Are you looking to get the best from your customer information? Trying to work out how to tie together all of your information to result in effective relationships and services? Perhaps CRM Software Integration is for you.
If you've arrived at this post, let's guess that you already know what CRM stands for and you are looking to learn about CRM software integration solutions. If that is the case, feel free to enter the debate: you see some people say that it stands for Customer Record Management and others that Customer Relationship Management is the correct term. For us, it is the place where you turn your customer records into relationships.
So, here is the other thing that we notice about companies buying CRM software: often it is used as a standalone tool or an island of data where a business can store all of its customer/contact records. And by records, we mean little more than their address, contact number, the name of the contact and maybe even the category of customer or prospect that they represent. If this is your idea of a CRM, you could save yourself a lot of money and use a spreadsheet – it will do pretty much the same thing.
If, however, you want to connect that island of data to the mainland of your business, create a network of islands or turn your records into relationship-building communications – stick with the CRM idea. But to achieve this position, you can't just buy one and fill it with data.
BOOM - that software mic-drop moment
It was once said that knowledge is power – and that is probably still true. But, in reality, knowledge is only power when it is used effectively. More importantly, maximum power can only be released when supporting knowledge databases are integrated into one proactive portal. The real power in any business lies in its ability to harness the combined and interdependent value within its data. And the big news – perhaps the genuine mic-drop moment of this post – is that electronic data from one system can almost always be integrated with another – regardless of what software it currently resides within.
Imagine what a boom it could cause within your business if every piece of customer information and operational data were quickly available through one portal? What if every single app or data holding software system you use seamlessly integrated with all of the others?
- Billing systems
- Customer details and records
- Accounting and reporting applications
- Sales, tenders and pipelines
- Operational data
- Production processes and schedules
- Logistics and delivery information
What impact would it have on your business if everything listed above, or any other data that your business holds were plugged into a central hub-system that controlled and reported on everything? That is the true definition of a CRM software integration.
CRM stands for putting knowledge and power into your hands
So, when you think of using a CRM for your business, don't think of it simply as a record management system. Think broader, think deeper, think out of the box and into the world of full knowledge integration. Imagine your CRM as a hub where all of the other systems gather to share their conclusions. From this hub, often with no more than a click of a button, your CRM system should be able to give you reports on pretty much everything.
With a perfectly integrated system in place, you should be able to access everything from a performance KPI and the latest billing run, through to a debtors list and next month's predicted new business turnover – all in one place. BOOM!