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Best in class: how to score top marks with effective CRM data management

As the nation’s schools begin to re-open – paving the way for what promises to be a post-lockdown jump start for the economy, despite the ‘work from home if you can’ message being reinforced – autumn provides the perfect time for businesses to take a step back and re-assess the bigger picture. Now more than ever before, SMEs must harness the big data available to them as best they can in order to target relevant prospects with the right products and services at the right time – not only to remain competitive but to retain existing customers.

With cutting-edge CRM tools now available to businesses on a bespoke level, leadership teams of all shapes and sizes can utilise these solutions to ensure employees are equipped with up-to-date intel from one central location; crucially, this also spans the entire business to help join the dots of the customer journey. We look at how software such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help staff and their customers deliver and enjoy more pertinent, personalised experiences that not only drive sales but strengthen future relationships to support ‘business as usual’ through these uncertain times.

Get to know your customers

The customer may know best, but how well do you know your customer? While manually trawling through each contact’s unique profile and preferences can be time-consuming, it’s also vital should businesses wish to optimise their comms through targeted campaigns and effective personalisation. With an integrated solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 however, CRM does the hard work for you by retaining this key information, accessed via one simple platform – from social network data to visits to your website. Armed with this insight, sales, marketing and customer service teams will always be better informed to make the next move.

Improve segmentation

No audience is the same, which is why segmentation can help businesses create focused lists to craft and refine campaigns for the customers who are truly listening. CRM does this by breaking data down by categories and criteria, and segmenting contacts into target audiences – from prospects to existing customers. With Microsoft Dynamics 365, ‘market segments’ can help you decide who you want to target based on variables including demographic, firmographic and behavioural data. These are then broken down further into dynamic segments (based on logical field values) and static segments (selected on per-contact basis) – with profile and behavioural blocks that query these records based on its marketing-insights service.

Enforce slicker communications

Communication is everything when it comes to reaching new and existing customers with the right message so streamlining your existing processes allows you to be one step ahead. Drive efficiencies with a CRM that provides shortcuts, such as ready-to-use templates. Whatever the bespoke document, be it a newsletter, email, or invitation, customisation can be achieved at the touch of a button. Improve engagement and also customer satisfaction. Microsoft Dynamics 365 enhances the customer journey by enforcing communications that are not only quick but also transparent to ensure agents and their customers always stay connected.

Know what to expect

You never know what’s around the corner, so knowing your audience well and better preparing for future projects will only help you make smarter decisions in the long run. With access to customer interaction history for example – from their buying habits to overall satisfaction with previous products – businesses can anticipate future needs and be proactive by offering a timelier (and improved) customer service. When it comes to boosting future profitability on a project management level, Microsoft Dynamics 365 features integrated tools and analytics to help teams anticipate all-important resource demand with advanced project planning capabilities and dashboards to visualise costs and revenue.

Foster loyalty

What are you doing to guarantee your existing customers remain loyal? With trying times making the competition even fiercer, priorities can change, which then prompts some customers to look elsewhere for a product or service – despite often being perfectly happy with what they already had. To keep them engaged, CRM tools align teams across a business in order to cut through with a consistent and customised experience that won’t go unnoticed. Whether it’s an appointment, unanswered email, or reminder to reach out to a previous contact, system alerts help agents to prioritise their customers and never miss an opportunity. By maintaining focus in this way, solutions like Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help businesses nurture existing relationships, and move new ones forward.

Be GDPR compliant

With other events taking centre stage, it would be easy for compliance like GDPR to fall by the wayside. Yet failing to adhere to these guidelines could prove a costly mistake and not an error SMEs can afford to make. To effectively manage your customers’ data permissions, a CRM solution with GDPR functionality built-in can help to ensure you always remain fully compliant. From the continued storage of personal details to email subscription preferences and more, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is safe and reliable when ensuring your communications with customers remain watertight. When it comes to meeting these complex obligations, the cloud software also features Compliance Manager – a cross-Microsoft cloud services solution that performs real-time risk assessments to reflect a company’s posture against data protection regulations – with recommended actions to follow.

With a dedicated Microsoft consultancy team, we’re here to get you up and running with a CRM solution to suit both your business and your customers. Get in touch to see how Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help transform your communications for the better.