What is a customer management system?

What is a customer relationship management system?

What is needed to develop products and services accepted and hit by the world? It is a system for understanding customer needs and customer insights.

By developing new products and services while always incorporating the customer's perspectives and opinions, I think we will be able to complete good products and services that are easily accepted by the world.

In this time, I will introduce a customer management system, which is a mechanism to grasp the needs and insights of customers.

Compared to a few years ago, the number of companies that implemented such systems has increased dramatically, but there are probably many people who do not have an overview of customer management systems. I will take this opportunity to learn more about customer management systems and encourage you to consider implementing one in your business.

Table of contents:

1. What is CRM anyway?

2. Overview of customer management systems

3. Classification of customer management systems

What is CRM anyway?

CRM is an abbreviation for "Customer Relationship Management." It refers to activities to manage customer information such as company name, name of a person in charge, information on business partners, number of visits, date and time of visits, and details of business negotiations, and to utilize such information to build friendly relationships with customers.

In companies that have not introduced CRM, customer information is managed in Excel files and personal computers, and memory of sales staff. It is difficult to share customer information in an organized manner. The lack of visualization of the situation leads to problems in incorporating customer needs and insights into sales strategies.

In other words, implementing CRM is a very important activity not only for managing customer information and building relationships with customers but also for reflecting appropriate customer information in sales and management strategies.

Overview of customer relationship management system

So, what is the purpose of implementing a customer relationship management system? In many cases, Excel files are used for information management, but they are not suitable for CRM because they do not have good air time and update ability. A situation where customer information is managed on each salesperson's computer or memory is not a good idea.

In an environment where a customer relationship management system is in place, salespeople and customer support enter information about customers into a consistent system. In this way, all customer information is centralized in the system and can be used in an organized manner.

When customer information can be managed in near real-time, it can be quickly incorporated into sales and management strategies, and detailed customer information can be shared for systematic sales activities. The following is an explanation of the specific benefits of a customer management system.

Benefits of a customer relationship management system

1. Customer information, which used to be dispersed throughout the organization, can be centrally managed on the system.

2. Customer information is updated in near real-time, ensuring that the information is always relevant.

3. Eliminate the lack of coordination between sales representatives and customer support to develop business according to each customer's situation.

4. Naturally aggregate information to uncover customer needs and customer insights.

5. Semi-automate customer analysis by integrating analytics tools to increase business efficiency.

6. By linking with marketing tools, customer behavior information can be stored in the system.

7. Integrate duplicate information by using the name aggregation function, etc., so that you can always manage accurate customer information.

8. Sales staff can update customer information on the go, improving sales efficiency.

9. Simultaneous editing is supported to reduce the time required for updating.

10. Access to customer information can be limited to specific users, reducing the risk of information leaks due to inadvertent copying.

As you can see, a customer management system has many advantages.

By leveraging customer management systems to maximize these benefits, you can uncover customer needs and insights and build systems that contribute to product development, service development, and customer satisfaction.

Classification of customer management systems

There are several types of customer relationship management systems in a nutshell. Generally speaking, they are classified into cloud-based and software-based, and general-purpose and specialized.

Cloud-based and software-based

Cloud computing is a customer management system that is provided as a cloud service. You can use the customer management system via the Internet without installing any software on your server or computer. Therefore, it is easy to access the customer management system on the go, which greatly expands the scope of use.

The software type is a customer management system that is installed on a server or PC. Many products are highly customizable, allowing you to build a customer management system that meets your unique requirements.

General-purpose and specialized types

A customer relationship management system that can be used for various businesses is called a general-purpose system.

The advantage is that it can be used in a standardized manner because it includes functions for customer management that are common to various industries.

On the other hand, a customer management system designed for a specific industry is called a specialized type. In many cases, if you have a special type of business, you may want to build and implement a specialized type of customer management system.

These classifications are just a guide, and some customer management systems are not limited to only these. The important thing is to carefully consider what customer management system is necessary for your company.

Recommendations for cloud-based customer relationship management system

Among the many customer relationship management systems, cloud-based customer relationship management systems are gaining particular attention. This type of customer management system not only allows users to access the system on the go but also has the advantage of streamlining the operation and management of the system.

Since users use the customer management system via the Internet, all the operational management of the system is done by the provider. Therefore, users can implement the customer management system without being involved in the operation and management and without physical server and infrastructure maintenance. Furthermore, since the cost is only based on the number of users, another main advantage is that the cost of the customer management system can be visualized.

The system is always up-to-date, and some services have a complete security system, so there is no need to worry about customer information being leaked due to cyber attacks. In many cases, using a cloud-based customer management system will provide much better security than implementing your security measures.

Of course, a cloud-based customer relationship management system will not be the best solution for every company, but it is more effective for many. If you are looking for a customer management system, you should look into cloud-based systems.