Omni-Channel Customer Engagement Article

Customer relationship management (CRM) might seem like a buzzword in the customer service sector, but the truth of the matter is CRM systems help organizations in many ways, such as the ability to personalize relationships with customers regardless of which employee is service them. Using CRM, a repository can be maintained on customer profiles, thereby treating each client as an individual and not as a group.

CRM has come a long way, and as tools have evolved with growing technology, so, too has customer engagement. For one, it can automate tasks that have a direct impact on the bottom line, like keeping track of sales appointments, lead follow-up and post-sales actions. Secondly, implementing a CRM system can give marketing efforts a boost by helping staff understand who has bought what, how much they spent, and help inform demand for future product or market expansion.

Today, CRM is taken on a whole new meaning. Customers are interacting with the companies they buy from in ways that are vastly different than yesterday; purchases no longer happen at a cash register, they happen on website. Emails act as a gateway to promotions, smartphone apps let customers interact with representatives, and now customers have taken to social media for their issues. Businesses, now more than ever, need to keep how and when they interact with their customers and leverage the latest mediums in the best way possible.

Today’s CRM tools need to be able to track all your customers’ information in one place, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, preferences, purchases, and more.

Aspect’s Enterprise CRM Services utilizes Microsoft (News - Alert) Dynamics CRM helps businesses not only know what their most successful relationships look like, but gives users a competitive edge by being with the current customer experience landscape. With mobile access and Web self-service options, automation, and integration with communication tools so sales professionals don’t miss a beat.

A CRM system is not only an integral part of the sales and customer support workflow, but is the lifeline of the sales and support process, providing reps with the right information for the right customer at the right time.