Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, designed to facilitate the organization of information and interactions with current and future clients, have revolutionized the way businesses sell, market, and service their product offerings. What were once relatively uniform sales, marketing, or service initiatives with little room for differentiation are now customizable and targeted outreaches catering to a customer’s unique situation and needs thanks to the insights such solutions provide. But while extremely powerful, CRM platforms have yet to fully address the struggles enterprises face specifically as it relates to the interactions themselves. In fact, 60% of customer needs fail to be resolved on the first call, primarily due to representatives lacking quick, easy, and relevant access to the very information CRMs so effectively manage. The problem? Businesses have perfected customer data management but have yet to perfect its use when it matters most – at the point of the interaction.The Value of Combining Your CRM with a Multichannel Solution
Customers can more effectively self-service their own needs: Today 67% of customers prefer self-service to speaking to a live representative. But while online knowledge bases can be helpful, the fact remains many consumers expect businesses to offer additional means by which to obtain the answers they seek. Using a communications platform integrated with a CRM, the ability to offer advanced interactive voice response (IVR) solutions can allow customers to quickly access key information (billing and account details, shipping status, order status, cancel a transaction, etc.) stored within the CRM database without the need for an agent’s assistance. Its first call resolution without the overhead!
A business can more effectively route customers to the proper agent: One out of every four customers reports being routed from one representative to another without any resolution to their problem or inquiry during those instances where self-service falls short —not exactly a receipt for customer retention. But by linking a business’ communication platform to its CRM, a customer’s specific needs and requirements can be pre-determined and used to properly route them to the most qualified agent best suited to meet their needs. Fast. Effective. Easy.
Agents can deliver faster service: 40% of customers expect representatives to already know about their previous attempts to resolve an issue, and an astounding 84% become frustrated when representatives do not have immediate access to their account information. By integrating both the customer data management system and the communications platform, businesses can automatically populate agents screen with the most relevant customer data to facilitate their ability to address a consumers needs without delay.
The sales process is enhanced: It takes the average sales representative 8 dials per hour, over the course of 6.25 hours, to set a single appointment—not exactly a recipe for growth. By integrating a CRM and call center solution, leads can instantaneously be pushed into a dialer, allowing reps to automatically initiate contact, while populating their screens with all relevant client records.
Automate Lead Nurturing: 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the initial meeting, yet 44% of sales people give up after just one. But with an integrated communications platform, agents can effortlessly nurture leads through the entire sales funnel based on the result of the customer interaction. It’s a simple matter using the outcome of the call to seamlessly and automatically establish the next action to be taken to keep the lead opportunity front and center until its time to close.
