Justin Bieber has a point. While that’s not a line we ever thought we would write, we have to admit that the adage ‘only fools rush in’ is never more true than when it comes to deciding which of the latest marketing trends to jump upon. It takes intelligent data to make wise choices that ensure your brand is making the right moves and reaching the right customers.
As we approach the end of 12 months that bumped every one of us around like a ship in a storm, the one thing we can say for certain is that our use of data - and the growing use of CRM systems in collecting it - remains the course for being adept at adapting to global and local conditions. It helps us to innovate with our marketing and product, and respond quickly to our customers. All while keeping a steer on where the ship sails, or pitches, next.
To help you identify where your sales and marketing efforts are best directed in 2021 and the post-pandemic world, here are 3 wise reasons for implementing a CRM strategy and how it can help you engage and resonate with your customers; past, present and future.
Just as the world continues to turn, however unpredictably, so do business and consumer needs. A satisfied customer will be benefiting from your product, and this keeps the door open to future collaboration and purchases. Staying in touch is the best form of customer service, assessing new needs and offering solutions. It’s well known that there’s around a 70% chance a previous customer will buy from you again or use your service, compared to the average 10% chance of converting a new customer. But sometimes lines can go cold, and in a busy world and workplace, keeping up communications with past leads and customers can take a back seat to follow new ones.
If you have something new to offer, showcasing this to past customers is a no-brainer, and it’s what we all do every day as marketers and sales teams. We’re all familiar with the ping as the latest offer from that company we bought a lightbulb from 3 years ago drops into our inbox - which just so happens to follow the exact lifecycle of a lightbulb (and from which we haven’t quite yet managed to unsubscribe).
If you’re seeking your lightbulb moment, having a grasp on what your customer base looks like allows you to spotlight the best strategy for each segment. CRM platforms like HubSpot help you to implement strategies such as loyalty programs or discount campaigns, personalising emails or offering exclusive access to new product launches.
Remarketing and retargeting are used along the B2C sales funnel to keep present customers engaged - and it is the way to reignite the relationship with previous customers and get you back in front of those who have bought before and would do it again. When it comes to B2B, businesses grow and decision-makers move and change, so keeping yourself in the eye-line is a wise move that will keep them coming back to you. And if they didn’t buy before, a refresher of what your product now has to offer might now be the perfect fit for them.
Ok, so this isn’t rocket science and presenting solutions to your prospects’ problems is why we do all that we do.
However, with traditional mailing lists, there is a lack of insight - an email address gives you no clue as to a prospect’s intent. But instead of simply throwing product generically in front of all your customers and expecting to hook a few, a CRM system allows you to drill down into how customers find you and your product and what their needs are, so you can tailor everything you send their way. Do away with the bulk marketing - blanket email newsletters, or punching out social media posts without purpose and crossing your fingers. This is not only the surefire way to turn those potentials off, but it’s also going to eat away at your budget with very little ROI.
Identifying customer segments through your CRM platform is made all the easier and retargeting campaigns more cost-effective as you can implement ads with more precision. And if that customer is teetering on a decision, diversifying your display advertising means you have stronger points of persuasion. A CRM Marketing Hub can help you evaluate if that latest marketing campaign can be targeted enough to truly get you returns - determining where to put your money and your mouth.
The traditional sales funnel concentrates on immediate leads and nurturing these towards conversion. But your product and your service are not always just a ‘here, now and never again’ offer, and there are plenty of potential leads who won’t need your product right now - but may very well do in the future.
Let’s reimagine the funnel. By tipping it on its side, we begin to see how our immediate leads are a small, time-dependent segment compared to the potential leads in the future. You’ve already instilled brand awareness, so keep on brand building along the funnel. This is essential if you’re going to be able to bring your evolving products and offering to a larger, relevant audience in the future. HubSpot has reinvented the funnel by creating the Flywheel. This is the basis of inbound marketing, the methodology of providing your customers with relevant content at every stage of their journey. A full suite CRM system is the perfect tool for informing content strategy, giving you access to a goldmine of data such as keywords and search terms for page optimisation, landing page performance and even the ability to create and distribute video or podcast content.
Managing these long term brand building campaigns alongside short term sales activation efforts is made all the easier by a great CRM system. It can help you analyse how your brand is perceived and what motivates your customer, bolstering efforts at turning more of your audience into customers, and more customers into brand advocates.
Your brand is the epicentre around which everything else pivots - consistency in messaging is vital. Take it from Justin, image is everything. When you’re taking the long road, there’ll be plenty of marketing trends to try, and knowledge of your growing audience means you can work out which campaign is best for your brand.
And when the time to act is right now, trawling through data and writing emails impinges on the valuable time of a sales rep or marketer - CRM software puts the data in front of you and the tools for collaborating and creating in one place, so that your time can be spent converting, conversing and closing. An all-in-one platform like HubSpot can bring your teams together even when working from home, providing everything they need in one place and saving you time and money on multiple tools.
CRM informs business strategy, feeding into decision-making using data compiled from the broad suite of analytics available, making it clearer to see where you can improve or capitalise. And it’s worth mentioning that with so many ethical issues surrounding data collection these days, platforms like HubSpot are fully GDPR compliant, so you can be assured your customer’s data is being collected with permission and safely stored.
2021 continues to press for the need for digitisation across all sectors, particularly in ecommerce and travel. CRM platforms are helping to transform businesses, with sales teams and marketers alike reaping the benefits of smoother, aligned workflows and the insight needed to create hybrid marketing campaigns that engage customers across every channel - particularly the next generation of purchasers and decision-makers, Gen Z. Whether it’s considering chatbots to automate customer service, reducing labour intensive tasks of attending to customer support (after all, being 24/7 has its benefits) or identifying brand advocates and starting a conversation, CRM makes evaluations and workflows simpler, and you, more profitable.
So if you’re innovating for growth in 2021, you need competitive insight into your marketplace. A solid CRM strategy and trusted software will give you valuable wisdom about your customers and their needs - putting them first and ultimately, bringing wins from wise choices.
If you want to showcase your offering, convert more leads, provide resources, or all of the above, we can build a website that separates you from the competition.
