Telemarketing Software Featured Article

True or false: the goal of business is to develop a great product or service and then go and find customers who will buy it? While this oversimplified statement may have been true for much of human civilization, it’s not necessarily the case anymore. Companies are tasked with customer relationship management (CRM) before all else, and the goal of CRM is to collect enough data about populations that it becomes easy to understand what products and services customers want and need…and develop them accordingly. Sales once put the horse before the cart. Today, its goal should be to put an engine behind the cart, and the engine is CRM.

In a recent blog post for Josic Media, Alvin Carson wrote that CRM includes the entire spectrum of client interactions, from identifying and acquiring new customers to conserving and nurturing the customer base to reopening communications with clients who have been lost to follow-up. In particular, inside reps using telemarketing software are able to connect customer data and history to future steps that should be taken to turn names in a database into customers.

“The key is to optimize customer satisfaction, and in most cases this means giving clients individualized service,” wrote Carson. “Clients must be made to feel that they can access the company anytime that they have any concerns and that these concerns will be dealt with promptly.”

This is the place where sales – often inside sales, or telemarketing – meets customer service. It can’t be accomplished with a broad-scale marketing program: it needs one-on-one attention. It also needs digital data, and lots of it. Customers today use digital channels more than anything else to research products and services and educate themselves as buyers. When they do so, they leave a trace of digital breadcrumbs. Carson refers to it as “eCRM.”

“Interactive eCRM gives clients a sense that their complaints, questions, and concerns are being immediately attended to,” he wrote. “This increases customer satisfaction and promotes long-lasting client relationships. One example of a highly effective eCRM tool is a company Web sites where customers can individualize their Web pages to enhance interaction.”

Company sales reps, telemarketers or outbound customer support agents cannot gain a proper picture of customers and prospects without a software solution that sits at the foundation of the sales process. This solution must be all-encompassing and able to capture data points from every customer or prospect interaction. It must be updated regularly, available to remote employees or salespeople and feature collaboration tools that allow critical information to be shared. Today’s customer is in the digital channels— his or her wants, needs and history must also be there.

“The modern consumer invariably turns to the net when they are looking to make a purchase,” wrote Carson. “It starts with searching for available products online, progresses to reading online product reviews, and ends with a visit to the websites of companies with interesting offerings. Success will require a well-planned CRM strategy and an effective eCRM portal. These are not optional; they are essential tools for the modern business.”