This is a guest post from Codeless Platforms Partner, Solutions for Accounting and CRM, a leading provider of Financial Management and CRM software solutions.
We all know that CRM solutions are a brilliant way of keeping your client information in check. Be that filing emails, logging phone calls or recording client visits. Having one centrally located solution for all client interactions means at the click of a button, anyone in the business can see all the previous communications with a client, without having to go round the houses to get a simple answer.
That being said, many CRM users don’t realise the huge benefit it can have on marketing campaigns. We all know ‘content is king’, but when creating content and distributing it in various forms, a ‘one size fits all’ strategy no longer works. Content is everywhere and anyone and everyone are claiming to be ‘thought leaders’ and ‘experts’ on all sorts of topics. Due to this we are inundated with emails, among other marketing channels, on a daily basis – the majority of which have little or no relevance to us. We were promised this would stop with GDPR being enforced from May 25th 2018, but let’s be honest, has it made that much of a difference really?
According to Sciencedaily.com “90% of the data in the world has been generated over that last two years” and Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has been noted saying more content is being created now in 48 hours than all of the content produced between day dot and 2003. So how do we make our marketing stand out in the vast ocean that is content marketing?
Relevance is key! As long as your CRM system is filled with quality data you can ensure your marketing is targeted. By creating a group based on job role or industry sector, for example, you can target these people directly with a specific message, product or service, therefore only having a relevant audience. You can make your targeting as specific as you like as long as you collect the relevant information about each client within your CRM system.
Track campaigns in CRM – As with emails and phone calls, you can track campaigns and their success, giving you an overview to see what has and what hasn’t been successful. By creating a group in CRM and then pushing that into your email marketing platform through CRM integration, you can track individual email campaigns and see who has opened the e-shot, clicked on the links or where it has bounced.
This doesn’t just work for email marketing. For mailed campaigns, events, online demonstrations or any other marketing campaigns, you can create a ‘wave activity’ in CRM and link all communications to this. The buying process can be a long one, it can take weeks, months and maybe even years to make a sale, the first enquiry and the original source of an enquiry can easily get lost or forgotten. With CRM, this can be tracked and the success of any campaign can be analysed.
Analysis – If you use various marketing campaigns to target an audience but are unsure what works, analysing the success of previous campaigns can be a great way of seeing what has/ hasn’t been a success in the past. A targeted audience will not only grow revenue, it will also improve marketing metrics. Being ahead of the game and using CRM and marketing analysis is vital in today’s marketing world.
Personalise content – This is also important to ensure we get seen by our target audience. With the data from our CRM system, we can address existing clients/ potential customers by their name/ job role/ company in email/ mail campaigns and tailor the content around their wants and needs. By doing this you are likely to see improved response rates and stronger brand presence.
Find a template/ layout that works for you – Reuse it! A lot of email marketing can be trial and error initially, once you find an outline that works, keep using it. The beauty of a CRM solution is that you can analyse how successful a campaign is and compare results, removing the guesswork and allowing you to focus on the best performing campaigns.
In conclusion, CRM is a fantastic tool, not only to keep an eye on customer activity from a sales point of view, but also for marketing purposes. Spot buying patterns, personalise and create targeted campaigns, and once you find something that works, keep re-using it. The world of marketing is constantly changing, we have greater visibility than ever before over campaigns and this tool, when used in the right way, can be hugely beneficial to a company.
About Solutions for Accounting and CRM
Solutions for Accounting and CRM is one of the UK’s leading providers of financial management and CRM software solutions that help your business to drive growth and company revenues. Being a Sage strategic partner for Sage 50, 200 and Sage Financials, Sage CRM specialist partner, Act! CRM Diamond Partner, Salesforce Certified Professionals and BPA Platform resellers their team is perfectly positioned to provide your business with the solutions to improve company performance and drive revenue.
Speak to one of their CRM experts today on 0115 840 5075 or email [email protected].
About Codeless Platforms
Codeless Platforms is at the forefront of rapid application development and business process automation. With over 450 global partners, more than 7600 customers use Codeless Platforms’ software solutions, ranging from diverse global organisations to the small local enterprise.
For more information on how you can transform your business through rapid application development or by automating your business processes download the brochure below or call us on +44 (0) 330 99 88 700.
