How to master Customer Relationship Management when being a remote-first business?

As the world continues its transition to remote-first working models, companies are recognizing that managing teams remotely is not an easy task. Customer relationship management (CRM) is becoming increasingly harder. In the new world of work, keeping track of all customer interactions and data (contracts, invoices, upcoming payments, etc) is a challenge for a lot of companies. This is coming at a time when it’s also vital to monitor the quality of your teams’ performance and their motivation in order to make sure that this quick remote transition is really going to work for your organization.

What is CRM?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a form of strategy that allows companies to seamlessly manage their interactions with customers while facilitating in-company processes. People might mean several things when they use the term CRM. However, it is most commonly used when talking about CRM platforms. They help organizations keep customer information (email, phone number, social media profiles, websites and others) as well as to store the client’s preferences. This way, CRM services can provide you with a comprehensive picture of your relationship with each particular entity (company or individual) over time. All of this is to help companies improve their conversations with customers and to grow their businesses.

Here are a few tips to help you master the art of customer relationship management in a remote world.

Find the right CRM tools

Consider the essence and needs of your business. There are so many options out there that it can get frustrating. Search for a software tool that allows you to monitor your clientele from one place, including client projects, invoicing and payments. We are here to help with a few aspects that we all need to think about when going down this road:

• Why do you require it? Tracking leads and activity, managing relationships, connecting your teams or all of the above?
• What are your goals?
• Are you ready for an implementation period to educate your teams? Remember that whenever new software is introduced, time is needed for employees to adapt.
• Make sure that whichever software you choose is accessible by a wide range of devices, as employees (and especially sales people) are very mobile and typically work on several devices.

Optimize and centralize

Now that the traditional office is no longer, it’s important for us all to feel comfortable in our virtual workspace. And by that we mean having a sort of virtual place of work where data and project information is accessible from anywhere and by all interested parties. And that’s where a CRM platform comes in handy as it gathers and centralizes all information streams. Some companies prefer to separate customer and project data.

Digitally sign all contracts and documents

More and more organizations are adopting digital signatures. And no wonder. This way, administrative procedures happen much faster. You no longer have to send documents via e-mail and wait for your colleagues to manually sign and return them. In the long run, an e-signing solution will save you time and money. It will also improve your workflow efficiency. Fortunately, you can organize all of that and more in your CRM platform.

Have a personalized approach

A strong CRM foundation means a strong personal connection with customers. Therefore, it is worth putting time and effort into building those by providing each of them with personalized services and addressing their individual needs.

Transparency and communication

CRM tools can be used by many of your team departments. That includes sales, marketing, HR, customer service, partner management, to name a few. Make sure to communicate how each of those teams can benefit from a CRM software according to their daily needs. For example, your marketing and sales department will thank you as a strong CRM tool is a key step towards achieving a consolidated sales funnel. You can then rely on the CRM’s reporting tools. This helps managers and stakeholders track financial KPIs systematically, monitor processes more easily and address potential issues.

Providing all relevant parties with full access to your CRM helps each team member better understand the processes and how their work affects the whole. It also allows for greater transparency across the company. This way, managers, stakeholders and employees can save valuable time by not asking and answering countless work-related questions and can focus solely on their tasks and targets.

Luckily, Remotionize is here to help! Hiring, managing, and retaining across cultures and borders is plain sailing with the right expertise and tools.