What is CRM? Understanding the Types of CRM Software

The success rate of any business depends on its customers and customer satisfaction. A business that has good customer relationships and management has a high chance of being successful and gaining profit since these attributes enable the business to fully comprehend its clientele. 

So how can you enhance customer satisfaction and manage your relationship with customers? Here is where CRM (Customer Relationship Management) steps in and makes your job easy for you. CRM reduces your workload in the workplace and helps enhance customer satisfaction.  

A CRM system can be replaced in the place of spreadsheets, databases, and apps. In this read, we will discuss CRM software, its types, features, and how you can choose the best CRM for your business. So without any delay, let’s dive into it. 

What is CRM software?

Customer Relationship Management is a software designed to maintain good relationships with customers and enhance customer satisfaction. CRM tracks data, collects customer information, activity, and communication, and stores it for future use while dealing with the customer. 

CRM helps businesses to capture, organize, and analyze customer’s information to manage customer relationships more efficiently. The goal of CRM is to improve relationships with customers to grow your business.

CRM systems help organizations build customer relationships and streamline processes so they can increase sales, improve customer service, increase profitability, and improve customer experience. Also, CRM provides you with the most up-to-date data.

Benefits of Using CRM software

The main objective of CRM is to collect customer information. CRM collects data from different sources like emails, phone calls, live chat, and social media. Now let’s take a look at some benefits of CRM software. 

I. To provide better customer service

You can consistently provide outstanding customer service if you are aware of each customer’s past contacts. CRM also gives your staff access to thorough interaction notes, which let you identify who addressed the customer’s issue.

Also, you can offer a better and more fulfilling customer experience when you are aware of the product a customer has purchased and their prior contacts. 

II. Boost your sales 

Sales CRM software improves visibility and aids in lead prioritization, which speeds up your sales process. Sales representatives may tailor their messages and increase engagement by seeing what a lead has done.

CRM enables you to rank leads according to how likely they are to convert. You may conclude deals more quickly and follow up with the appropriate individuals at the appropriate times. To make sure you don’t pass on any possibilities, you may set up automatic campaigns to follow up with leads using a CRM.

III. Customer management

CRM software manages and keeps all records of your existing customers including personal details, items they have purchased, and previous interactions. This feature will help when you have to deal with the same customer in the future. You can provide delightful information to them and give solutions.

IV. Marketing automation

Most modern CRM platforms have automated marketing functions that help in appointment scheduling, follow-up, or social media management. 

V. Analytics

CRM software comes with an in-built function for analytics. You can see in-depth information regarding sales, activities, customer satisfaction, reports, and marketing campaigns. By analyzing the past reports and activities of customers, you can provide more practical solutions to them. 

Types of CRM software

There are 3 types of CRM software.

• Collaborative CRM 
• Operational CRM
• Analytical CRM       

A. Collaborative CRM

Collaborative CRM is the application software that connects all the departments of the company. Collaborative CRMs are typically less focused on generating sales and more on customer satisfaction and retention than other forms of CRMs. Moreover, it increases the collaborative culture in office premises. 

However, collaborative CRMs are the solution to the long-standing problem of data silos for teams in charge of sales, marketing, and customer support. A collaborative CRM solution can help businesses that operate in segregated teams or across several locations to improve efficiency in customer data collection and communication

Pros and cons of collaborative CRM software

The goal of this kind of CRM system is to enhance the data exchanged throughout the departments of sales, marketing, and customer support. Because these teams operate independently, a collaborative CRM application can assist in dismantling organizational silos so that client needs can be met and relationships can be successfully managed.

It’s crucial to use this system appropriately, though, because of its collaborative and interconnected character. If not, there is a chance that the client experience will deteriorate and the connection between touchpoints may break.

Example of Collaborative CRM

1. Bitrix 24
2. Copper CRM
3. Pipe drive CRM 
4. Sage CRM 

B. Operational CRM

Operational CRM helps adapt the numerous customer relationship activities to the fundamental business process and simplifies them. Businesses may create leads, turn leads into contacts, and supply the service infrastructure required to keep clients by using operational CRM. 

The most popular kind and one with the widest variety of capabilities is the operational CRM system. It unifies all corporate operations, including marketing, sales, and customer support. Its main objective is to facilitate the centralization of client interactions, sales, marketing, and service and support activities in one location, as well as to help streamline business operations. 

Additionally, it uses a common platform to keep data on leads, customers, and staff in order to provide better support for current and future clients. An operational system captures customer details and uses them to provide service across the customer lifecycle, including marketing, sales, and service automation. 

Operational CRM solutions are the perfect example for assisting the team in better understanding customers by capturing and maintaining customer interactions and enhancing the company’s sales and customer perception. 

Pros and cons of operational CRM

Enhancing organizational efficiency through an operational CRM can lead to better internal cohesiveness, processes, and overall customer satisfaction. Like any other form of CRM, though, it depends on accurate data entry to work to its maximum potential, which can take a while, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.

 Example of operational CRM 

1. Mailchimp CRM 
2. Hubspot CRM 

C. Analytical CRM

Utilizing customer data to uncover patterns and practical insights that the company can apply to enhance the customer experience is the main objective of analytical CRM. Customer preferences, channels, touchpoints, trends, predictions, and other information can all be found in an analytical CRM.

analytical CRM software helps firms improve through data collecting and analysis in operational analytics. Customer preferences, actions, and contact details are a few examples. Sales representatives can send more focused messages and improve retention rates by using this information to better understand what consumers require.

Large and medium-sized businesses that collect a lot of data and wish to turn it into trends and insights are best served by analytical CRM solutions.

Pros and cons of analytical CRM software 

Analytical CRM systems are excellent at assisting businesses in analyzing vast volumes of data and formulating plans to generate fresh leads, boost client retention, and streamline the sales and marketing divisions.

Though analytical CRM systems can aid in the understanding of vast amounts of data, they can also be more complex and challenging to use without specialized personnel. Furthermore, the accuracy of the insights drawn from the data depends on the quality of the data entered, and inaccurate entries can distort the findings.

Example of Analytical CRM software

1. Salesforce CRM analytics
2. Zendesk Explore

How to choose the best CRM for your business?

Selecting the perfect CRM can be challenging for you as you have a lot of options present in the market. So how can you choose the best CRM for your business? Here we have listed some methods to choose the CRM for your business.

1. How easy it is to set up and learn

Certain CRM systems can be challenging to set up and install. Some might even need you to employ a manager on a continuous basis. Purchasing something that your staff will never have time to learn won’t be cost-effective for a small firm. 

However, even big businesses would be better off locating something that they can quickly deploy and that staff members can use without any further training right away. Thus, while choosing CRM, you can look for the easy set-up and best performance.

2. How well it connect separate departments

Collaboration amongst sales, marketing, and customer support is critical when aiming for a long-term partnership. You need a CRM that links everyone through a single platform if you want all staff members who deal with customers to always have access to the most recent customer data.

3. Payment model

Cloud-based CRMs that charge via a subscription are the most popular choices. However, there are also certain on-premise CRM options that you can download on your onsite devices after purchasing them once for a specific number of users. 

The latter can appear like a more straightforward financial choice, but it restricts your access to product upgrades and makes it difficult for your CRM to grow with your business as you hire additional staff. Whichever CRM you decide on, be sure you comprehend the pricing structure and know how much it will cost.

4. Reporting features

You may leverage data-driven insights to refine your plan using analytics that your team can comprehend. You will be able to identify trends and insights in your CRM with the use of a robust yet user-friendly reporting system.

5. Security features

Client information is delicate. Even while it is valuable to you, it can easily turn into a liability if it is mishandled. In order to safeguard your data and maintain the confidence of your clients, any CRM you are considering must provide the highest level of security.

6. Ability to scale

You should consider now how well the CRM you select will scale if you anticipate that your firm will expand in the upcoming months and years. How simple will it be to hire new staff members or customers? How simple would it be to integrate new tech items into your process when you add them over time and link them to your CRM?

Thus, think for the long run and choose your CRM accordingly. 

Conclusion

It takes more than just good intentions to give your clients an amazing customer experience if you want them to. You must find a method for efficiently compiling and utilizing all of your client data. Having the correct CRM enables your staff to provide outstanding, customized customer service. 

Additionally, it provides you with an enhanced comprehension of your clientele, enabling you to customize your customer interaction plan to suit their requirements and inclinations. CRM provides a secure, organized, low-touch storage system for customer information and helps businesses efficiently provide personalized, relevant communication to their customers. 

CRM software is affordable and within budget software which takes off a load of work and data management. Also, you can get free CRM software in the market. Thus, find a suitable CRM according to your budget and needs. 

FAQs

How many types of CRM software are there?

There are three main types of CRM software i.e. collaborative CRM, operational CRM, and analytical CRM.

What is the goal of CRM?

The main goal of CRM is to enhance customer satisfaction and create a better experience for customers to increase sales. 

Is CRM expensive?

CRM solutions come in different price ranges according to their features and service quality. You can get affordable CRM software with all the required needs, and, you can get expensive CRM systems with more exciting features.