It’s likely many of us yearn for the days when a friendly receptionist would swiftly answer our call and put us through to the relevant department, sparing us the ‘press 3 for parts, 4 for accounts’ rigmarole.
Yet whilst certain elements are still a little frustrating, customer service and how businesses respond to enquiries has come a very long way.
Technology has played a huge part in what appears to be a cultural shift. As consumers and within business, we expect efficient service whether via an online chat or an email, and CRM systems help deliver this and more.
There’s transparency and real time immediacy of information. The ‘do you know who I am’ question, where switched on companies clearly do know, from where we live to what was purchased, and when.
CRM can help keep it personal too, by presenting a clear view of customer needs and preferences, prompting highly focused marketing emails that hit the spot whether to upsell or cross-sell.
It’s clever, joined-up stuff which when done well, helps to build customer loyalty, streamline operations and drive sustainable growth and profitability.
The figures speak for themselves.
For businesses seeking to support a customer-centric culture, a good CRM system has become the cornerstone of good business.
Global figures pertaining to the size of the CRM market and the uptake of systems is projected to reach over $114 billion by 2027 with a significant portion of CRM implementations happening through cloud-based deployment.
Cloud-based solutions including, Microsoft’s Dynamics 365, are increasing in popularity, particularly with SMEs owing to their flexibility, scalability, and affordability. Each offers anytime, anywhere access to customer data and features, supporting collaboration and agility across teams, and enhancing customer responsiveness and security.
Cloud control
At HG Technology we believe the scalability element is key to keeping costs under control as businesses can easily adjust resources and functionalities according to their needs without major infrastructure investment.
This and the fact that services can be paid for monthly on subscription plus there are savings associated with cloud-based CRM vendors taking care of updates and maintenance so there’s no need for premises or manual intervention.
CRM providers also come in handy when it comes to enhanced security as they invest heavily in security measures, helping businesses mitigate risks and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
It all adds up to a low cost, low risk solution with the added advantage of seamless integration with other cloud-based applications and services, such as email marketing and analytics tools, and e-commerce platforms.
At HG Technology we’ve been supporting companies since 2010 and have seen the transformation of the CRM landscape first-hand.
It’s enormously satisfying putting in place a system that can have such a wide-reaching impact from streamlining workflows and providing visibility as to sales team performance, to gathering customer insights that support strategic decision-making in the boardroom.
You can read our CRM case study on LeBruin an independent Irish company specialising in corporate finance and debt advisory services on our site. To learn more about our Dynamics 365 capabilities follow this link or get in touch. We’re here to help your business flow.
