CRM transformation: How to communicate with clients during a quarantine

Global changes that took place in 2020 influenced entrepreneurship all over the country. Most U.S. enterprises, 99% of which are small business entities, in the peak of the pandemic, lost their monetary funds and new companies were in the “start-up depression” being prevented from entering the labour market. According to Coface data, EU countries affected small- and mid-size enterprises, having forced them to reduce staff or send employees for indefinite leave urgently. 

For instance, 64% of companies changed to remote work for the year. Due to such a tendency, it is possible to understand the aspiration of business owners to retain contacts with clients and improve labour productivity. As a result, the companies increased investments into modern communication technologies, mostly CRM systems. Nevertheless, the latter are being transformed during the pandemic. How?

CRM introduction in terms of quarantine, or how not to lose clients 

As a result of the introduction of quarantine measures, modern manufacturers can’t collaborate with sellers of goods and services in full scope. With such restrictions in force, the consumer activity sooner or later may transmit to online mode in full. For this reason, the primary task of any company, which action is based upon communications with clients, is the search of new digital channels. 

Above 40% of enterprises recognize the importance of using digital technologies to retain relations with customers and to establish a new relationship. According to the statistics, the attraction of potential clients is five times more expensive than the support of connections with the existing ones. At that, enhancement of loyalty to the company at least by 5% increases its profit up to 95%.

According to the researches, usage of different connection channels – messengers, hotline calls, online chart in the website etc. – in work with clients promotes the preservation of the client base. An isolated consumer does not lose his/her purchasing capacity; he/she is interested in being able to contact the company using any suitable method. CRM system is the most widespread multichannel tool permitting to keep connections with clients 24/7. Therefor its introduction is the company’s first step on the way to preserve communications with clients in terms of home-office.

How to preserve communication with clients in quarantine using CRM: 6 important steps   

1. Usage of online-tools for analysis and planning. Work in home-office permits to construct a smart strategy, taking into account actual data about the situation on the micro- and macro-level. Comparison of productivity indices for every employee allows determining the best practices to take measures for preserving relations and attraction of clients and, further on, for development of working standards. On this basis, it is possible to cope with the crisis adequately.  
2. Search of individual approach. CRM permits to provide the client with a particular package of goods and services formed based on his/her values and user’s experience. It makes the buyer turn to a specific company again and again, and the company, in its turn, may keep competitiveness in the period of global changes.    
3. Tracing activity in social networks. In the period of quarantine, around 67% of Internet users search for services and goods they are interested in through social networks. CRM analyzes such activity in services, where the principal amount of users is concentrated. Due to this, the connection with the target audience is kept 24/7. 
4. Mobile sales practising. Changes of the year 2020 influenced mobile CRM as well: clients’ data security level became higher, perception of information – more simple, transition from offline- to online-tools – faster. Furthermore, simultaneous access to all applications through a single platform appeared. Following the actual data, 81% of companies aspire for communication with clients through mobile devices. 
5. Servicing quality improved. Based on HubSpot research, 82% of clients expect for an immediate reply from the company to the inquiry or the question about the product characteristics. Such speed in terms of quarantine is possible if only such channel as CRM system is available. Its introduction permits to connect to the sale process several remote employees through a chart or video calls demonstrating the client the service quality. It forms a loyal attitude to the company. 
6. Optimization of work inside the team. CRM possibilities in terms of quarantine are irreplaceable. The transition of employees to home-office mode sets the following task before the company – provision of staff with tools for remote work. In the CRM system, all data about clients are centralized, i.e. collected on one server, and all team members have access to them. 74% of enterprises recognize that introduction of the CRM simplified access to information about clients that, in its turn, reduced the selling cycle by at least 8%. 

Deciding on the introduction of the CRM in business, most enterprises are guided by their ease of operation, possibility to keep the task schedule, take quick shots when deriving data from the base. CRM platform tools allow achieving high indices in business processes related to cooperation with clients: how to improve sales, how to enhance the quality of service, to keep relations with clients. 

CRM usage promotes to establish relations inside the team as well. According to Worldcom research, entrepreneurs actively look for cooperation ways with employees in terms of isolation and methods of their retention at working places. During a crisis it is much more profitable to keep the full team, having optimized its remote work, than to hire new staff. 

Statistics is self-evident: as a result of the crisis caused by the pandemic the investments for procurement of technologies increased – if in 2020 this index equals 2.6%, the next year it will rise by 0.8%. Under the forecasts, proceeds from CRM in 2025 are going to exceed 25 bln. US dollars – at present, this software market is the most fast-rising in the world, 

We, General Soft LTD’s team, design individual CRM-solutions. We are sure that quarantine – this is optimal rime to familiarize with advantages of implementation of modern technologies, thus, having reduced competitiveness of own business in terms of crisis.