“The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”
– the Economist.
And an intelligent CRM is valuable for using this data creatively and conquering your customers’ hearts.
Research indicates that 80% of customers are more likely to purchase your product if personalized. CRM software tracks and analyses customer interactions throughout their relationship with your company. CRMs enable organizations to improve their marketing, sales, and customer service by accumulating data about customers, allowing them to create a personalized customer experience for each individual. The various features and functions of a CRM make it indispensable to growing companies by enhancing efficiency and providing a comprehensive view of business operations, with 91% of businesses with over 11 employees using CRM. If you are still debating the benefits you can reap using a CRM, read on to understand what it is, and some good CRM use cases.
What is CRM?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a technology suite designed to streamline and elevate a business’s interactions with its customers. At its core, it provides a central repository for all customer data, enabling your organization to track, manage, and analyze customer interactions across multiple touchpoints. This comprehensive view of customer data fosters more personalized and efficient interactions, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
A CRM system is a powerful tool that helps businesses manage customer relationships, streamline sales processes, and improve customer satisfaction. By providing a 360-degree view of each customer, it enables personalized and targeted interactions. You can track all past interactions with a customer, including purchases, inquiries, service requests, and feedback. This comprehensive history allows any representative who encounters the customer to understand their journey and tailor communications and offers to suit their needs and preferences.
CRM Benefits for Sales Efficiency
Sales Process Optimization
A CRM system is an invaluable tool for streamlining the sales process. Its core function is to manage and track all customer interactions, providing a clear picture of where a customer or a lead is within the sales funnel. By automating repetitive tasks, such as sending routine marketing emails and scheduling follow-up calls, a CRM system can help sales teams focus on high-value activities that drive revenue growth.
Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams
A CRM system can help companies forge alignment between sales and marketing teams, supporting the ultimate goal of increasing revenue. By providing a single source of truth for customer data, a CRM system can help marketers adjust lead-scoring criteria based on the likelihood that they’ll drive sales. This alignment enables sales and marketing teams to work together more effectively, ensuring that leads are properly nurtured and converted into customers.CRM is your secret sauce for boosting sales and marketing efforts, making every move smarter and every interaction more meaningful.
Customer Insights and Analytics
A CRM system contains a wealth of information about how customers behave. By analyzing customer interactions, a CRM system can help businesses gain valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and needs. This information can be used to personalize customer experiences, promote add-ons or other products, and improve customer satisfaction. If you’ve connected your marketing automation to your CRM, you should have a nicely segmented audience and will be able to market this content accordingly.Additionally, a CRM system can help businesses track customer retention rates, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to minimize customer churn.
By leveraging these CRM use cases, businesses can improve sales efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive revenue growth. By streamlining sales processes, aligning sales and marketing teams, and gaining valuable customer insights, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and achieve their goals.
10 Remarkable CRM Use Cases
1. Asher College- CRM for greater student engagement
With locations in Dallas, Las Vegas, and Sacramento, Asher College offers career-focused education in business, medicine, trades, and technology. They’ve concentrated on attaining a single goal: providing students with rigorous and comprehensive training for real-world professions.
Asher previously had an in-house enrollment management system. Yet, it didn’t allow them to reach out to prospects rapidly, prompting the adoption of third-party applications to provide all of the essential features, such as calls, bulk emails, SMS, and lead scoring. All of these roadblocks were preventing admission counselors from having fruitful interactions with potential students.
Since an enrollment CRM offers several features that involve lead scoring, automated marketing campaigns, detailed reports, and centralized data available for all, it was an apt choice. The advantages of partnering with a single enrollment solution provider rather than several vendors were obvious to Asher’s management team. The admissions team was able to boost speed-to-lead by 12 times. It enabled them to customize communications throughout the student life cycle and track them, resulting in meaningful student engagement from start to finish. Their contact rate went up by 13%, and scheduled campus appointments improved by 5%.
“With a high volume of inquiries, it’s important that our admission counselors prioritize and reach the most engaged ones first. Most inquiries drop off because of late and inconsistent outreach. With LeadSquared, we’ve defined a straight-forward 21- contact strategy on our CRM so that the reps are notified about each touchpoint and reaction from the prospects regularly,” states Kim Gasper, Corporate Director of Admissions, Asher College.
2. CRM for financial services
Canada’s 4th largest debt counseling organization, with an established track record of over 20 years and government accreditation, was popular for taking a swift and customer-focused approach to all customer issues. But this got hampered when they started facing internal problems in terms of lead capture and online document collection.
Initially, they were facing the following challenges:
- Lack of data analysis.
- Low email deliverability.
- Inability to track lead activities.
They needed a one-stop solution to streamline the entire debt collection and management process. With LeadSquared, they achieved the following results:
- Multi-channel lead capture for zero-lead leakage,
- Automatic lead distribution, which improved their response rates,
- Complete lead tracking to better understand customer intent, and
- Detailed advisor productivity reports to reward high achievers and help those facing any issues.
Their sales and onboarding team stated, “Our team has been looking for a solution like this for a long time. With 60% improvement in production, LeadSquared has helped us better our sales process and manage our leads in a more efficient manner.” The team at CCDR now has a 360-degree customer view which provides instant access to all the required customer information; even the quotation generation turn-around time has reduced multi-folds.
3. A top e-learning platform using CRM to measure every step of customer interactions
One of the top e-learning platforms in the world took LeadSquared’s help.. They are the first Asian company to receive investment from the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative and have even become a Harvard Business School case study. Their stream of work involves ongoing customer management, and the customer life cycle tends to be high. This is why they started looking for a CRM that could keep track of their historical customer data. Initially, they used a mix of CRM software and Excel sheets. Although this manner of managing leads was challenging, they adopted this mixed model of data tracking as they were apprehensive of implementing a completely new tool.
Their apprehensions came to an end when they found a CRM that fulfilled their expectations in three areas:
- Ease of adoption
- Flexibility
- Speedy implementation
When they implemented LeadSquared, within the first few hours, their team recognized that the tool was much better than the one they used before. LeadSquared is not only used by their sales team but also for order management, recruitment, post, and pre-sales processes. Wherever a process needs to be streamlined, LeadSquared is implemented. Additionally, BYJU’s uses CRM to manage and optimize their sales cycle, providing insights that enhance visibility into the sales pipeline.management, recruitment, post, and pre-sales processes. Wherever a process needs to be streamlined, LeadSquared is implemented.
Their COO states, “The LeadSquared platform is flexible, making the adoption and execution of your existing sales process very simple. We can effectively monitor sales follow-ups and track all offline and online activities. It is a very well thought out application and sometimes will surprise you in terms of the things it can deliver.”
4. Meesho – CRM for better seller management
Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, two IIT Delhi graduates, founded Meesho – an Indian-origin reseller marketplace, in late 2015. The business is building the next major online distribution network for home-based businesses. Individual resellers may use WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms to promote their items. It empowers the livelihoods of millions who had so far been waiting for a shot at independence and success. As the company began expanding and the team grew, they realized they needed a tool to manage their leads.
Their major requirements were:
- A platform to keep suppliers engaged and increase the ease of onboarding.
- A user-friendly tool that is adaptable.
- A tool that could automate manual processes.
In their search to support these needs, they discovered a CRM that could help meet these requirements. With LeadSquared, they’ve achieved the following results:
- They have eliminated the manual method of supplier engagement in favor of a more automated approach.
- Information is shared more quickly and efficiently through teams.
- Documents are automatically verified, making the suppliers’ onboarding experience faster.
A representative from Meesho states- “Where an individual salesperson took around 8-10 mins to fill in the required details of a prospective supplier, with LeadSquared it just takes a minute. We are very pleased to see that the productivity of the team has increased to 70% from an earlier 5-10%.”
5. CRM for sales pipeline management to increase property sales
A real estate firm specializing in construction has been building apartments since 1993 and now have over 15 million square feet of landmarks across India. CRISIL has consistently ranked them over the past ten years, indicating a high level of service. They are also involved in the construction of infrastructure and industrial structures. They slowly faced challenges with their lead management as their business grew.
They faced the following issues:
- Difficulty with tracking leads, as website behavior was untracked, opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell products were lost.
- Lack of website tracking, which gives information into their customer’s intent and helps in understanding their preferences and wants.
To get past these hurdles, they selected a CRM as their sales platform, and they experienced the power of tracking lead activities. They also utilized the CRM for effective sales pipeline management, tracking and analyzing their sales processes for better efficiency and productivity. When they implemented LeadSquared, they heavily relied on the following features:
- Lead tracking features- to accurately assess the source, intent, and behavior.
- Automation feature- to trigger emails based on the actions of a lead and to initiate quick follow-ups.
- Landing pages tool- to run marketing campaigns on different social media platforms.
Their marketing team states, “Now we know exactly what the lead is doing on our website: such as the floor plan he has seen, or the financial plan they are interested in. Before LeadSquared, we used to close around 12-13 deals per month. Now, we close 20 every month. Our property closures have increased by 54%.“
Their marketing team states, “Now we know exactly what the lead is doing on our website: such as the floor plan he has seen, or the financial plan they are interested in. Before LeadSquared, we used to close around 12-13 deals per month. Now, we close 20 every month. Our property closures have increased by 54%.“
6. A customizable CRM for a leading insurance firm
A renowned financial institution has an excellent track record of over 15 years. They provide exceptional investment experience. In addition, the company offers extensive security and long-term savings through its high-quality multi-channel distribution, including agency and third-party distribution partners. For its B2B business, the leading insurance firm has a system to issue and administer community insurance products. They also needed an application to manage renewals in the future, as well as paperless documents. As their organization has grown and multiplied, they began facing problems in certain areas of work, such as:
- Lack of a single and centralized enterprise software.
- Delayed responses.
- Slow quotation generation and communication.
- Difficulty in gauging customer’s requirements.
- Inability to manage quotation versions and track status.
They started looking for ways to handle these use cases and found a CRM capable of doing just that. With LeadSquared, they could experience the benefits of:
- Multi-channel lead capture
- Automatic lead distribution
- Pre-set automation to request for quotation
- Automated quotation approval workflow and customizable lead stages.
A representative states, “LeadSquared has been a great partner, taking the initiative to understand the nuances of our Sales support process, and contributing to the success of Max Life’s overall Digitization journey.”
7. A leading lending firm using CRM to reduce the chances of human error and improve customer retention
A digital lending marketplace links customers and small businesses seeking low-interest loans with institutional lenders seeking high-yielding returns. Since 2014, it has been at the forefront of lending, and it continues to set the standard with quick and easy loans. It is based in Gurugram, Haryana, and is available on both web and mobile platforms. Lenders may also benefit from value-added services like big-data analytics, credit risk evaluation, authentication, and automated loan origination and management workflows. Borrowers may also apply for unsecured personal loans online, get free credit reports, and monitor their spending on a regular basis.
As their organization expanded, they noticed certain areas that needed improvement, which were:
- Tedious and multiple manual processes.
- Authentication checks were necessary for OTP confirmation.
- Lack of detailed reports and analytics.
- Sales forecasting capabilities.
- Improving communication within the network.
To accomplish these goals, they reached out to LeadSquared, which provided them with the following solutions-
- Smart application distribution through automation
- Generation of Experian reports through API integration
- Speedy loan disbursal and complete performance reports
After implementing LeadSquared, they have attained positive results. The Product team states, “The LeadSquared Automations are easy to build and are not very time-consuming. With minimal manual effort, any chances of human error have reduced by 90%.”
8. CRM with marketing automation for zero lead leakage for a leading real estate firm
In India, the home rental market has been largely unregulated. Tenants have been tormented by unreasonable deposit requests and unmaintained services and facilities. Anyone who is new to the city and has a small sum of money in his wallet would find it difficult to get around. A Bangalore-based startup noticed the need and stepped in to help with low-security deposits and brokerage. It is a revolutionary idea for homeowners, a solution for renters, and a solution for the city’s youth housing crisis.
It has a presence in 13 major Indian cities, including Bangalore, Delhi, Bombay, Pune, Noida, and Hyderabad, with 25,000+ homes in its network with 55,000+ tenants. NestAway soon realized that they don’t have a lead management system in place, leading to major losses because of missing on lead inquiries.
Tenant Acquisition Head stated, “The lead leakage was greatly increasing. As we were redesigning the process as a company, going ahead with the right Lead Management tool seemed like the correct choice.”
Which is when they implemented a CRM to battle these problems. They benefitted from the CRM in these areas:
- Easy to use software
- Smooth workflows
- Clearer visibility
- Reduced lead leakage
The customer states, “Since our lead disposal was not on time, the lead leakage was 80%. Now that we’re using LeadSquared, we’ve been able to reduce the lead leakage by 70%. It is resulted in improving the sales funnel and increasing the visit to booking percentage by 20% month-on-month.”
9. Tricoci University – Using CRM for greater process efficiency
Tricoci University is a top cosmetology school in the United States, with 16 campuses in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana and over 2000 students graduating each year. The school takes pride in its people-centered approach to preparing tomorrow’s leading beauty practitioners. This has resulted in an extensive network of top salons and spas looking to hire graduates. To coordinate their admissions and marketing processes, Tricoci University needed an end-to-end system. They wanted to collect leads from different sources, handle the online application process, and use the system as a one-stop shop for admissions advisors to send emails, make phone calls, manage schedules, and involve potential students in the enrollment process.
Few challenges faced by the university were:
- Lack of data analysis
- Complex and non-intuitive systems
- Regularly lost enrollments due to slow response rate
- Inability to track agent activities
To overcome these challenges they reached out to LeadSquared for a CRM that offered the following features:
- Automatic lead capture and distribution
- Paperless application
- Student enrollment journeys
- Enrollment and admissions pipeline view, and
- Complete advisor productivity reports.
“LeadSquared’s Enrollment Management solution was really easy to use for employees who were more focused on non-technical matters,” states Paul Matylonek, Director of Admissions. With the help of LeadSquared’s CRM, they have experienced a net 75% increase in process efficiency.
“LeadSquared’s Enrollment Management solution was really easy to use for employees who were more focused on non-technical matters,” states Paul Matylonek, Director of Admissions. With the help of LeadSquared’s CRM, they have experienced a net 75% increase in process efficiency.
10. Practo – CRM use case for call-center efficiency
Practo is one of India’s leading healthcare applications. Their main goal is to make healthcare more accessible. Several healthcare providers are using Practo as the platform to build their presence, grow establishments and engage patients more deeply than ever. As they grew rapidly as a company, they began facing problems in the following areas:
- Marketing campaigns
- Inaccurate workflows for customer journeys
- Lack of reports about their process
- Managing the increasing number of agents
Practo uses CRM to enhance their marketing efforts by tracking, segmenting customers, and automating communication.
They began searching for a solution to solve these issues, and they found a CRM that offered the following solutions:
- Advanced automation for sales workflows
- Smart Views to reduce time spent in decision making,
- Lead management and detailed tools for measurement
LeadSquared has helped them achieve some significant results as Sidhartha Nihalani, VP of Product at Practo, states- *“All the automation running within LeadSquared ensure that our lead management activities, from lead allocation to lead prioritization, are handled easily. We have already saved 6-8 months’ worth of development costs and effort. In addition, our daily *call center efficiency per agent has increased by 60%.”
Concluding Remarks
Every company looking to grow should invest in a smart CRM that helps them address their specific challenges. As customer expectations evolve, companies need to use tools that evolve with them. As you must have seen in the above CRM use cases, the tool offers data centralization, lead management, sales, and marketing automation – all of which boost productivity. With an intelligent CRM, you can streamline your sales processes, prioritize hot leads, automate routine tasks and receive detailed reports on your teams’ performances.
If you’re looking for one such CRM, click here to try LeadSquared’s CRM for free!
