CRM For Dummies

Save time, save money, and grow your business with more effective CRM

CRM For Dummies is the small business leader's guide to managing customer interactions. Customer relationship management is a critical part of any business, and it encompasses everything from business strategy and HR to sales, marketing, events, and more. Solutions exist for businesses of any size, but how do you know which one is right for you? What features do you need? Do you have the people and processes in place to get the most out of whichever one you choose? This book is designed to help business leaders better understand effective CRM and identify the right solution for their business--but it's about much more than software; effective CRM requires appropriate team structures, intradepartmental collaboration, and process efficiency. Packed with tactics and strategies that will save your company thousands of dollars and man-hours, these chapters answer the most pressing questions that will make the biggest impact on your sales.

Building relationships with current and future customers is the critical point of business. This book helps you bring sales, marketing, and operations together to work toward that common goal, and shows you the tools and techniques that make your efforts more effective.

• Define your market segments, buyer personas, and voice
• Build an effective internal structure, and choose the right CRM solution
• Optimize leads and conduct effective email marketing
• Streamline processes, automate where possible, and employ analytics

Your customers are the lifeblood of your company; you need to reach them, engage them, and retain them--without wasting precious time or money. CRM For Dummies gets you up to speed on the latest, most effective CRM tools and techniques to help your business succeed.

Auteur

Lars Helgeson is a pioneer in sales and marketing technology. His CRM platform for small to mid-size businesses, GreenRope, was built from scratch and has grown to include over 3,000 clients in more than 40 countries since its inception in 2011. He is a frequent speaker for small membership organizations and conferences.

Texte du rabat

Save time, save money, and grow your business with more effective CRM CRM For Dummies is the small business leader's guide to managing customer interactions. Customer relationship management is a critical part of any business, and it encompasses everything from business strategy and HR to sales, marketing, events, and more. Solutions exist for businesses of any size, but how do you know which one is right for you? What features do you need? Do you have the people and processes in place to get the most out of whichever one you choose? This book is designed to help business leaders better understand effective CRM and identify the right solution for their business--but it's about much more than software; effective CRM requires appropriate team structures, intradepartmental collaboration, and process efficiency. Packed with tactics and strategies that will save your company thousands of dollars and man-hours, these chapters answer the most pressing questions that will make the biggest impact on your sales. Building relationships with current and future customers is the critical point of business. This book helps you bring sales, marketing, and operations together to work toward that common goal, and shows you the tools and techniques that make your efforts more effective. Define your market segments, buyer personas, and voice Build an effective internal structure, and choose the right CRM solution Optimize leads and conduct effective email marketing Streamline processes, automate where possible, and employ analytics Your customers are the lifeblood of your company; you need to reach them, engage them, and retain them--without wasting precious time or money. CRM For Dummies gets you up to speed on the latest, most effective CRM tools and techniques to help your business succeed.

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Icons Used in This Book 2

Where to Go from Here 2

Part 1: Laying the CRM Foundation 5

Chapter 1: Embarking on Your Journey to Complete CRM 7

Bringing the R in CRM to the Forefront 7

Extending CRM to Your Entire Business 10

Knowing the Buzzwords 11

Using Strategies and Tactics 19

Finding Your Success with Complete CRM 21

Chapter 2: Gearing Up Internally for CRM 27

Overcoming Resistance to Change 28

Encouraging and Facilitating Innovation and Collaboration 33

Creating a Consistent and Effective Brand Communication Strategy 38

Working with the Gatekeepers in IT 40

Adopting a Data-Driven Mindset 43

Applying Your Culture to CRM 46

Chapter 3: Choosing the Best Software 49

Choosing between Software as a Service (SaaS) or On-Premise 50

Evaluating Software Vendors 52

Testing CRM Software 60

Making the Final Decision 63

Educating Users on Responsibility 64

Installing the Right Data Security Tools 64

Training Your Staff 65

Part 2: Setting Up Yourself for Success 69

Chapter 4: Organizing Your CRM through Segments and Personas 71

Segmenting Your Market 72

Identifying Buyer Personas 79

Developing Your Best Brand 81

Testing Your Brand 83

Delivering the Right Content 86

Avoiding Content Saturation 90

Chapter 5: Creating Story Arcs and Buyer Journeys with CRM 93

Building Brand Awareness 94

Improving Brand Perception 96

Making the Best Contact the First Time 99

Qualifying Leads 101

Getting Your Leads into Your Funnel 102

Using Workflows to Engage with Your Customers 105

Designing Workflows 109

Closing Leads with Effective Process 113

Using Opportunities versus Consumer Sales Funnels 116

Implementing Process Abandonment 120

Following Up after the Sale 123

Chapter 6: Defining Process and Your Data Model 125

Applying Management by Walking Around 126

Outlining Key Areas 127

Moving from Whiteboard to CRM 127

Defining Contact Data Fields 130

Scoring Your Leads and Clients 132

Part 3: Implementing Your CRM 135

Chapter 7: Setting Up Your CRM Elements 137

Contact versus Account-Based CRM 137

Defining Users and Their Roles 139

Using a Group-Centric Architecture 140

Setting Up Custom Data Fields 144

Storing Files 146

Signing Documents Automatically 148

Bridging Your Online Store and Your CRM 149

Integrating Billing, Quotes, and Invoices 151

Connecting Legacy and Related Software 153

Importing Leads by File 155

Chapter 8: Capturing Leads to Build Your CRM Database 157

Finding the Best Lead Capture Methods 158

Buying Leads from Third Parties 162

Bringing Leads in with Your Website 164

Tracking Sources with Campaign IDs 168

Deploying Signup Forms 170

Deploying Ticketing Forms 172

Appending Data 174

Building Automation into Forms 177

Chapter 9: Capturing Leads with Other Methods 181

Interacting with Chat 182

Interacting via SMS/MMS 184

Interacting over the Phone 186

Meeting over Web Conference 188

Interacting over Social Media 189

Meeting Leads in Real Life 190

Integrating Inbound Leads through Zapier 193

Chapter 10: Communicating Effectively with Email 195

Avoiding Spam 196

Adhering to Legal Requirements 199

Employing SPF and DKIM 200

Choosing the Right Email Service Provider 202

Managing Your Lists 205

Gathering New Leads 207

Designing Emails That Work 209

Tracking Email Marketing Campaigns 211

Personalizing Your Messages 217

Triggering Email from Actions 218

Chapter 11: Joining the Marketing Automation Revolution 219

Defining Automation 220

Designing Your Campaigns 222

Setting Up Triggers 226

Encouraging Leads to Activate Triggers 227

Automating Workflows around Le…