A Brief Guide To Marketing Automation

CRMs, ERPs and marketing automation software has gradually been growing in popularity over the years. Today, almost all small and medium sized companies use some sort of business software.

However, before we explain this growth in popularity, let’s explain what CRMs and ERPs are, and how companies use them to improve their revenues.

What is a CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. CRMs are web-based applications that allow businesses to store, access and use their customer data to improve their customer relationships, grow their revenue and organize their tasks.

As such, CRMs are an essential tool for small businesses, because they allow companies to personalize their approach to customers, without spending too much time on finding their customer information. With a CRM, everything is always just a few clicks away.

How do companies use CRMs?

Practically all companies use CRM concepts in their everyday work, even if they don’t use a specialized software solution.

Whether it’s through an online database or paper notes, everyone needs to organize their customer information. The only difference is how they do it and CRMs are designed to be the most effective solution, because they can parse through incredible amounts of data.

This ability to quickly process data and present customer insights and reports is the main reason why CRMs are becoming popular. Traditional data storage methods simply can’t compete with this CRM feature.

However, businesses don’t use CRMs to just get data.

They also use it to develop strategies and plans of action by analyzing the customer information. On top of that, CRMs are valuable tools because they allow businesses to secure the sensitive customer data and protect their company from potential hackers and malicious attacks.

Implemented correctly, a CRM system can make the company far more efficient as it allows businesses to use workflows to automate processes, makes the data more accessible and facilitates better collaboration between different company departments.

CRM Features

Now, you may be wondering how CRMs can achieve all this. The answer is simple: by using the built-in features and functions that come with these platforms.

Of course, the features that come with CRMs largely depend on the nature of the system, target audience and price. You can’t expect a free CRM to have the same features as a paid one.

Niche-specific CRMs also have limited features, because they specialize in a specific industry.

However, most general CRMs are packed with useful features that include:

• Calendar management

• Sales management

• Workflow automation

• Accessibility control

• Custom reports

• Detailed analytics

• Integration with popular software

• Custom filtering options

Many CRMs offer plenty of integrations, but this is an area you need to assess carefully.

Make sure that your preferred CRM solution integrates with platforms like WooCommerce, MailChimp, LiveChat and, of course, WordPress. If it doesn’t integrate well with these popular apps, you’ll likely have a lot of issues in the future.

We hope this brief article has helped you better understand the topic of internet marketing automation and customer relationship management software. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to share them in the comments below!

Will Hutchinson is an experienced marketer who's participated in a variety of online projects, ranging from health to travel and even the adult industry. His latest work can be seen on Porn Star Net Worth