CRM is the cost of entry into a modern market: try running a business without one and you will become very stuck, very quickly. But a CRM is more than just a digital filling cabinet. It’s a way for you to access, understand and monetize a goldmine already at your fingertips: customer data.
Data on its own is useless. For data to be effective, it needs to be collected, stored and harnessed in such a way it becomes valuable with minimal maintenance.
Raw data adds nothing to a marketing effort, but when it is viewed in the context of the data owner it becomes information. When the data is contextualised, it becomes knowledge and when it uncovers behaviours it becomes insight; leading to wisdom when that insight is applied.
So having all the names of anybody showing interest in your business over the last 18 months can be helpful. But how about knowing who was just browsing, who is ready to buy, or even who I ready to buy AND checked two or three others boxes critical for making a sale.
By better understanding your data and working smart, you can ensure the right messaging gets to the right people at the right time without labour-intensive or prospect-annoying processes. Targeting has also become more sophisticated, meaning that ads are now less interruptive and more informative — so sophisticated, in fact, that we now take for granted the quality of the ads we get served in our Instagram feeds and YouTube videos.
The old ways don’t work anymore.
Contemporary digital marketing has come a long way in the 20 years since its inception. GDPR, privacy, savvy prospects, and even huge corporations like Apple redefining data mining have all had a profound impact.
This is what we had, and unfortunately still experience:
- Buying data lists
- Mass emails send with misspelt names
- Cold calls without consent
- Spam SMS messages from random numbers
You probably even still see some of them. And we’re not talking about the occasional ‘Hi {first name}’ greeting mistake every marketer dreads sending. We’re talking about the data-scraping, privacy-invading, industry-shaming practices that gave us all a bad name.
Any company relying on these practices today would seem ancient by comparison. But the uncomfortable truth is many businesses STILL market like this. We bet you’ve even had one this week.
But why?
Malicious intent? Avarice? Lack of caring?
In most cases, it’s none of the above. It’s the opposite. Many companies are so excited to get their message out there, they forget the blend of science and craft that comes together to create great marketing. They forget they sit on a goldmine of prospect data offering powerful insights into behaviour, predilections, and desire.
Enter Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
A CRM is a system that holds the data of your customer. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet or as powerful as a constantly evolving AI single source of truth. And when used correctly, a CRM has the power to drive more revenue and delight prospects at every stage of the buying journey.
Why you must leverage your CRM for experience-driven marketing.
The marketers who get ahead today are hyper-focused on the customer experience. Experience-driven marketing puts your customers at the centre of everything you do as a marketer.
It's a major reason why platforms such as HubSpot has adopted the flywheel. When focused on the customer experience, marketing attracts and feeds into sales. Sales engages and feeds into service. Service delights and feeds back into marketing. And all of this is only possible when the customer is at the centre, managed by a CRM.
Leveraging your CRM is the secret to experience-driven marketing. Experience-driven marketing isn't just a buzzword -- it's your secret to growth. Forrester research found that companies who said they were focused on experience grew 40% faster and increased customer lifetime value by more than 60% versus those who weren't.
Very few marketers have all their tools and tactics tightly integrated into a CRM -- which often leads to disjointed customer experiences, siloed data, and an inability to know what's working.
This is why CRM-powered marketing is an absolute must for businesses seeking growth, giving your team a unified view of the customer and allowing them to create truly personalised experiences across all channels.
Get in touch for a no obligation chat to discuss how we could help build a CRM system for your marketing!