CRM (Customer Relationship Management), is software that enables you to nurture your relationships with your customers. We know what CRM is, but what about its types? Based on activities and the nature of the work CRM system are generally categorized into three main categories: Operational, analytical and collaborative CRMs. All CRM systems may exhibit features of all three types but are usually strong in one or two types only.
Here we are providing brief explanation of all three types of CRM software:
- Operational CRM systems:
The main goal of CRM is to integrate and automate workflow in departments of sales, marketing and customer service. The main purpose of this type of CRM is lead generation, converting them, collecting all information and provide customer service throughout the customer lifecycle. It is majorly based on customer-centric processes.
- Sales Automation:
Sales force automation or management is a major element of many CRM software. This CRM system captures all stages involved in the sales pipeline, from making initial contact to converting them into prospective clients and helps in automating those stages. Fundamentally, it automates all the sales activities. It consists of various sales modules such as lead management, contact management, report generation and sales forecasting.
- Marketing automation:
Marketing automation CRM systems focus mainly on making marketing process more automatic, easy, effective and proficient. The main module of marketing automation is campaign management. This system allows business to choose the best channel like emails, phone, social media etc. for reaching its potential customers. Systems with marketing automation lets business do marketing campaigns/tasks regularly.
- Service automation:
This system is designed to give better services to customers. Customers use different ways like emails, SMS, FAQs, helplines when they need help. All these ways and activities are managed using service automation tool. Along with giving consistent customer experience, it also frees up team members from pressing tasks.
- Analytical CRM systems:
Analytical CRM systems assist top-level management of marketing, sales and customer service to discover better ways of serving its customers. The main function of this CRM system is analyzing customer data coming from different ways to get better real-time insights. This insight assists in strategic future planning.
Three main features of Analytical CRM are:
- Customer Acquisition: In this function, leads are converted into customers and cross-selling and upselling is done wherever possible.
- Customers Retention: Making existing customers satisfied and coming back to us more. It assists the organization in setting up strategies for sales, marketing and service department for improving customer relationship and experience, gaining loyalty.
- Data Management: Collecting and managing all the customers’ information and interactions. Analyzes key performance Indicators based on the information gathered.
Analytical CRM applications:
- Customer analytics
- Marketing analytics
- Sales analytics
- Financial analytics
- Service analytics
- Collaborative CRM systems:
Collaborative CRM systems, sometimes also called as Strategic CRM are designed to facilitate a better customer experience. It not only assist in making a good relationship with your customers but also with your stakeholders and vendors. The main aspects of this systems are interaction and channel management. This CRM system promotes transparency and teamwork among sales, marketing and service department, through customer information sharing and syncing. Collaborative CRM makes use of communication systems like Chabot’s, web forums etc.
Different types of CRM systems have different features and applications. It is important for the business to first decide its goal and future strategies for implementing a CRM system.
Xobber is one such CRM system, which caters variant features of all three types of CRM systems. Before choosing a best CRM system for your business, you can go through our article on ‘10 IMPORTANT STRATEGIES YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE IMPLEMENTING CRM’