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Critical CRM Data
Customer relationship management (CRM) software amasses huge amounts of valuable data that your business can collect when your system is properly adopted. Your software can track client activity and success without relying on manual data entry.
However, with all these valuable insights, it’s easy for businesses to become overwhelmed or misuse their CRM software. To stop this from happening, we encourage you to leverage your software to gain a big-picture view of your business performance and measurable data pertinent to strengthening your bottom line.
That’s why we put together a quick outline of the metrics you should be tracking with your CRM system.
Customer Lifetime Value
A successful sales strategy isn’t just tied to gaining new customers–it’s also about nurturing the customers you already have. In fact, it costs about five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer. The customer lifetime value (CLV) refers to the amount of money a buyer is expected to spend throughout their lifetime as a customer. Tracking the CLV reveals how effective your company is at nurturing lasting, profitable relationships.
Additionally, the CLV can help users discover where their customer retention efforts excel and where there is room for improvement (i.e. Are you providing effective outreach to existing customers? Which buyers are more likely to generate repeat business? Are service and support issues hurting customer loyalty? Etc.) Your CRM system will allow you to answer these questions. You can use your CRM to track CLV and gain a granular view of your sales strategies for existing customers, make necessary improvements to expand your customer lifecycle, and lower churn rates.
Outreach Activity
We recommend tracking all the points of contact that your sales representatives have with prospective customers. By tracking the quantity and quality of the data, your metrics will help you make better-informed sales calls. For example, your team will be able to make 20 well-researched, targeted calls rather than 100 cold calls. Some of the outreach activity you should be tracking include:
- Average sales cycles
- Level of activity needed to reach your quotas
- Average follow-ups necessary to close
Lead Source
CRM software tracks customers from end-to-end, including their expression of interest and the channel they used to find you–social media posts, email marketing campaigns, interest forms, etc.–clients are reaching out to companies in even more diverse ways, and we recommend tracking that activity.
Further, CRM software can report which medium is the most effective in gaining prospective clients as well as where your marketing team has room for improvement. In this way, if you notice a drop in leads generated from a particular channel (i.e. LinkedIn), your CRM will draw your attention to this, and you can adjust your channel accordingly. When marketers know which channels are generating the most interest and valuable leads, they will be better equipped to enhance their campaigns and generate more leads.
Win Rate
Your percentage of closed opportunities that your team has won, or win rate, is an extremely important metric of any sales department. CRM software affords your team the power to demonstrate not only how many deals you’ve won but also the areas of the sales funnel that can be improved. Plus, your software can track when clients deactivate their accounts or withdraw their interest in your services. It can even provide some insight into why a deal wasn’t closed (i.e. missed follow-up, poorly designed demo, etc.)
With quantifiable data on the specific customer activity, your sales team can become experts on whether their tactics are effective. This can help your sales representatives recognize areas where they can personally grow to reach their quotas and full potential.
Wrap Up
CRM software can be just what your company needs to streamline your sales, marketing, and customer service departments. However, if you don’t know what metrics to track, it’s impossible to maximize ROI on your investment!
If you still have questions about what actionable data you should be tracking or are interested in implementing CRM software, Datix can help! We are a one stop shop for manufacturers’ and distributors’ software solutions, and we are dedicated to implementing software that aligns with your business process! Plus, as a partner of both Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, we can help you find the best solution for your business.
To learn more, contact Datix today!
