4 Signs That You Need Mobile CRM

A lire sur: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/4-signs-that-you-need-mobile-crm-59029

We live in a mobile society. More than 92 percent of adults in the United States now own mobile phones, which are used for nearly everything. More than ever, consumers are empowered by the instant availability of all types of information, and they expect the same from their vendors.

The current theory is that to be successful, companies need to mimic the way their customers communicate. That communication extends beyond traditional means, like push advertising. Today, winning is about real-time communication—not only with customers but also with sales people and service technicians in a position to increase sales and effectiveness.

What determines whether mobile customer relationship management (CRM) is the right answer? There are no hard and fast rules. Each organization differs, but here are four signs that might point to the need for mobile CRM.

You Need Increased Productivity and Effectiveness

Does the sales cycle include multiple visits to gather all needed information and provide answers to customer inquiries? Are sales processes delayed because sales people are in the field and must wait until they return to the office before documenting the relationship, submitting orders, or following up on any aspect of the vendor–client relationship?

Mobile CRM provides the opportunity to increase productivity and effectiveness. A good mobile CRM app allows salespeople and service technicians to gather information at the point of contact, check stock levels, review quotes and customer histories, access e-mail conversations, and create and edit customer profiles from the field that are visible across the organization. These capabilities only scratch the surface of available functionality in most mobile CRM apps, functionality that can increase productivity and effectiveness and ultimately, increase sales.

You Need to Gain Control of Your Customer Relationship

Do salespeople and service technicians have a fragmented view of the customer relationship? Do potential customer relationships suffer because follow-up doesn’t happen in a timely manner or falls through the cracks completely? Is customer information, including needs, meeting notes, and sales history, incomplete or nonexistent?

A well-designed mobile CRM app allows for instant updating of customer records across an organization, but it also takes the customer interaction to a new level by automatically logging customer calls, allowing instant updates to notes entered during or after meetings, and keeping all critical information up to date and available to everyone on the sales team. The ability to update customer logs from the field also makes it less likely that important details will be lost between a customer interaction and the time that the salesperson catches up on entering handwritten notes into the CRM application.

You Need Accelerated Processes 

Are completed service tickets or orders delayed from being entered into the system because technicians are in the field? Is invoicing delayed because paperwork is misplaced or lost? Are opportunities missed because valuable information hasn’t been entered in the CRM app?

Paper-based customer interactions, including service tickets and sales order, are subject to being lost between the point of customer contact and the appropriate department within an organization. Having these records electronically logged and accessible through a mobile platform reduces the time it takes to go from initial contact to final invoice.

You Need Reduced Costs

How long does it take to recognize that a sales process is or isn’t working? How many hours are wasted making multiple trips to a customer’s location to gather information, provide answers, or close a sale? Are hours wasted reconstructing tracking paperwork and transcribing notes that are not disseminated across the organization?

Reducing the number of contacts and making those contacts more productive is one of the most effective capabilities of a mobile CRM application. When information can be gathered at the point of contact and salespeople have access to the information needed to answer customers’ questions, the result is reduced time to sale completion and increased efficiencies, making it possible to move on to other sales leads. In addition, transparency across the sales cycle makes it easier to quickly determine what is working and what is not.

Mobile CRM is About Meeting Customer Expectations, Better

Customer expectation today is that companies know them—almost intimately. Customers are as busy as salespeople and service technicians. They don’t have time for multiple visits, and they want their problems solved now, not when a salesperson can get back to the office to find the best solution to meet their needs. Mobile CRM makes it possible to meet those expectations and even to anticipate future expectations—all in an effective and efficient manner.