How to Use CRM and Marketing Automation to Connect With Customers In 2021

As a marketer, your job is to keep customer numbers healthy and create a lasting impression of your company. CRMs and Marketing Automation are a perfect match and are the secret formula behind most successful marketing initiatives.

We have your back, Marketers! This guide covers how you can use CRM and Marketing Automation to connect with customers in 2021.

What is CRM?

Before we can get into how to use CRM and Marketing Automation to connect with customers, let's briefly discuss what they are.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) refers to the collective strategy used by companies and businesses to manage interactions with existing and prospective customers during the sales process.

Marketing Automation means using technology to manage marketing processes and multifunctional campaigns across multiple channels automatically.

Use CRM to Collect and Manage all Customer Data
Consumer data offers a way to better understand and meet customers' demands. It helps improve customer experience and refine a company's marketing strategy. As a marketer, you need to capture all your customer data--who they are, their interests, their favorite communication channel, and so on.

A complete CRM such as GreenRope, allows you to collect all that data and store it in one place. Each department can collect and report upon the parts of the data that applies to them. But taken together, data collected to support sales, marketing, and automation gives you a 360-degree view of your customer.

Engage your Audience with the Right Message at the Right Time
Do you run the same marketing campaign all year long? If you do, it's probably time to consider marketing automation. Campaigns become stale or overused, which makes them less likely to engage the customer.

An example of changing up your marketing campaign is to customize your message during a holiday season. Research shows that customers make more retail purchases during the holidays than outside of those seasons. According to the National Retail Federation, the “winter holidays” account for about 19 percent of annual retail sales over the last five years. They include a chart with Top 10 Shopping Holidays, each of which is a chance for focusing your marketing campaign.

With marketing automation, you can tweak your messages and customer relations during these times to increase sales and reflect the holiday spirit while building brand awareness along the way. A fresh message may be just what it takes to get your customer’s attention!

Use CRM Data to Personalize your Email Communication
How many times a week do you email your customers? A combination of CRM with an email tool allows you to use personalization. Call them by name, mention their town, but also send a tailored message to a segmented group. This way, each email recipient receives updates and information relevant to them. By sending pertinent and personal emails, you can build trust as well as provide value to customers and prospects.

Send Personalized Birthday Wishes, Anniversaries, Thank You Emails/gifts, and More
It's the little things that matter! That birthday wish, a thank you email, or a gift rarely goes unnoticed. Don't underestimate the power of being nice to a customer; it may not look like it, but it means a lot. Based on a subscriber's or customer's birthdate, you can automate messages with birthday offers and wishes.

Use CRM to Keep Track of all Touchpoints you have with a Customer
Are you aware of all the possible touchpoints you've had with your audience? Each touchpoint is a chance to engage a prospect or customer. If you’re not sure of which touchpoints you have, how do you know if you have all the data you need to make the most of those contacts? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider gathering CRM information. Keeping track of and optimizing customer touchpoints is essential if you want to create a consistent and predictable customer experience.

Use CRM Activities to Assign Follow-ups
Your customer relationship should go beyond the first purchase. One of the many reasons customers leave is because they buy once but don’t hear from the company again afterwards. Lack of followup means you laid a good foundation, then didn’t take advantage of that for future business.

So what can you do after the purchase to ensure you keep the customer happy? Use CRM to re-examine the customer's progress. Use lead scoring to generate reports identifying customers who have gone “cold,” those who are no longer engaging with you and your message. Remedy this by calling with a personalized followup or send them a survey to see how he or she liked the product or service offered. What additional products or services might suit them? In this way, you keep your customer engaged and improve your customer retention.

Streamline Your Internal Processes and Customer Experiences
Marketing and good customer relations are affected by several departments and employees, and staying on top of all this can be difficult. Marketing automation offers a way out. With the proper tools, you can segment your contacts, send them emails on a regular basis, perform actions based on what they do or don’t do, and notify your staff of particular contacts who need attention.

There are many components to marketing automation, but one ultimate focus: a smooth customer journey throughout the purchase. It allows you to streamline marketing across different channels ensuring a smooth customer experience while keeping you one step ahead of all the work.

Generate more Leads Today with GreenRope

Green Rope is your one-stop-shop for marketing automation. For more information about CRM and marketing automation contact us today for help.

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