What will you learn in this article?

• Introduction to CRM and its importance:

• How CRM works:

• Types of CRM:

• CRM functionalities:

• The importance of CRM for business success:

👨‍💻 What is CRM?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which can be translated as "Customer Relationship Management"; it is a term used today to define both the software that stores all information about customers and to describe techniques related to customer relationships. Through this tool, it is possible to gather in one place all data about each business contact, details about interactions made, and thus better understand their respective purchasing journeys. The term is also related to the techniques used to optimize relationships with customers since the proper use of a CRM allows for more strategic actions to interact with each consumer. This is because contact management is optimized when a CRM software is used. Additionally, through this tool, various areas of the company can access the most important information about consumers so that actions can be planned in a synchronized manner.

Research shows that 47% of users of CRM systems believe it has a significant impact on the customer retention rate, as well as on customer satisfaction. But do you know how CRM works to bring these results? CRM works like a database, where relevant information about the behavioral characteristics of customers throughout their relationship with the brand is stored. This information is used to define more assertive marketing, sales, and service strategies, focusing on customer experience and success. CRM is a set of strategies aimed at promoting effective customer relationship management to foster loyalty and generate new sales; it is important to understand how CRM works in practice.

In summary...

CRM means customer relationship management in Portuguese. Today, the term is widely used to describe tools that collect and store data about consumers. CRM operates by collecting and managing all relevant information about a company's customers in the cloud, thereby ensuring data security and ease of access. Using a CRM tool allows companies to organize their data more practically, increasing control and facilitating not only customer management but also the execution of strategies such as follow-up. Among the main functionalities of the software are: recording interactions, integrations, monitoring metrics, and access to performance reports.

How does a CRM work?

With CRM software, it is possible to collect, store, and manage data about prospects, leads, and customers. This type of platform seeks to optimize marketing and sales strategies in order to generate new business opportunities. In this sense, a CRM allows companies to better know their customers, quickly identify new business opportunities, optimize the work routine of agents, increase productivity, boost conversion rates, and improve the relationship between the brand and the consumer, among many other advantages. For it to operate correctly and meet your company's needs, it is ideal that it allows for configuration personalization and can be integrated into the systems your business is already using. This way, information can be pulled directly from your database, without the need to manually enter all the registrations—something unthinkable for large companies and counterproductive. A good CRM should also store data in the cloud to ensure information security and facilitate data sharing among company collaborators.

Why Invest in a CRM?

Using a CRM platform brings numerous advantages for your business, and among the main ones, we can highlight: improves information organization; increases company control; allows constant follow-up; facilitates portfolio management; integration between the sales and marketing teams; contributes to increasing sales.
Improves information organizationA CRM software has a dashboard with the most relevant information regarding the contact history of your customers. Furthermore, it allows you to have a greater sales history, goals for the period, completed sales, among other relevant metrics. With this organization of information, sales management becomes much more efficient, even for working on the consumer's journey.
Increases company controlAnother advantage of a sales CRM is that your company gains more control since all data will be in one place. This way, the manager can identify the salespeople who performed better, which ones need adjustments, what the monthly revenue was, lead conversion rates, etc. This is a genuine goldmine of information that aids in decision-making, consequently improving the company's results.

Allows constant follow-upAs you have all the data in one place, the follow-up strategy becomes much more efficient. After all, it will be easier to track generated leads. This allows for strategies to be defined to guide them through the sales funnel to become customers, documenting this entire evolution. This information can be cross-referenced with other data generated by the CRM, allowing for the creation of more accurate strategies that convert into sales.

Facilitates portfolio managementWith a sales CRM, you will have better segmentation of your customer portfolio, which even allows for the creation of an ABC curve. Through this strategy, it becomes easier to know which customers are the most significant for your business and to focus more on them.

Integration between sales and marketing teamsAnother significant advantage of CRM is that the marketing and sales departments become more integrated. In this sense, when marketing captures customers, the sales area can better understand what stage they are in to know whether it is the right moment to offer the product or not. This even avoids the rivalry that is so common between these sectors of the company, and significantly improves teamwork.

Contributes to increasing salesWith all the data in one place, it becomes easier to increase your business sales, as your strategies will be more efficient. Plus, with a more complete history of customers, you can offer more accurate products and services for their needs, as well as align strategies with the marketing team.

Difference between CRM and ERP

It’s important to clarify that a CRM is not the same as an ERP, whose acronym stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, which means "Enterprise Resource Planning" in Portuguese. Therefore, while CRM provides a comprehensive view of the business's customers, ERP is aimed at integrating the organization's processes. In this way, it can be said that CRM is more specific software for the marketing and sales department, while ERP is broader for the entire organization. In summary, ERP is more useful for optimizing the flow of processes between departments, while CRM is ideal for managing and improving sales performance.

How to Use a CRM?

To use a CRM and take advantage of all its benefits, it is important to know its functionalities. Be aware that the tools can be customized according to the needs of each company, so you have the freedom to optimize your workspace. Furthermore, CRM not only facilitates the monitoring of the business's sales funnel but also allows for the creation of reports to analyze the progress of processes, performance of the sales team, and number of service calls, for example. In summary, CRM should contain updated information about each customer, such as basic contact data, interests, interaction history with the brand, and position in the sales funnel, to name just a few data points. The important thing is that all collaborators are adequately trained to use the CRM efficiently, so that the teams are synchronized and the information present in the tool effectively optimizes negotiations and contributes to generating insights for the business.

Main Types of CRM that Exist

The main types of CRM are: Analytical CRM, Collaborative CRM, Operational CRM, Strategic CRM. Check out all the details about each of them below.
Analytical CRMThe Analytical CRM is directly related to data analysis. It is possible to create reports and obtain information about the profile of each lead to understand what the maturity level of that contact is, what their position is in the sales funnel, and what their main pain points are, for example. This information can serve as a basis for new strategies aimed at increasing conversions.
Collaborative CRMThe Collaborative CRM aims to integrate teams, especially the marketing and sales teams. In this way, leads attracted through marketing actions can be better worked on by the sales team so that they are properly guided along their journeys and have greater conversion potential. By using the tool to enhance this dynamic, noise is eliminated, and operations become more synchronized.

Operational CRMThe Operational CRM is designed to facilitate the work routine of sales and service agents. With the tool, it is possible to manage all contacts' information more swiftly and update interaction histories. In other words, it is mainly important for larger companies and for sales that have longer journeys. Strategic CRMFinally, the Strategic CRM is the combination of Analytical, Collaborative, and Operational CRM, functioning as an essential tool for a company's operations. Through it, it is possible to outline more targeted strategies that align with what the business's customers genuinely need. Moreover, the relationship with consumers is strengthened as the company has a more robust sales and service process, contributing to their satisfaction.

CRM Functionalities

Now that you know what CRM is and how it works, let’s show important functionalities of the tool. Remember that CRM acts as a platform for integrating information about your customers to deeply understand them, detect their needs, and meet them in the best possible way. For this purpose, data is cross-referenced, reports are generated, and internal communication as well as communication with the customer is optimized. This, in turn, increases the team's productivity and the quality of the customer experience when interacting with the brand. CRM also serves as an important tool for segmenting the audience that your company wishes to reach. With a good CRM platform, you can create segmented lists of your potential customers. This makes prospecting for new business easier, as strategies will be better directed according to specific characteristics and needs. For this reason, a good CRM system includes various functionalities. Here are some of them and how they can help your company win and retain customers.

6 CRM Functionalities

Integration with other management tools

A good CRM software allows the integration of other management tools with the platform. This ensures greater agility in routines since you avoid having to open different programs. In just a few clicks, you can access important information from other applications.

1. Recording contact historyAnother key functionality of the CRM is related to recording the contact history between the customer and the brand. Every time a customer reaches out to the company to request information, clarify doubts, seek technical support, or make a purchase, all these interactions are documented. The intention is that in a future contact, the company can adopt increasingly personalized approaches, which is great for building a long-term relationship. 

2. Cloud ComputingAdditionally, regarding how CRM works, it is important to emphasize that this type of platform is much more efficient when operating in the cloud. This means the data is not stored on your computer's hard drive, for example. As long as you are connected to the internet, you can access the data. Thus, the information remains more secure and consolidated in one single source. 3. MobilityA good CRM also works on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Thus, the salesperson can access information about their customers from anywhere as long as they are connected to the internet. The changes are synchronized with the web version. 

4. Task automationA CRM platform allows various repetitive and manual tasks to be automated. This enables the service and sales teams to focus on higher-value tasks for the business, such as contacting customers. In the CRM, for instance, it is possible to create and save tasks to be performed in the future by salespeople, allowing them to be automatically reminded of what they need to do at the right time.

5. Report generationA CRM platform puts an end to imprecise reports in complex spreadsheets that are difficult to update. In this type of system, you have detailed access to reports on activity progress, strengths and limitations of collaborators, as well as everything that customers do in relation with the company. These reports are generated automatically, which saves time that would otherwise be spent updating them manually.

6. Performance indicator analysisCRM also serves as an important ally for monitoring team performance. With it, it is possible to track and analyze the results of key performance indicators to then make strategic adjustments as necessary. A good CRM system already includes the main KPIs worth tracking in customer relationship management, such as the number of leads generated per salesperson, conversion rates, churn rate, customer satisfaction (NPS), and many others. Monitoring these metrics closely and in real-time helps in obtaining valuable insights for the business.