When the economy is in one of its all too frequent slumps, should your business even focus on CRM? Is worrying about CRM simply something that’s going to deplete even more of your limited resources?
While you may have no choice other than eliminating certain aspects of your business during downtimes, that shouldn’t be the case for CRM. In fact, you should care even more about CRM when spending activity is sluggish. Embracing CRM can have a direct impact on your business in multiple ways:
Your Customers are People, Not Numbers
No one wants to feel that they are just another row on a spreadsheet. Because they’re spending their hard earned money on your product or service, customers want to know that they can depend on you to treat them well.
The good news is providing this type of treatment is easier than you expect. Because so many companies put zero effort into this aspect of their business, you can stand out by doing things that would simply be considered polite if you were dealing with someone in a social setting.
When you email a customer, make sure it begins with their actual name and not a generic “Dear Customer.” If you’re concerned that this is going to be too difficult for you to implement, you’ll be glad to know that a quality CRM can actually take care of this for you automatically.
Tailor Your Message to Convey Value
Because the economy has taken a hit, consumers want to ensure that they’re receiving good value for the money they spend. By appealing to this desire, you can get customers to spend money despite the general sluggishness of the economy.
There are two key components to developing messages that really resonate with their audiences. The first is proper targeting. If you’re like most businesses, while almost all of your customers may share common traits, there are probably distinct segments within your customer base that have much more in common.
By analyzing the different types of customers you have, you will be able to target individuals much more effectively than if you tried to reach every customer with just one message. While this type of analysis may sound daunting, it’s once again something that a quality CRM can simplify for you.
The other key to crafting messages that get results is to focus on benefits instead of features. While features are useful for customers to know, explaining how what you have to offer will make their life better or easier is what will get them to take action.
You’ll Never Know for Sure If You Don’t Test
Are customers going to respond to the message you’ve crafted? Are they going to notice the extra effort you put into communicating with them? While you can spend all day thinking about the answers to these questions, the only way you’ll know for sure is by testing.
By regularly testing, analyzing and refining, you’ll be able to hone your marketing and thrive regardless of how the economy is doing.
How has CRM helped your business make it through rocky times?