Companies have been keeping track of client information for decades. Back in the day, companies had to use pen and paper to organize relevant data in ledgers and the like. The goal has always been to find patterns in the types of buyers, suppliers, and service users with whom your company interacts. These patterns have helped organizations target certain demographics for decades, unlocking strategies that could make their businesses flourish, and then altering their practices accordingly.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is the Rolodex of the 21st century. All of the information you have on your clients is in one organized place, but you can look through it without getting ink stains and paper cuts. Broadly, CRM is any practice, technology, or strategy designed to help businesses improve their customer relationships. Early customer relationship management systems used servers and other hardware to store client data. Then, Salesforce emerged.
CRM In The Cloud
When customer management software was first developed, these programs connected to databases full of customer data. What Salesforce changed is that they put these databases in the Cloud. The Cloud is a digital network that stores and processes information and can be accessed anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. Salesforce’s use of the Cloud allows users to coordinate across platforms, making them the first company to integrate all of their customer data. This means that small, locally-owned businesses that use Salesforce’s software have all the knowledge of a company like Amazon, even though they don’t have nearly as many customers.
Every customer is a unique individual with specific wants and needs. Comprehensive CRM software doesn’t just look at target demographics. Generalizing people by category doesn’t help you get to know your clients as individuals, which is paramount in supplying them with exactly the support they need. The Salesforce Service Cloud has created a way for companies to unify their customer service data and strategies. Salesforce also offers a wide variety of systems to meet those needs, including Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Analytics Cloud, and more. By offering a more specific system for your customer, you improve their customer experience.
Customer Service In The Cloud
Now imagine, if you will, pushing this idea even further. Imagine taking all of that cloud data, integrated across myriad platforms, and using it to interact with customers person-to-person. Cloud-based Salesforce call center software is the best in the industry for providing a great customer experience for the duration of the customer journey.
Integrating the services of a contact center with customer data allows for more personalization than ever. Customers can choose if they want to interact via text, phone call, or even social media. Artificial intelligence-powered bots offer enhanced automation, which speeds up the communication process to save both time and money. Agents are able to see data and call logs of each customer interaction, making it easier to connect with the customer, thereby improving customer satisfaction and agent productivity. If you want to provide a great experience for each and every customer, start using a cloud-based CRM software and call center.
The Future Of The Cloud
Customer relationship management is a huge industry, and it’s constantly growing. Worldwide, CRM software totaled over $48 billion in revenue in 2018, and Salesforce earned more than twice that of its nearest competitor.
As customer experience trends continue to grow and change, stay on top of them. If you’re still using a hardware-based customer information tracking system or (perish the thought) a pen-and-paper method, it’s time to switch to cloud-based software. Not only can you specify and customize marketing strategy, but also you can improve customer support with a cloud-based contact center solution.