Introduction: What is a Customer Relationship Management System?
Companies use customer relationship management (CRM) systems to organise and manage interactions with customers. This type of software stores customer details, simplifies customer interactions and links customer information with other business data, such as orders, deliveries and appointments etc. A CRM system centralises all customer data, providing a single, secure access point for better efficiency.
A customer relationship management system helps reduce errors and prevents duplicated work. It is easier to keep updated and accessible to all teams, ensuring smoother collaboration between departments and customers. Having all information in one place also improves data analysis, allowing businesses to make informed decisions and develop more effective sales and marketing strategies.
How Different Departments Can Use a Centralised CRM
Most businesses BSPOKE Software has worked with, have found that using a CRM system significantly boosts team productivity, helps teams in overlapping areas keep their data synchronised, and overall improves relationships between staff and customers. Here’s how this type of software can benefit different teams and departments:
Sales – Tracking Potential Customers
The sales team finds it useful to track potential leads and their current status. The CRM stores key information, such as customer history, preferences, dates, times, and how they were initially approached. This allows team members to analyse what works and stay on top of daily sales tasks.
Marketing – Targeting Campaigns
Marketing teams can use customer data to target specific audiences and assess the effectiveness of campaigns. Tracking customer engagement and feedback helps them adjust campaigns and strategies as needed. When marketing efforts acquire potential leads, the sales team can directly access them within the CRM.
Finance – Processing Transactions
The finance team can use the CRM to link customer data to invoicing and payments. It allows them to send automatic reminders to late-paying customers and track overdue invoices to ensure timely follow-up.
HR – Tracking Employee/Customer Interactions
Good customer interactions are essential for business success, so ongoing training is key. The HR team can use the CRM to monitor staff engagement with customers, ensuring that company standards are upheld.
Operations – Predicting Demand
Understanding customer demand is crucial to avoid both overproduction and shortages. The customer data within the CRM helps the operations team predict what needs to be produced and what materials are required, keeping stock levels in check.
Senior Management – Making Better Decisions Based on Customer Data
Analysing customer trends, financial data, and sales reports gives senior management a solid foundation for making informed decisions. The CRM provides valuable insights that support future company growth.
IT – Keeping the CRM Running Smoothly
The IT team is responsible for ensuring the CRM system runs smoothly and integrates with other business tools. They manage user access, monitor system performance, and perform maintenance when needed to protect customer data.
Customer Relationship Management System vs. Spreadsheets
Many small businesses start by using spreadsheets to store customer information. However, as the business grows, spreadsheets can become harder to manage. They don’t update automatically, can’t track emails or phone calls, and don’t help with follow-ups or reminders. Additionally, duplication and errors can occur between departments, both may have separate spreadsheets with the same customer information, which can quickly become out of sync. This leads to customers being asked for the same details twice, or contacted about an issue that has already been resolved, causing frustration.
A customer relationship management (CRM) system provides real-time updates and ensures that all departments are using the same, up-to-date customer information. Unlike spreadsheets, a CRM can send automatic reminders, store communication history, and even prioritise leads. This makes it far easier to manage customer relationships and successfully grow a business.
Case Study: Sweet Causes – Spreadsheet to Custom CRM
Sweet Causes, a UK-based confectionery company, faced challenges managing their growing operations with spreadsheets. Manual data entry, inefficient route planning, and delayed reporting were slowing them down. After partnering with BSPOKE Software, they switched to a custom CRM system designed to streamline their processes.
With automated route planning, real-time data updates, and a user-friendly mobile app for collectors, Sweet Causes significantly reduced errors and duplication. The mobile apps, used by their collectors and canvassers in the field, allowed customer information to be entered directly during visits, eliminating the need for paper forms. Read the full case study to learn how a bespoke CRM transformed their business operations.
Other Industries Where a CRM Is Beneficial Compared to Using Spreadsheets
Below are some examples of different industries and their issues with spreadsheets and how they could benefit from employing a CRM:
Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies often find that using spreadsheets for customer interactions, can lead to missed deliveries and ‘out of stock’ issues. A CRM system can ensure that order histories and stock levels are up to date, this enables staff to avoid stock shortages, quickly process reorders and ensure deliveries are made on time.
Construction
Managing multiple construction projects can be overwhelming without a proper customer relationship management system. Important details and emails can be missed, leading to delays and miscommunications. For a construction company a CRM can keep all customer interactions in one place, along with contracts and project updates, facilitating smoother coordination and communication between the company and their customers.
Transport
For transport and logistics companies, tracking hundreds of deliveries using spreadsheets can lead to missed deadlines and unhappy customers. A CRM system can automate scheduling, track shipments in real time, and send alerts to customers about delivery times. It ensures drivers have up-to-date route information and customers receive accurate ETAs, reducing delays and improving service reliability.
Finance
Using spreadsheets for customer accounts, involves many staff hours and manual entries. With a huge number of transactions and strict regulatory requirements, mistakes and errors need to be avoided. A CRM System ensures all customer information is securely stored and that financial advisors have quick and easy access to the customer’s data. Enabling the advisor to offer a personalised, accurate service resulting in improved client trust.
Retail
Managing customer data on spreadsheets can quickly become chaotic in the retail sector, especially for retailers who sell primarily online. With various merchandising platforms, such as eBay, Amazon, company website etc, central storage of customer personal information and orders is essential. As well as ensuring that customers’ orders are packed, tracked and delivered on time, a CRM can also be used to analyse customer data for marketing and future sales purposes.
Hospitality
Even a small hotel, could find that managing guest information, customer bookings and events on a spreadsheet, could soon lead to confusion and mistakes. A CRM system is ideal to solve these hospitality problems and can also help to create a more personalised customer experience. By tracking guest preferences and booking histories the CRM can highlight and automate exclusive discounts and special offers to encourage customers to come back.
The Main Benefits of a Bespoke CRM for Your Business
A bespoke customer relationship management system is built in the same way as other custom software products. This is to fit the specific needs of your business and it is designed to work seamlessly with your existing workflows. In contrast, generic CRM software, often lacks desired features and processes and this can lead to having to employ awkward workarounds.
Here are some of the main benefits of a bespoke customer relationship management system:
Personalised Communication
A custom CRM system can offer the personal touch, providing customer communication that is not only relevant but also feels unique. Reminders and messages can be automated and tailored to the individual customer needs. This ensures that your customers aren’t spammed with information they are not interested in but always receive the important communications.
Streamlined Sales
Automation of key sales tasks, such as follow-up emails, appointment scheduling and lead tracking, saves staff time and ensures potential customers are not overlooked. Sales staff are then free to spend more time on understanding their customer’s needs, relationship building and closing the deal.
Better Customer Service
Since all customer information is stored in one place within a central database used by all departments, your team can quickly access past interactions, preferences, and ongoing issues. This enables faster and more accurate responses and ensures that customer information is always up to date.
Industry Example: Smart Home Charge
Smart Home Charge, one of our clients, required a custom CRM to manage all aspects of their interactions with customers. The system we developed allowed staff members to schedule appointments, send reminders automatically and check information from completed online forms.
In addition to being able to complete forms online, customers could also upload required documentation and track their engineers’ location on the day of their appointment. Read about how digital forms improved customer experience.
How Custom CRM Solutions Facilitate Business Automation
A customer relationship management system does more than just store customer detail; it also helps automate daily business tasks.
- Sales Automation: A CRM can send follow-up emails, set up appointment reminders, and even rank leads to help sales teams focus on the most important opportunities.
- Marketing Automation: A CRM can integrate with marketing tools to send targeted messages and product placement, based on customer behaviour. This ensures that potential customers receive the correct information, when the time is right.
- Improved Analytics: A bespoke CRM can provide insightful data as well as highlight customer trends. This enables companies to optimise their strategies and refine their goals.
Why Choose BSPOKE Software for Your Custom CRM Project?
If you’re considering a customer relationship management system, BSPOKE Software is the right partner for you. We have over 15 years of experience in custom software development, and we build CRM systems designed specifically for your business needs.
We take the time to understand your business and create a CRM that works the way you need it to. Whether you need a CRM for desktop, mobile, or web, we ensure it works seamlessly across all devices. We don’t just build software; we build long-term relationships. Our team is always available to support and improve your CRM system as your business grows.
We have built CRMs for companies in manufacturing, construction, and transport, among other industries. Each business has unique needs, and we ensure your CRM is designed to meet them. As well as taking time to understand your business, we will also get to know your industry domain, ensuring that the software we develop will meet your industry sector’s standards and legislation.
If you’re looking for a custom CRM or any other type of custom software, please fill in our contact form and tell us a little bit about your company and your requirements.
Getting Started with Your Custom CRM System
Starting with a customer relationship management system is simple when you work with BSPOKE Software. Here’s how it works:
- Initial Consultation: We take the time to understand your business and identify what you need from a CRM to improve efficiency and organisation.
- Customisation: We design a CRM system that fits your business processes perfectly, ensuring it works the way you need it to.
- Integration & Ongoing Support: We make sure the system integrates smoothly with your existing tools and provide continuous support to keep everything running efficiently.
A Real Life Example – Workplace Risk Management (WRM)
For example, WRM, a health and safety company, uses a bespoke CRM that allows their clients to log in and manage their own health and safety. This includes reporting accidents, staying up to date with training, and accessing industry-specific training materials.
We started by having several consultations at both WRM’s premises and ours. This helped us understand their needs and how we could improve their system.
We then designed and developed a user-friendly web portal. This portal allowed WRM’s clients to access and manage their own data easily, without needing to install anything. The CRM is available at any time of the day, providing full flexibility.
Finally, we continue working with WRM to ensure their system stays up to date. We help them with changes in legislation and add new features whenever necessary. This ongoing support means WRM can rely on the system to adapt as their needs change.
Conclusion: Bespoke Customer Relationship Management System
A customer relationship management system can help businesses with organising their customer data, automation of key tasks and improve workflows and efficiency. Our clients have found that with a custom CRM that is built specifically for their needs, customer service and retention has improved.
No matter what industry sector your company belongs to, a custom CRM can help your team work smarter. Ready to transform your customer relationship management? Contact BSPOKE Software today to discuss how our bespoke CRM solutions can help your business succeed.
