Before the digital era took hold of the business world, tracking customer data was simple. Count how many customers roam the aisles, thumb through the cash register till at closing time, and subtract overhead costs like rent on the 1st.
But the latest research suggests that 95% of sales will go virtual by 2040.
Brick-and-mortar boutiques — and independent contractors alike — are looking to modernize their business data to keep up with these trends.
Investing in a CRM platform with analytics features can provide powerful customer insight. If you examine the reports closely, you can coax those warm leads through the sales funnel and schedule meetings at near-record speeds.
Sound too good to be true?
Believe us; it’s not! To learn more about CRM analytics, read on.
Read Also – 25+ Best Email Finding Tools to Check Out in 2021
What is a CRM?
Customer relationship management (CRM) software mixes customer service, marketing effort, and sales analysis. It’s crucial for business owners looking to uncover long-hidden customer insight.
Let’s simplify that a bit.
This start-to-finish digital tool centers around two main principles: Time-saving and cost-cutting.
With a CRM in your digital toolkit, you can better track (or calculate):
-
Who’s a prospect, hot lead, and paying client:
- Never let a hot lead slip through the cracks again as you guide them to the funnel’s spout.
-
When the company last contacted a client:
- With every passing day with no contact, you nudge that prospect toward a competitor’s storefront.
-
Upcoming sales forecasts:
- Scale your business, set more realistic goals, and revamp stalling or underperforming campaigns.
-
Where customers are hopping aboard:
- Learn which landing pages drive traffic and remain in regular contact with an automated marketing campaign.
But aside from the financial perks, CRMs also return your business’s focus to where it should always be:
On your loyal customers!
This customer-driven shift can help you build a blossoming reputation that outshines your competition by 80%.
CRMs vs. CRM Analytics
The CRM is the software itself, like Salesforce, Zoho, or Pipedrive, to name a few.
CRM analytics, on the other hand, unleash a more exact and actionable data interpretation collected within the tool, like:
- Lead quality (lead scoring)
- Number of emails and phone calls exchanged
- Customer satisfaction
- Lead response time
- Average sales cycle length
- Sales & marketing trends
- Income vs. spending vs. profit margins
You can now make more customer-conscious decisions about ad spending, customer service techniques, and team size.
For example, if sales are plummeting along with returned inbound calls, it’s time to expand your sales team. If that 300% ROI increase kicked off after launching that new SEO-heavy landing page, you just discovered how to reach your buyer persona.
Don’t worry … CRMs pay themselves off too!
The average CRM will recover $8.71 for every dollar spent. So, after your first monthly sale or booked session, you’ll likely jump back into the “green.”
What to Track With CRM Analytics
CRMs boast dozens of features, many of which will sit untouched in their dropdown menus or toolbar tabs.
We’ll break down this “must-track” data into three categories:
- Pre-sale (when future customers are still “leads”)
- Post-sale (after customers swipe their plastic)
- General (anything related to your business’s day-to-day dealings)
Here’s how to shrink down those pages worth of data into what you can actually use to scale your business. Not to mention: bolster customer satisfaction and ignite sales.
Pre-Sale
The pre-sale period is your one opportunity to build enough trust and authority with a prospective customer that they decide to jump on the bandwagon.
That means tracking:
New Prospects & Leads
Time is of the essence when a new prospect pops into your database and expresses interest in your company. With this report data, you can “pounce” while they’re still in the mood and watch as they progress into leads and later clients.
Customer Data & Contact
Capturing an email, phone number, or even a physical address is the first step in converting sales. But with a CRM on deck, you can also see how often a client answers calls, opens marketing emails, or visits your website before buying.
What’s Grabbing Fanfare
CRMs are miracle workers because they don’t only show you who appreciates your brand; they alert you to the “why” too. If you track which landing pages, ads, or event attracted a prospect first, you can evaluate what works and what doesn’t.
Post-Sale
After you close the sale, keeping the customer wriggling on the hook will make them loyal, repeat clients who recommend your brand to their friends (hello, referrals!).
That means tracking:
Complaints & Problems
Unhappy customers are bound to arise from time to time, even if you have 99% favorable reviews. By watching complaint trends, you can offer timely replacements and differentiate between problem products and problem customers.
The quicker you play “superhero,” the more you earn respect.
Who’s Buying or Booking the Most
After the sales and booked sessions start leveling off, you have a better idea of who your buyer persona is. If you notice most customers are women aged 50+ or from the West Coast, you can adapt your marketing to hit their pain points.
Purchase & Spending Patterns
CRMs give you a unique glimpse into individual customers and how they interact with your business. If they buy a particular product monthly or go on a shopping spree before Christmas, you can better time and angle your outreach efforts.
General
Besides what happens before and after sales — keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on behind the scenes.
That means tracking:
Workflow Status
The journey down the sales funnel isn’t always a smooth flow. A CRM allows you to track lead progression through the sales funnel to catch pile-ups that need unclogging. This data can lead you to product demos or discounts that convert.
Sales Cycle Length
How long does it take one of your prospects to add an item to their digital cart?
Learn why it takes prospects so long to trust your brand. Then fire off an enticing email around the usual trigger point, and better stagger your marketing efforts.
Goal Meeting
There’s no way to accurately monitor whether you manage a successful business unless you’re making steady progress. By setting mildly challenging goals in your CRM, you can figure out where teamwork is stalling and how to escape a rut.
Read Also – The Best Email Marketing Tools to Help You Boost Your Website Conversions
Making the Most of Your CRM Subscription
Dumping even $15/month on a CRM service is just a drop in the bucket compared to your business’s usual revenue. But if you want that CRM to pay itself off on day one and maintain a steep upward trendline, you need a more strategic approach.
Here are four CRM analytics tips to turn business around for good:
Know When, How, and How Much to Automate
The handiest software offers a website-chatbot infusion, weekly or monthly newsletter campaigns, and even a pre-recorded voicemail drop feature.
But don’t downsize your sales team to go 100% digital. There’s something to be said for human-to-human interactions that don’t involve arguing with a stubborn robot.
If you’re wondering how to find the delicate balance:
- Send out weekly marketing emails (newsletters, sales offers, press releases).
- Call hot leads or past customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
- Only call, text, or email when you have something valuable to say/share.
When they enrolled on your email list, you (hopefully) asked them to tick off their preferred contact method. Don’t sway from their firm boundaries to force a sale.
Post Auto-Scheduling Meeting Links
By automating and streamlining most business aspects with a CRM, your sales team can shift their priorities elsewhere.
Most CRM software will integrate (or sync) seamlessly with your Google or Outlook Calendars. Take advantage of its automated booking feature — allowing clients to schedule meetings with your team without back-and-forth email threads.
Share the booking link on Facebook, via email, or your website. Then, wait for those phone calls and in-person meetings to trickle into your schedule automatically.
Stop chasing clients and meetings, and let them come to you!
Revamp Team Roles
A CRM is only as useful as you make it. By scouring the colorful graphs, charts, and statistics, you can examine each corner of your business from a brand new lens.
That way, you can revamp your team roles to put each employee in a position to become top-producers.
For example, you’ll gain insight into:
- Which salespeople convert the most prospects into customers
- Who offers the best customer support?
- How quickly each employee pushes clients through the funnel
- Who on your team builds the highest traffic landing pages or PPC ads
The better your team manages workflows with one arm-in-arm effort, the more business booms, and group morale thrives.
Conclusion
An overwhelming 91% of companies with 11+ employees turn to CRMs to catapult monthly ROI and automate sales funnels.
But subscribing to a CRM service is only half the battle.
You will need to examine the analytical reports and use the data to sway marketing decisions.
For example, boosting ad spending on a high-conversion product demo.
The solution:
Set aside a few hours a week to put on your “marketing guru” hat. Ask yourself what’s still working, what needs fine-tuning, and what’s a dud. Then, freshen up your marketing efforts and site content to put that CRM’s analytics to profitable use!
Author bio
Caitlin Sinclair is the Business Manager at Bay One Apartments. With over five years of property management experience, she begins and ends each day loving what she does. She finds joy in helping current and future residents and makes Bay One a place everyone loves to call home.
I am a passionate blogger and developer sharing business tips. I Help others solve programming problems on various online forums.
You must follow these marketing tactics to promote your business online.