Customer Relationship Management is, “a process to manage interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.” But over the last few years, keeping up with the changes in customer behavior as they have adapted to the pandemic and keeping up with the rapidly changing technological and regulatory environments is a constant challenge for marketers.
HubSpot highlighted trends which are expected in 2022, some are new and some are a continuation from previous years. A few are noted below:
It’s not surprising to hear of the integration of artificial intelligence in CRM tools.
Social CRMs continue to grow. What is Social CRM? Simply said, it is the integration of social media in the CRM software platform. Social CRMs help marketers to better understand brand sentiment, respond to comments quickly, build stronger relationships and incorporate more user feedback into their roadmap.
Voice and technology will begin to be integrated into CRM tools. Viewed by consumers as a huge time-saver, voice search technology is making it easier for salespeople to track, message, update, and notify their teams about customer data.
Automation continues to grow. Integrating automation provides a higher-quality of customer service while optimizing expenses. Chatbots can resolve help desk tickets automatically to provide a better customer experience. Automated email workflows nurture sales prospects through the sales funnel.
The Internet of Things is feeding CRM. From smart home devices to wearable health monitors and cybersecurity scanners, TechJury estimates more than 64 billion IoT devices are expected worldwide by 2025.
CRMs are not just for marketers and salespeople. Increasingly, CRM tools are part of business strategy, leveraging insights across the company, from conversions to personalizations to performance management feeding executive insights.
Analytics are still foundational for measurement and forecasting. Analytics help to identify problems, solutions, and opportunities.
Today, customers lead the way. Customers expect a personalized experience. A good CRM technology can meet the expectations by offering:
Live chat for quick support
Insightful data showing full customer journey
Incorporation of previous customer support tickets
Accessible customer data across departments
Automated knowledge bases
Syncing customer data between apps to show a 360-degree view everywhere
Today’s CRM is collaborative more than informative. Customers don’t want to talk about the business; they want to listen to stories and solutions the business has to offer. Stories and subtlety matter. Today’s CRM focuses on customer engagement and interactions. Customers are more responsive when businesses talk about social topics like news, interests, trends and humor rather than hard selling. It’s all about reinforcing a positive message about the business in customers’ minds.
The key is to listen to outside signs in customers’ social networks and online activity to identify opportunities and offerings which can benefit current and prospective customers. These insights can be used to position messages, build a stronger brand experience and reward the customer.
Lastly, recapping innovation with reflection. CRMs continue to innovate and respond to consumer behavior and industry trends. However, the ability to leverage increasing data and insights, which are an essential feature which help businesses to identify problems, solutions, and opportunities. Companies are seeking powerful analytics tools to process and report on their data in real-time. Having the most accurate view into sales pipeline performance, customer sentiment, and reasons behind customer churn help companies to compete.
Trends will come and go, technology and consumers will evolve but relationships will always drive brands to perform at a higher level. Customer Relationship Management is a complex process and it’s not just for marketers. Businesses increasingly are realizing that relationships are a key factor for consideration in strategy. CRM helps businesses to leverage the tools, technology and people insights that drive business strategy.
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