A CRM system is a comprehensive tool for customer relationship management. CRM systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, and Pipedrive collect customer data that enables companies to streamline business operations, sales, and customer management effortlessly. CRM allows you to consolidate all customer or prospect information in one place for easy management. When individual customer-specific information is available, each customer can be served according to their specific needs.
A CRM system in use within a company can naturally be integrated with other systems, such as marketing automation platforms, or communication can be automated through a service platform. A common need is also to conduct manual communication with specific target groups, which requires a messaging tool for this purpose. Email can be one effective channel, but when personal, interactive, and highly effective communication is desired, messaging applications are the most efficient channels.
Why Should WhatsApp, Text Messages, and Other Messaging Applications Be Incorporated into Customer Communication?
When various messaging channels are incorporated into customer relationship management, more value can be extracted from the CRM system. You increase interaction with customers by sending them targeted communications through different channels, such as WhatsApp.
Such communication might include, for example, an important customer notification sent to all customers, where delivery certainty is ensured by sending it directly to a messaging application the customer uses. Or the communication can be automated, such as an automatic welcome text message sent to all new customers when a quote is marked as accepted in the system.
The combination of CRM and messaging applications provides efficiency in sales, customer relationship management, customer experience development, and upselling. Ensure that the service platform you choose includes all relevant messaging applications. These currently include text messages, WhatsApp messages, and Messenger messages. Additionally, there should be the ability to automate communication as well as conduct manual communication.
Examples of Integration Possibilities
Enhanced Customer Experience
Offer your customers messaging applications as contact channels where they can easily and directly communicate with your company—for example, directly from your website, online store, or even traditional print advertising (or all of these!). With a chat service, you handle customer dialogues quickly and reliably. This will certainly have a positive impact on your customer’s experience.
Sales Assistant
Send reminder messages to sales about customer relationships that have not been contacted, for example, within the last six months. This ensures that even the smallest ongoing customer relationships are not forgotten and strengthens the customer experience.
Personal Attention for New Customers
Send an automatic welcome message and NPS survey to the customer via text message or WhatsApp, for example, when a purchase is marked as accepted. You gain important data on the success of the sales transaction and create a solid foundation for the customer experience.
Customer Reminders
Send automatic reminders about upcoming appointments directly to customers’ phones. Your customers will appreciate receiving a reminder directly in the appropriate messaging application.
Upselling
Send messages to customers who have made a purchase, offering them value-added products or services related to their purchase. Direct the customer, for example, straight to your online store to place an additional order, or handle the conversation through a centralized chat service for messaging applications as a personalized interaction.
Does your company use a CRM? Would you like to get even more out of it by incorporating messaging channels into your processes? Let’s discuss further!
This blog is part of a broader blog series that addresses the utilization of messaging applications as part of companies’ various software systems.
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