Your 3-ACT GUIDE. to Better Customer Acquisition & Retention with a CRM

Transcription

1 Your 3-ACT GUIDE to Better Customer Acquisition & Retention with a CRM

2 Using the traditional sales process to attract and retain customers in today s world is about as effective as a tricycle in the Tour de France. In our digitally driven marketplace, your customers have access to plenty of information which they can quickly locate on a mobile device from any location. In 2011, Google coined this as the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), or the point in which the consumer locates a product or service before the seller is even aware of their existence. According to Corporate Executive Board,...the average buyer makes it through 57 percent of the purchase decision before ever engaging a sales rep. So, it stands to reason your CRM, and internal processes, should reflect this shift. Think of your customer relationships like a story with three distinct acts. In order to align your customer acquisition and retention process with the digital world, you first need to understand the three steps of the customer lifecycle, and the CRM features to use within each stage. 1

3 The Customer Lifecycle and Your CRM You re probably already familiar with the basics of the traditional sales funnel: Leads become prospects, prospects become customers and, with any luck, customers become lifetime buyers. This basic model is still accurate. However, in the multi-faceted digital landscape, the cycle is a bit more complex. A good CRM provides features that account for each step in the lifecycle. 2

4 Act I: Find (Identifying Prospects)

5 Everyone loves a good listener. Knowing your thoughts, opinions and feelings are being heard and respected is critical to success in any relationship. But, somewhere along the way, many companies decided sales was a one-way conversation. Bombarding customers with information about your company with little to no regard for their questions and concerns is a surefire way to drive your prospects right into the arms of your competitor. Instead of doing all the talking, stop and listen. Focus on providing a positive experience, and you ll enjoy greater profits. In fact, according to a study by Mckinsey & Company, 85 percent of customers increased their value to a company by purchasing additional services after just one positive experience. 4

6 Take advantage of the customer information available to you and customize your messaging. Through data analysis and social media monitoring, you can determine answers to the following questions: Who are your customers? Where are they spending their time? What are their pain points? Imagine you sell home appliances. Wouldn t it be great if you could sift through all the tweets and Facebook updates happening in your network every day and focus in only on those users who showed interest in a product you sell? This is exactly what you can accomplish with a CRM social listening tool. Monitor all of your contacts via social media channels, pinpoint those who could benefit from your products or services and reach out to them. Additionally, you can use social data to segment your lists by various demographics and other relevant criteria. By crafting relatable messaging to target each slice of your market individually, rather than one broad catch-all campaign, you can make a more lasting impression. In fact, by simply segmenting lists by gender, one retailer earned a 123 percent increase in lead conversion rate and a 141 percent increase in revenue per campaign. 5

7 Act II: Convert (Qualify/Close)

8 In our fast-paced, instant-gratification-loving society, every second counts. If a prospect shows interest, don t be fooled into thinking you re their one and only. More often than not, your new lead is comparing you against your competitors. Since percent of sales go to the vendor that responds first,... according to Inside Sales, this is no time to play hard to get. Even if your entire sales team chained themselves to their desks for round-the-clock lead coverage, you still couldn t guarantee you d be the first to respond. However, with CRM automated lead management, your response goes out instantly. And it doesn t stop there. You can keep the love flowing to your prospects with automated drip campaigns, and change their course as your prospects take new actions. 7

9 In other words, if your prospect receives an with an invitation to a special online sale and clicks the link, the next they receive could be a special coupon code. If they did not click the link, however, the next they receive could be another reminder about the sale. You can even customize the number of hours, days or weeks between s to ensure you re sending at the right frequency and not bombarding your contacts. As you can imagine, this tool increases efficiency exponentially. More importantly, however, it s effective. Companies that automate lead management see a 10 percent or greater increase in revenue in just 6-9 months,... according to Gartner Research. The math is actually pretty simple: More efficient sales representatives and marketing strategies means happier customers, and happier customers means greater revenue. 8

10 Act III: Keep (Retain)

11 As we all know, the story doesn t end with the sale. In fact, if the process ends here you re not only failing your customers, you re missing out on a huge chunk of potential revenue. A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 125 percent,according to Bain & Company. If you don t hold up your end of the relationship, your new customer can still walk away. Of course, like any good relationship, the post-sale process requires work. Much like in the beginning of the cycle, you have to continue your efforts to better understand your customer s wants and needs through social monitoring, and you have to keep the spark alive with carefully devised campaigns. Then, when your customer is ready to buy again, you re still No. 1 in his or her mind. 10

12 CRM sales tracking allows you to follow along with your customer through the product lifecycle and create messaging that aligns with the process. If your customer purchased a refrigerator, for example, you could begin with messages highlighting features of the new appliance. As the product ages, you can begin sending messages offering maintenance suggestions and energy saving tips. As the product gets closer to the projected end of its life span, you can begin sending the customer coupons for a new refrigerator and information on best-selling options. 11

13 A Happy End Means No End The moral of this tale is customers, more than ever, want to be understood. With all the avenues we have to get to know our customers, it can often be difficult to navigate the marketing landscape especially with change happening at such a rapid clip. However, using a CRM can help companies organize their data, optimize their strategy for every step of the customer lifecycle and convert more leads into loyal customers. Remember, 81 percent of consumers are more likely to give a company repeated business after good service, so focus on delighting your customers with impeccable service from first contact to well beyond the date of purchase. By crafting an effective pre-sale and post-sale process, and building a loyal relationship with each and every one of your customers, the sales story finishes with and they lived happily ever after instead of simply the end. 12