How Mobile CRM Enables Small Businesses to Thrive
As a small business, you’re competing against the big dogs. Even though smaller companies have unique qualities well-known names don’t, it doesn’t hurt to have similar resources. Customer relationship management software is one of those resources. A CRM helps your team reach customers where they’re at and effectively manage client information.
A mobile CRM platform expands when and where you can access client data. With a mobile CRM, customer information travels with you. It’s accessible from an ample range of devices, such as smartphones and tablets, making it easier to do business anywhere. Mobile CRM solutions can help small businesses be more productive and thrive overall. We’ll get into how the software does this below.
1. It Facilitates Remote Sales
Not all of your clients will walk through your doors ready to buy. Depending on your business model and growth strategy, you might have a sales team prospecting and servicing accounts in the field. Those customers and leads aren’t calling an employee behind a desk at your main office. Your reps are going to them, meeting them in their spaces or wherever it’s most convenient.
What if all your prospects’ information is only accessible from a computer at your main location? Those meetings aren’t going to go as well as they could. Although your sales team could try to memorize all the important details, human memory is rarely photographic. And clients will shake their heads if account reps don’t have a way to produce quotes or run hypothetical numbers. They’ll wonder if your business is capable of handling their needs.
Mobile CRM software solutions ensure these less-than-productive situations don’t happen. Your sales team can access all relevant client and lead data while in the field. They’ll see current service-level agreements, purchase histories, and contact form data. Account reps will have what they need to ask good questions, generate quotes, and make suitable product recommendations.
2. It Syncs Data Between Work Locations
Imagine you’re attempting to work remotely because you can’t drive into the office. You have your laptop, and your internet connection is good. However, you don’t have a VPN connection set up. Or the VPN software isn’t working right, and there’s no way to solve the problem now. Despite the desire to get things done, you might as well call in sick.
Not having access to the data you could look up in the office can seriously diminish your productivity. There are ways around it, but they involve unnecessary phone calls, waiting for emails, and file transfers. With this setup, you’re not the only one experiencing a decline in productivity for the day. Onsite team members are wasting time finding the information and sending it your way when they could be focusing on other tasks.
Using technology to share data and resources is one way to eliminate time-wasting activities. A mobile CRM ensures the entire team has access to the same data. Remote employees can stay productive and not take up everyone’s time while trying to hunt down the information they need.
3. It Improves Customer Engagement
A small business depends on every sale and every client. While larger companies can often ride the waves of customers’ comings and goings, smaller ones have less of a buffer. You need customers to remain engaged to keep sales on target. High engagement levels come from customers knowing your brand’s story and being enthusiastic about it. It also comes from your business providing great customer service and consistent outreach.
Mobile CRM software helps your business establish and nurture strong client connections. When your response times are efficient, customers take notice. The ability to quickly address questions, present solutions, and demonstrate your knowledge of the customer’s needs goes a long way. The data a CRM tracks also lets you personalize your client interactions and practice what’s known as conversational marketing.
With conversational marketing, you’re building a relationship by discovering what makes each client unique. It’s a one-on-one, often real-time exchange between your business and the customer. Conversational marketing messages are something research shows 90% of consumers want. And the data and technology that are a core part of mobile CRM platforms can help your business implement these tactics.
4. It Enables Self-Service Options
People increasingly find scheduling appointments the old-fashioned way to be a hassle. You play phone tag until you can work out the details. But by the time you get to the conversation, calendars have changed. Customers have filled in previously open slots, and so has your business.
These back-and-forths can increase frustration, especially when schedules are tight. But what if there were a way for customers to instantly see schedules and book appointments without the phone tag? Mobile CRM features allow for this and more.
Clients can schedule appointments themselves whenever it’s convenient. Furthermore, they can do this after hours, so they don’t have to wait to hear back from someone on your staff. Self-service options via mobile CRM platforms also extend to paying invoices and sharing documents. Automating these functions increases customer satisfaction and saves your staff time. There’s less room for error and misplaced information, further increasing productivity and efficiency.
Prospering With a Mobile CRM
Ensuring your small business continues to flourish is at the top of your priority list. Having sophisticated resources by your side helps you meet your growth and productivity goals. A mobile CRM solution has the features companies need to achieve those objectives. Managing customer relationships and data requires flexibility and efficiency. And CRM software you can use from anywhere is the key to accommodating these demands.