Too often salespeople do not have all of the information they need when speaking to a customer. A CRM solution solves this problem by giving the sales staff a complete picture of the customer profile on one screen.
Customer service, billing and delivery are three disparate, yet vital parts of any business, but these departments do not always speak to each other. Even worse, salespeople within a company often do not know when customer problems come up with these other departments within the company. A CRM solution links all relevant aspects of a customer profile together on one screen so that the sales department has a complete picture of the customer’s experience and can give customers the very best service available. When the sales staff does not have all of the information, numerous problems arise.
Customer Service
A customer has called and made a complaint about an incomplete order or a faulty product. Without a CRM solution, the sales staff does not know that the customer is unhappy, and may try to make another sales call. Understandably, customers are not pleased when they are pestered to buy additional products when their previous experience was not positive. With a CRM solution, the sales staff can see that the customer has an open issue and the salesperson can communicate with customer service to see when the issue might be resolved, so that the customer feels that their issues are being handled by their sales rep. Rather than trying to upsell a dissatisfied customer, the salesperson can wait until the issue is solved and work with a much more satisfied customer.
Billing
A customer has fallen behind on their payment and a collection has put a hold on new deliveries until the matter has been resolved. A salesperson without this information may waste his or her time by trying to make a sale to a customer who cannot make a purchase. Using a CRM solution, the salesperson can see the status of payments from the customer and will know that the account is not up-to-date. Rather than making a call to sell new product, the salesperson might be able to offer financing solutions to this customer, or might find their time is better suited making sales calls to customers with current accounts. Customers then feel that their sales rep really cares about their customers because of the rep’s willingness to help the customer resolve issues
Delivery
The warehouse is behind on shipments because of transportation issues. Salespeople that do not have access to this information might continue to try to make sales, only tying up the product pipeline; however, a salesperson using a CRM solution will have the delivery data available and can work as part of the solution to the delivery issues. Rather than pushing for new sales, the sales staff can inform customers that deliveries are behind schedule and can communicate information to the customer about when the issues might be resolved.
A well-informed sales staff is an important part of business, and an integrated CRM solution allows the staff to see all of the relevant customer information in one place. By using a CRM solution, the sales staff can provide a better customer experience and work together with all of the aspects of the business to drive sales and increase profits. In the end, the customer gets better service, and the sales staff can be proactive in aiding customers when problems arise.
