation of the CRM process is that it allows users to maintain the accounts of all those who have shown interest in the firm’s products or services. Right from the first contract through the process of the sales funnel to becoming a customer and needing the support of the firm once they have started using the firm’s offerings, CRM specialists can keep up-to-date details. This helps in many ways, even when the prospects drop out in the middle of the process.

It is not always that prospects become customers — they might have tight budgets or they might not always need the product immediately. If the firm has any discounts coming up, or if they sense the need for the product, they can later contact the prospect and discuss the scope for a sale. Furthermore, if the sale actually goes through, the salespeople can simply hand the account over to the customer support team and allow them to take over the role of servicing the needs of the customer.

Apart from the above, online customer relationship management software is also useful in many ways as it provides the organization with multiple, newer capabilities. It allows users to manage their tasks from any location they are present in and ensures that tasks are not stopped in the middle for lack of people being present. Additionally, this digital transformation also ensures that all the steps of the CRM process are followed, and no shortcuts are taken.