Modern CRM - the customer journey at the heart of success

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The demands that customers place on companies' marketing and sales departments have changed. They take it for granted that they will be the center of attention and that they will be represented on their Customer Journey to be professionally accompanied. Companies that use modern customer relationship management (CRM) to optimally support the customer journey generate leads, conversions and sales.

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CRM troubleshooting

Companies with problems in the area of marketing and sales look for reasons for too low sales. Not infrequently, the Customer Relationship Management associated with problems. Arguments such as, for example, that working with customer relationship management costs valuable working time or that the quality of care deteriorates due to less customer communication. The strongly technology-related view reduces customer relationship management to the generation of data. The problem with this perspective is meeting business requirements while ignoring customer needs. Based on this premise, it is no wonder when marketing and sales professionals and executives vent about the high number of failed CRM projects that (unfortunately) exist in practice.

Success factors for CRM projects

The foundation for the success of a Customer Relationship Management project is laid before the Introduction laid. It is important that before the introduction of the customer management system. realistic goals defined and formulated become, the are in line with the corporate strategy. The objectives result in a CRM strategyFrom this, a roadmap with clearly defined fields of action and responsibilities is derived that is binding for all parties involved.

A CRM strategy provides orientation and structure.
A customer relationship management strategy provides guidance and structure. (Image: fitsmallbusiness.com)

Internally within the company, it is also crucial to explain the reasons for implementing a CRM and the benefits for the company. It is important to inform the end users and the Customer Journey of the customers by means of concrete application examples. The integration of customer relationship management via interfaces into the existing system landscape with the aim of exchanging and entering relevant data should also be well planned.

Since many companies prefer a customer relationship management system, it is important to clarify in advance whether individual adaptations are necessary and what costs are involved.

Recognizing the benefits for the customer journey

Many companies believe they have taken all factors into account and yet are surprised that customer relationship management projects fail. One reason is that customers do not consistently in the center of thinking and acting. The classic corporate viewpoint is too predominant. Customer relationship management can only unfold its full benefits or exploit the user bandwidth of possibilities to their advantage if the Journey of each customer is known.

Each Buyer Persona including the Touchpoints and possible reactions should also be notorious. The great opportunity of modern CRM systems lies in the touchpoints. Due to the fact that in the context of digitalization Omnichannel-As approaches become commonplace and the number of touchpoints multiplies, Customer Relationship Management solutions help to Reduce complexity and to keep the overview.

Customer relationship management makes it possible to view and support every customer journey systematically and holistically.

Customer data - opportunity and valuable asset

Any CRM is only as good as it is actually used in everyday marketing and sales. According to studies, around 50 percent of the available data potential is used inadequately or not at all. There is a lack of clearly defined workflows and standard processes that users can employ to successfully steer a customer's journey toward conversion. If the data is not analyzed systematically, the potential to understand customers better and to create so-called "customer insights" is lost. Customer Insights to win.

The smaller the analytical underpinning of a customer journey, the more weight is given to the factor of chance. In the age of digitization, it is not always predictable which touchpoints and paths a customer will choose next on his journey. Companies that are well prepared and can score points through fast response times and the provision of the right content, reduce bounce rates to a minimum.

Analyze and evaluate customer data to optimize CRM and the customer journey.
Analyze and evaluate customer data to optimize CRM and the customer journey. (Image: onlinemarketing-practice.com)

In summary, these are the main points:

  • the customer is at the center of all marketing and sales activities
  • uniform customer communication throughout the company
  • Fast and comprehensive fulfillment of all customer needs at the touchpoints
  • Make the customer experience as pleasant as possible
  • a continuous control and quality assurance
  • Adaptation of the customer experience strategy if necessary

CRM, customer journey and artificial intelligence

The argument that working with a CRM costs too much valuable working time can be overcome by using a CRM. artificial intelligence (AI) invalidate. With the help of AI, it is possible to frequently Automate recurring tasksThe aim is to link data and present users with suggestions for action. While currently only standard tasks and sub-processes are automated, it is possible to create a customer journey with the help of AI. to understand in depth and optimally on the individual customers. Current evaluations and own analyses carried out with the help of AI provide information about the degree of fulfillment of KPIs. They serve as important insights for further marketing and sales projects as well as for comparison possibilities with the competition.

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Conclusion: Consistently exploit potential

In a market and competitive environment shaped by digitization, a CRM offers valuable opportunities to transform the customer journey into a Unique Customer Experience and differentiate themselves from the competition. New technologies - such as the use of AI, enable companies to respond to the needs of customers within the framework of a customer journey. faster, more targeted and more individual to react. The customer journey is increasingly becoming the centerpiece for the success of modern customer relationship management systems and exerts a major influence on decision-making processes in all departments involved.

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