CRM – Customer Relationship Management

Successful and intensive customer relationships are essential for every company. These should be built up profitably over the long term and then carefully maintained. Building a solid customer relationship can be associated with certain challenges. Intelligent customer relationship management (CRM) helps effectively here: the customer is the focus of marketing activities and targeted measures are taken to improve the relationship with the customer. Find out in our blog post what CRM is exactly about and how it can help you build successful customer relationships!

What is CRM?

Close to the English term "Customer Relationship Management" is the German translation "Kundenbeziehungsmanagement". However, this does not only mean customer loyalty alone. This is a large part of the marketing strategy, but many other factors flow into it.

CRM as a definition describes the strategy for systematically shaping the interactions and relationships of a company with existing or potential customers. It is therefore about all processes that are related to customers as a target group as well as their control. This includes in particular marketing, services, sales and product development. CRM should ensure that organisations, companies or enterprises stay in touch with their customers, at the same time internal processes should be optimised and the profitability of the company increased. The customers themselves are not only the end users, but also suppliers, service users or partners.

There are three variants of CRM:

CRM can be used as a technology. CRM systems are used for this. These usually have a cloud that is used by the entire workforce. In the cloud, interactions between the organisation and the users are recorded, analysed and then reports can be generated. CRM as a technology is also known as a CRM solution.

When CRM is used as a strategy, it refers to the methods that companies consciously use to shape existing and potential customer relationships.

CRM as a process, on the other hand, means a system used by the company to maintain and manage customer relationships.

Planning CRM successfully - tips

Before you can use CRM methods, they must first be planned in detail. The advantage of this is that you can define your goals precisely in this phase and also compare them with your clientele - is your chosen strategy the right one?

In the first step, you define your exact business goals. To do this, you should first analyse your company - what internal structures do you have? Then define the customer-related marketing goals: To what extent should customer loyalty be built or maintained? How high is customer satisfaction and how should it be increased or developed? In this first phase, further attention should be paid to the question of how you want to systematise your customer relationships and optimise your processes by increasing efficiency. Conclude your goal planning with considerations on data acquisition - how can these help you to get to know your customers better?

In the second phase, you identify the weak points of your company based on your company structures. Where is there potential for improvement? In which areas should readjustments be made, and where would it be promising to optimise? What communication strategies exist in your departments and how could they be organised more effectively? What do you need for this (tools, telephone systems, shorter paths, etc.)? Dedicate yourself to improving your internal structures.

Once your CRM strategy is in place, it is now time to involve your employees. For successful customer relationship management, it is important to systematically implement the CRM strategy you have developed. So get your employees involved. A project manager should be appointed to monitor the CRM methods, offer training if necessary or organise the necessary equipment/tools. Everyone involved should receive a briefing and remain in constant dialogue. Regular appointments can also be made for this purpose.

Now you can put the CRM goals you have set into practice. If, for example, you have the goal of strengthening your existing customer relationships, then inform your employees about how this is to be achieved. For example, there are opportunities to respond quickly to enquiries or to optimise your complaints management. If, on the other hand, you want to respond better to the needs of your customers, your employees should keep an eye on current market developments, expand/intensify the opportunities for interaction with customers on various channels, maintain the database on your customers or promote communication between your departments/employees.

The four components in CRM

There are four different types of customer relationship management: 

• Analytical CRM
• Operational CRM
• Communicative CRM
• Kollaboratives CRM

Analytical CRM is concerned with collecting, analysing and interpreting data about customers and transactions. The aim is to gain insights from the data and optimise customer relationships. Among other things, knowledge is gained about customer behaviour, characteristics or even value creation potential. This knowledge can then be used to improve the customer approach, create personalised offers or increase customer satisfaction.

Customer relationships are actively strengthened as part of operational CRM. The information from analytical CRM is used as a basis for market segmentation, ABC analyses, newsletters or telephone calls. The knowledge that is generated in the process can be fed back into analytical CRM. 

In communicative customer relationship management, the various communication channels are managed and controlled. These include telephones, e-commerce, emails, social media channels, etc. 

Collaborative CRM deals with implementation both within and outside the company. This includes sales channels, suppliers, logistics companies and other service providers. 

In addition to these types of customer relationship management, the topic of "empathy" is also included as an extension. Companies are encouraged to actively empathise with their customers and understand their needs more precisely. These can then be implemented effectively or in a more targeted manner.

CRM systems - advantages of software solutions

A customer relationship management system is a special business tool that collects, analyses, controls and processes customer information (existing and potential). Among other things, it is used to manage customer relationships more effectively. Digital CRM systems can store thousands of customers, which is essential for large companies in particular. They are also able to automate marketing processes or segment target groups. Thanks to the system, it is then possible to create intelligent marketing campaigns, respond to customer needs in a more targeted manner and build customer relationships more successfully.

Functions of a CRM system

A CRM system is a software solution that helps companies to manage their customer relationships effectively. It comprises various functions and modules that can be customised to the needs of the respective company.

In addition to recording and managing all relevant customer data, such as contact details, purchase history, interactions, complaints and feedback, companies can use the data to optimise customer relationships. They can achieve this, for example, by creating personalised offers, carrying out targeted marketing campaigns and ensuring effective customer care.

A CRM system can also include features for customer engagement and communication, such as email marketing, social media integration or chatbots. This allows companies to utilise individual communication channels to stay in contact with their customers and strengthen customer loyalty. If the CRM system is used successfully, companies can achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, optimise their sales processes and gain valuable insights into their customers.

The main functions of a customer relationship management system: 

• Management of customer relationships
• Customer segmentation
• Project management, task coordination
• Master data maintenance
• Backup of the contact history
• Coordination of appointments, calendar management
• Marketing control and lead management
• Control and coordination of sales activities and deal management
• Recruiting and applicant management

With the help of a CRM system, targeted customer reports and analyses can be created to help companies understand customer relationships and needs. Automating the software used makes it easier to interact with customers and saves a lot of time. In this way, it is possible to establish and deepen customer relationships and generate a higher number of sales. 

How can a suitable CRM system be found?

Large corporations need different CRM systems than small and medium-sized companies. When selecting a suitable CRM system, it plays a decisive role whether you have thousands or far fewer customers and what goals you want to achieve. 

In principle, CRM systems have certain standard functions. These include the recording of customer master data or the option of importing customer data. Other basic functions are the filter and selection options, which can be customised as required, as well as the storage of communication or interaction processes such as messages. Calendars are also integrated and appointments can be organised centrally. The option of making revisions or optimisations or leaving comments is also a standard function of CRM systems.

Depending on the sector in which you run your company and how large it is, specific additional functions may be helpful. There are various CRM systems in which the additions can be set up manually. 

When choosing software, pay particular attention to user-friendliness. Simple, uncomplicated operation is quickly accepted by employees, and there is also no need for time-consuming introductions or training on the tool. In most cases, any difficulties with the CRM system can also be resolved internally without having to contact the software provider. Most software also offers the option of testing the tool free of charge for a certain period of time. This is the best way to find out whether the selected CRM system is suitable for your company.

Considerations that will also help you choose your software include which employees will mainly work with it and how it will be used. Is it necessary for the CRM system to be able to be operated from home or while travelling? How large should its database be, i.e. how much customer data should it be able to hold? Ask yourself what options the tool needs to provide in order to analyse or evaluate customer data and whether there is a need for it to be compatible with other applications/programs. You can also find out whether there are options for integrating special functions that your company requires.

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Customer relationship management strategies can be used to build and strengthen customer loyalty. If the methods developed are applied successfully, there is a chance of maintaining long-term and successful customer relationships and increasing the number of sales. 

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