Customer relationship management software (CRM) would not be as popular as it is if it did not provide a valuable service to the enterprise. But since these platforms tend to be very complex, it can be difficult for organizations to leverage them to their fullest extent.
The best way to learn something, however, is by example. So in that vein, we have compiled four intriguing use cases highlighting how CRM, in conjunction with advanced technologies like the cloud and intelligent analytics, can be used to streamline customer relationship processes and, hopefully, result in happier customers and higher revenue streams.
Top CRM Software Examples
Off-the-Shelf CRM Solutions
24 Hour Fitness
The health and wellness industry is highly dependent upon customer satisfaction and strong word-of-mouth. At the same time, however, people want to be treated like, well, people, not numbers, which is a difficult thing to do when the customer base scales into the millions.
24 Hour Fitness recently upgraded its Microsoft Dynamics 356 platform with the Adobe Experience Cloud hosted on Azure as a way to personalize marketing messages to millions of members at more than 400 clubs across the United States. The system allows the company to connect marketing and sales data to increase customer outreach through ever-evolving channel solutions, as well as onboard new members and help them craft personalized health regimens tailored to individual fitness goals.
Contact Center CRM
Weber
Weber is an affiliate of Saint-Gobain Group that specializes in construction materials and related products. The company’s Turkish subsidiary recently integrated its call center software with Salesforce’s Pardot sales automation platform and then ported the whole system to the Salesforce Service Cloud. This gives Weber a vastly expanded set of options for a wide range of functions, including support and complaint remediation, multi-channel request and notification processing and mobile access.
The migration to the Salesforce cloud was quick and problem-free, and the company reports it can now customize call center operations around its business model rather than force-fit processes into a pre-defined software stack.
Outsource CRM Solutions
Amazon
Amazon’s use of CRM is approaching legendary status at this point. The company’s home-grown solution is, in fact, the informal template on which most commercial platforms are based. The system offers a number of tools that have helped Amazon become the premiere worldwide ecommerce site. These include purchase history tracking that allows the company to offer tailored services and promotions, personalized data collection and storage to make it easier for customers to reorder items, advanced analytics for product recommendations, and automated customer support for rapid problem resolution.
Going forward, expect Amazon to leverage the data in its CRM system to develop new products, like it already has with the user-customizable Kindle Marketplace and the equally customizable Prime Video streaming service.
Managed CRM Solutions
Gift Baskets Overseas
You might not think a company that specializes in delivering gifts and flowers would have much need of a B2B solution, but this is exactly what GBO was after when it integrated its HubSpot events and contact information platform with LinkedIn’s audience insights tool and Google Analytics. With this setup, the company is able to run deep-dive analytics on numerous B2B customers to hone in on key metrics like initial touchpoint channels, order submissions and progression from initial client to steady customer. In this way, company executives can make data-driven decisions regarding which strategies produced the best results and how best to foster communications between businesses and potential customers.
With this data in hand, the company was able to launch a B2B marketing campaign on LinkedIn that generated four times more traffic and 30 percent more new leads than traditional programs.
These are only a few of the ways that enterprise CRM can improve enterprise performance, and not just for commercial entities, either. Government agencies, non-profit organizations, universities and a host of other organizations are finding that they can improve a wide range of services while streamlining infrastructure and reducing overall costs.
In a world where data is king, properly leveraging that data can easily spell the difference between positive and negative experiences for millions of users.
