The most accurate CRM solution should be applied per variables such as your business’s size, the field of activity, sales strategies, and the industry your team is in. Analytical CRM, operational CRM and collaborative CRM are among the most preferred customer relations applications of recent years.
Companies want to make the best use of their data about their customers and potential customers. In today’s commercial environment, where digital systems are used at the highest level, data must be collected, analysed, and planned accurately. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions, which meet this need, improve customer service and increase profitability by helping businesses reach their goals. When choosing a CRM, paying attention to some details is helpful. The most accurate CRM solution should be applied per variables such as your business’s size, the field of activity, sales strategies, and the industry your team is in. Analytical CRM, operational CRM and collaborative CRM are among the most preferred customer relations applications of recent years.
You can take a closer look at the major CRM systems that will help you determine the customer relationship management of your business.
Analytical CRM
Analytical CRM, which produces predictable information about the interactions and possibilities between your customers and your business, helps to use the collected data efficiently. Analytical CRM software provides insight and intelligence so companies can operate effectively at all levels. Analytical CRM applications are widely preferred in sales and marketing; they use detailed data analysis to identify the potential user profile. Most platforms with data visualisation also have tools that integrate different portals.
Advantages of Analytical CRM
Quick Access to Information
A centralised data management system where you integrate, store and parse data from different sources is the foundation of analytical CRM. You can create a comprehensive retrospective archive when you keep the data on a central server or cloud storage system. You can analyse, examine, classify and report the information you collect with different measurement tools.
Improved Marketing and Sales Processes
Thanks to data tracking, you can benefit from artificial intelligence applications that act as a bridge between different departments and add an extra dimension to customer relations. For example, focusing the sales and marketing teams on the customers best suited to their expertise helps you save time and resources. In this way, you can work more target-oriented and quickly reach the customer portfolio that is most likely to be convinced.
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Feature
The ability to parse and analyse datasets in line with specific algorithms forms the basis of business intelligence tools. Analytical CRM solutions, which can incorporate the advantage of complete report viewing into complex analytical calculations and predictive planning, open up countless possibilities for data exploration.
Data Mining
Data mining, which forms the basis of blockchain networks, allows developing technologies to be used at every stage of business life. Data mining, which is used to make sense of company data and transform raw information into valuable insights, is also of interest to analytical CRM applications. It enables you to use data patterns such as interpretation, definition, categorisation and perception in a meaningful whole.
Optimised Marketing Campaigns
You can discover how you should create your campaigns according to your goals by using analytical CRM applications. You can evaluate your most successful marketing campaigns and those that do not receive enough attention. You can make better decisions about where to spend your marketing budget by using data tracking and analytics.
New Sales Opportunities
You can control how your customers connect with your company and what they pay attention to in their product or service preferences. You can instantly track cross-selling opportunities and list sub-products of the same product segment for similar categories. You can expand your customer portfolio through the e-mail marketing and subscription system and inform your customers about your campaign products.
Who Should Use Analytical CRMs?
Suppose you use CRM tools for the first time and do not have a database archived by historical time. In that case, you may not need CRM software with powerful analysis capabilities. On the other hand, analytical CRM would be an excellent choice to use system information and company data with insight and predictive analysis. When planning and strategising, learning why specific approaches don’t work and why other methods are successful is essential to better understanding your customers.
Operational CRM
As the name suggests, this type of CRM provides functional tools and solutions to streamline your operations. Every interaction your brand establishes with existing and potential customers is filtered through operational CRM tools. Operational CRM; It has ready-made tools to simplify routine office work, enable your teams to provide the best service to your customers, and create targeted sales, marketing and service strategies. An operational CRM simplifies the core business processes of businesses. In addition to these primary functions, CRM tools help companies reach potential customers, convert these potential customers into connections, and create the necessary service infrastructure to ensure customer satisfaction.
Advantages of Operational CRM
Sales Automation
An operational CRM is equipped with tools that handle many aspects of the sales process. Potential customers can be distributed by the sales representatives’ competencies, experience, and personality traits. Sales reps can analyse leads and locations through scoring. Visibility can be gained that the highest potential customers are worth tracking. Also, an operational CRM; makes it possible for sales representatives to focus on selling by taking on time-consuming tasks such as creating records for each new contract, filling in customer information and opening a current account.
Marketing Automation
Operational CRM software facilitates time-consuming tasks for field teams with the support of marketing automation. It automates responsibilities such as coordinating e-mail campaigns, preparing quotes, controlling order tracking, managing workflow processes and reaching customer portfolios. It also provides marketing-first automation on specific issues such as tracking online advertisements, obtaining information about potential customers, operating SEO tools, and entering content.
Service Automation
Service automation forms an essential part of the operational CRM process. Operational CRM software designed to help businesses provide an outstanding customer experience is one of the shortest ways to increase brand awareness and build customer loyalty. Service automation has ready-made templates that offer one-to-one correspondence between service representatives and customers for almost any time and situation.
Service automation tools compile customer e-mails, analyse incoming notifications, coordinate live chats, and provision chatbots, significantly reducing users’ workload. Thanks to ticketing systems, service automation also seeks alternative ways to delegate service tasks to agents. Additional features such as knowledge base and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages can also be created with the help of service automation.
All-in-One Business Tracking
Operational CRM solutions; It is an all-in-one business platform that provides control of operational tasks such as project management, time management, customer tracking, reporting and support/service. Incorporating full-fledged functional tools, CRMs allow sales managers and sales teams to seamlessly use sophisticated task management tools.
Who Should Use Operational CRMs?
An operational CRM comes with features available to businesses operating in almost any field. It allows you to easily manage the marketing, sales and service network, the three fundamental pillars of customer communication. Operational CRM solutions are especially ideal for companies with a heavy customer focus. It is also beneficial for organising workflows, analysing instant data, speeding up routine tasks and increasing operational efficiency.
Collaborative CRM
Collaborative CRM software brings together the marketing, sales and service data of businesses, getting the concurrency within the company to the best possible level. Collaborative customer relationship management directs the units to make everyday decisions in line with the customers’ needs, wishes, and interests, even if there are differences between the areas of the internal departments. While operational CRMs mainly focus on sales and marketing, the priority is customer service.
Advantages of Collaborative CRM
Interaction Management
All processes that enable companies to communicate with their customers via e-mail, social media, phone calls, teleconference and other communication channels are within the scope of interaction management. The appropriate and effective use of these tools is vital for service and sales-oriented approach. In addition, managing the internal interaction automatically strengthens the integration between different business units. It prevents possible loss of time and misunderstandings.
Channel Management
Channel management is the tool that takes engagement management to the next level. Identifying the most appropriate communication channels for customers’ habits, needs and preferences speeds up the workflow and facilitates receiving positive feedback. Thanks to channel management, it is easy to determine how to carry out customer communication based on customer information.
Partner Relationship Management
Collaborative CRM solutions mean that open-source data in the database can be made directly available to customer service, especially for medium and large businesses. Partner relationship management (PRM) can be easier and more flexible to manage an ecosystem created by managers, vendors, customers, and partners. Supporting a customer-oriented or sales-oriented approach with inter-departmental cooperation is also crucial to move forward with more confident steps toward the determined targets and strengthen the company culture.
Who Should Use Collaborative CRMs?
Businesses with a franchise and agency network or are dispersed across multiple physical locations can benefit from collaborative CRM solutions. Administrative difficulties that may arise due to the increase in the number of active field workers and teams within the enterprise can be easily solved with the business unit concurrency features of collaborative CRMs. The same is true for businesses that rely on effective communication between large-scale departments.
Businesses where internal transparency is kept at the highest level, large teams unite for a general-purpose and are not harmed by the use of open data can benefit from collaborative CRM software. However, in businesses where data analysis is of great importance, information security is prioritised, and there are restrictions on sharing essential data, it would be better to prefer analytical CRMs instead of collaborative CRMs.
Which CRM Solution to Prefer?
Each CRM system has its privileges, advantages and conveniences. The vast majority of next-generation and versatile CRM systems incorporate the essential elements of all three types. However, choosing the most suitable CRM software for the company’s needs reduces CRM service costs. In addition, it makes it easier to reach targeted solutions. In this respect, it is crucial to know the type of CRM that best suits your needs and make your decision accordingly.
Operational CRM to improve sales, marketing and customer service; Analytical CRM to enhance customer satisfaction and produce flexible solutions for your customers using detailed data; You can prioritise collaborative CRM solutions to improve intra-company collaboration and ensure synchronicity.
