If you are in the digital marketing world, I am sure that you have heard of a Customer Relationship Management Tool – otherwise known as a CRM. However, you may not have paid too much attention to them, or think that they are just not for your business. You may even think that you have heard enough about them – you have received enough phone calls and emails advertising them.
No matter if you are new to what a CRM tool is or if you are familiar with what they are, this blog will help you familiarize yourself with what they are, who can use them, what their benefits are, and how Ella Interactive, a new CRM tool, can serve your business’s needs.
How Does CRM Software Work?
As we just discussed, CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. So, a CRM tool will help streamline communication lines between client and customer, track and manage interactions, and analyze trends, leads, and proposals. CRM software tools can function in a variety of ways, with some interesting differences between them. The common thread between them is that CRM software tools can serve as a database of sorts, in which email addresses, client names, and other data points will be stored and analyzed.
A CRM tool can serve as a useful hub of information, data, and communication. We know that CRM tools can vary greatly, but again, most have a dashboard in which contacts, analytics, and social media campaigns can be found. CRM tools can also help record sales calls and other communication records, as well as provide lead qualifications and follow-ups. The exact details of what information may be stored on a dashboard will depend on the type of CRM tool.
A CRM tool can serve as a sort of common ledger that you, your teammates, and your clients can use and collaborate with. Instead of forwarding emails, and sharing documents and other information, you can organize all of your information in one, easy-to-navigate dashboard.
How Can a CRM Tool Serve My Small Business?
Though you may understand the utility of a CRM tool, you may not be convinced that it can serve your small business and its specific needs. You might think that your business is working just fine, you have great relationships with your clients, so why bother? So, let’s take a little more time to discuss some of the benefits of a CRM tool for a small business.
Improved Organization
Having a well-organized business is essential. With a CRM tool, you can easily organize all of your pertinent information – leads tracking, analytics tracking, phone call, and email tracking. You do not want to be searching through old emails or forgetting to follow up with a particular client. You want your whole team to be able to easily and effectively communicate with each other and complete projects. A CRM tool will allow you to accomplish exactly that – organization and efficiency.
When you are working and communicating with a client, you want to have all of your ducks in a row. You want to be able to clearly demonstrate whatever arguments, data, and successes you have – and you will need effective organization to accomplish that. And, today, you need to be using software to help you with those presentations, which is exactly what a CRM tool is so great for.
Improved Communication
Related to organization, another great benefit of using a CRM tool is that your communication will be immensely improved. Your marketing efforts will yield much more with improved communication lines. An effective CRM tool, like Ella Interactive, can provide your communication with your team and your client all in one convenient place. This way, you do not need to navigate between several different email threads, emailing messages, and just generally making a cluttered mess of things.
Here is another interesting benefit of using a CRM tool: someone has just entered information onto your website, such as an email address and a phone number. Now that you have that information, you can begin to retarget them with ads, send them emails, and move them along the marketing process – and all of this can begin automatically. So, you will now have really strong data on this particular client and will have a good understanding of their experience thus far on your website.
Improved Efficiency
With improved organization and communication, improved efficiency is another obvious benefit. By having clear organization and structured communication lines, you and your team will make leaps and bounds in your efficiency. You will not need to spend time jumping between tabs, asking who has what document, and if they followed up with yesterday’s lead. All of this information, and more, will be conveniently located for you, your team, and your clients within the CRM dashboard.
Which CRM Tool Should I Use?
Now that we have gone over what a CRM tool is, how they work, and what their benefits are, you might be wondering which one you should use – there are, after all, a multitude of options to choose from. How can I know which one is the best?
Some CRM tools are designed for small businesses and freelancers, some are designed for large businesses and corporations. What sets Ella Interactive apart from the rest is that Ella can be used by a business of any size. With Ella, you get what you pay for. So, you do not need to worry about overpaying for services that you will not need. In addition, you do not need to worry about long-term contracts, as your subscription can be renewed month-to-month.
With Ella, you will have access to a whole suite of services, including social media management, task management, website analytics tracking, phone call tracking, email and SMS marketing, custom AI software, and many others. If you are not the most tech-savvy person and would rather someone from Ella handle your account, that can be accommodated for. Ella Interactive can offer you a fresh, innovative approach to your CRM needs.