Maximising your CRM program
Having a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program that captures your customers’ or potential customers’ details and using email marketing to communicate with them is well known to be one of the best marketing activities a business can do in terms of driving incremental revenue and ROI.
Sometimes however, businesses capture this data and send out the odd sporadic email here and there without really driving the program to maximise the results. What do I mean by driving it? I mean having a strategic plan on what the company is trying to achieve, how the company is going to utilise the data, how customer acquisition is going to happen, how customer retention is going to happen, putting the plan into action and then analysing the data, not just on a surface level, but getting in deep into the metrics to really build a wealth of knowledge of what is working and why.
Examples of ways to drive a CRM program
Some of the ways this can be done include selecting CRM software that is fit for purpose, creating newsletter/brochure sign-ups, online membership sign-up forms, investing in partnerships with complementary products, creating lookalike audiences, segmenting the data, developing a series of nurturing emails, cross-selling emails, online feedback forms etc. etc.
CRM and Content Marketing
Once there is a strategic plan of how the CRM program is going to be driven it can also be helpful to develop a complementary content marketing plan and calendar that describes what will be communicated to customers and when. The plan may include inspirational brand images or videos, the latest news on product developments, engaging customers by requesting feedback to better meet their needs or by providing them with exclusive offers tailored specifically to them. Then a content calendar outlines when this content is suitable to roll out, it may tie in with a product launch, seasons, holidays etc. Of course, things can and often do change throughout a year so its important to remain flexible and re-assess the timing of each content piece to ensure it is still relevant before it is sent out.
It is also important to remember that all of these interactions with your customers form key steps in the customer’s journey and their overall experience with your company. So it is important that they are aligned with your brand and reinforce the type of experience you want them to have along the way. If you charge a premium for your products or services a cheap looking email with garish starbursts offering ridiculous discounts, won’t align well. Whereas quality imagery, well written text and a compelling call to action will present your brand and offering in a much better light.
Final Thoughts
Having a CRM and pushing out the odd email to your customers is unlikely to realise the full benefits that a CRM program can deliver to your business. Having a strategy, the right software, a content marketing plan and calendar plus the ability to analyse data regularly, can help to truly maximise your investment in CRM.
Driving a CRM program is a marketing activity that can significantly help to grow customer acquisition and sales, read more about our CRM services here: Customer Relationship Management