COVID – 19, Clients, CRM Tool, And You
By Mr. R.S. Maan, Managing Director – Codleo Consulting
The Covid-19 pandemic with its wide-reaching ramifications seems to have left us all quaking in its wake. With different variants surfacing every year, Delta earlier this year, and the recently discovered Omicron it seems Covid is here to stay. As we all know by now, vaccination, masking, physical distancing, and hand hygiene is the only way to keep it at bay.
In India when the pandemic first hit us in March 2020, it had a devastating impact on our economy with lockdowns, job losses, and businesses shuttering. The worst impact as always was felt by the family-run, small, and medium-sized businesses, whereas the enterprise scale companies with deep pockets survived the rough weather and stormy months last year. No business expected that the pandemic would go on and on as it is now with destruction in its path.
The shuttering of physical offices compelled companies to relook at their businesses, processes, and ways of doing business. Companies realized that the only way to stay afloat and even thrive is to embrace digital technologies with open arms. Digital technologies enable businesses to operate even if their operations are restricted due to physical distancing requirements. Companies are quickly catching onto this idea and are onboarding different technologies with relish. This excitement and realization that tech tools & products are lifesavers are percolating down to tier 2, 3, and 4 destinations in India with small & medium size industries realizing their value for their own existence.
One of the tech tools that enables and empowers brands to connect with their clients/audiences in these troubled times is the ubiquitous CRM tool (Customer Relationship Management). For those who are still unfamiliar with this very useful tool, A CRM tool allows businesses to store client-related data, pinpoint sales opportunities, record service issues, and oversee marketing initiatives, from a single source of truth — and provide end to end data about each client/lead that has engaged with your brand, at any point of time to all employees/teams that need it to get their work done.
It is a magic wand that enables businesses to engage and connect with clients & leads like never before. So, whether you are a family-run bakery in Solapur, a hosiery unit in Ludhiana, or a handicraft center in Ranchi, a business is able to use technology to nurture & convert leads to clients through the power of a CRM tool such as Salesforce ®, which is the premier CRM tool in the world and is currently gaining traction in India as well.
Here are some compelling reasons for companies to onboard a CRM tool:
Reports that come from data that is impeccable. A CRM tool is useful to collect, tabulate, and sort the data, which is then converted easy – to – study reports & dashboards. This is an important reason to deploy a CRM tool system. Reports enable businesses to view where the prospects are, the quality of engagement with prospects and clients, trends, and client servicing.
Easy on the eye dashboards. Graphical representation of reams of data that enable businesses to make sense of it without getting bogged down. Different types of dashboards can be curated into graphs, pie – charts, etc to display the data to draw inferences and act. For small and medium-sized companies, strategic decision-making to retain (if not grow) their market share in COVID – 19 era and beyond is based on data that is available and easy to interpret.
Personalize your engagement with different leads and clients with the power of automation. Dynamic content and automated messaging come together to form a remarkable duo that allows for the personalization of messaging so that it resonates with the leads/clients leading to more sales and ROI. No more generic messaging, hoping it clicks. Target the lead based on their interests and engagement with your brand at various touchpoints. For the MSME sector in small destinations across India, it is a defining point.
Be proactively serving your audience and clients. The sales department outreach efforts or client service’s efforts to aid clients are enhanced with the end-to-end data, potential solutions, and options like never before. A good CRM licensed vendor like Codleo Consulting hand-holds the MSME sector to improve their client support & services in the Covid – 19 times.
In conclusion, a business looking to reimagine their way of work as well as connecting with their clients in a more personal & relevant manner throughout their journey with the business needs to actively deploy a CRM Tool, Covid or not. Digital makeover for a business of any shape, size, nature, or location is here and not an option. For those who remain aloof, it is at their own peril. The 21st century is an era of tech tools that enhance businesses and financial bottom lines. It’s a brave and bold world that awaits everyone with open arms.
