Every company is different, and so are its customers.
A short relationship
In the direct-to-consumer space, like online retail, the relationship with each customer is short. They show interest in a product and buy it, our client ships it, and the relationship is over: no follow-on sales, no referrals. The transaction is done.
In that case there's no value in tracking customer contacts. Just store the financial information in a sales history. Keeping interactions in a CRM is redundant, and it actually eats your sales team's time. Buying a CRM is a waste of your resources.
A long relationship
Now consider an auto dealer. They identify prospects who become customers over time, sign a sales contract and begin collecting sales and service fees. Later, they sell upgrades and replacement vehicles. The relationship can last for years, with many contacts and issues along the way. Tracking them is a must, so issues get followed up and the relationship stays profitable and enduring.
When a customer relationship has many touchpoints, recording only purchases misses the buying clues. Have services been performed? Are there comments about product quality? Those need further contact and feedback from different parts of your company. Here, a company-wide CRM is necessary.
How to evaluate a CRM
So how do you evaluate a CRM purchase? For our healthcare clients, a patient CRM (or PRM) is mandatory and is usually in place from the day the company opens. But some of our clients sell medical supplies through distributors, doctors and others. When you have few direct customers and several distributors, there's little interaction with each sale. The product is sold and delivered, and the relationship ends.
What's already in the platform
Why do I bring this up? The AcuCall platform includes communications management, inbound and outbound contact delivery, call recording, SMS messaging and all the reporting and analytics you need. It also includes a built-in CRM, if you simply want to manage communications and export to your sales history, at no extra charge.
If you need ongoing contact management, investing in an expensive CRM may be necessary, and AcuCall can integrate with others. But when your return on equity is vital, our platform is usually all you need.
To learn more or to discuss it further, send me a message.
