The term "CRM" is becoming increasingly common in corporate sales activities and customer management.

As digital transformation (DX) and other digitalization efforts progress, many companies are considering implementing CRM systems.

But,

• ▶What is CRM?

• ▶What can be done?

• ▶Why is it necessary?

Many people probably don't understand this.

In this article,The basics of CRM and the benefits of implementing itThis article will explain the topic in a way that is easy for beginners to understand.

What is CRM?

What is CRM?
It is an abbreviation for Customer Relationship Management.

Put simply,
A system for managing customer information and streamlining sales activities.You read it right!

Businesses interact with many customers on a daily basis.

For example,

• ▷Inquiry response

• ▷Sales visit

• ▷Create a quote

• ▷Business negotiation management

• ▷After-sales support

CRM is used to manage these customer relationships.

Key information managed in CRM

CRM allows you to manage various types of customer information.

For example,

Customer Information

• ▶Company Name

• ▶Name of person in charge

• ▶Phone number

• ▶Email Address

• ▶Address

Sales information

• ▷Contents of business negotiations

• ▷Sales history

• ▷Proposal details

• ▷Project progress

By centrally managing these elements within a system, sales activities can be made more efficient.

Why do you need a CRM?

Many companies manage their customer relationships in the following ways:

• ▶Excel management

• ▶Sales representative's memo

• ▶Email history

• ▶Personal Notes

However, this method has a major problem.

that is
Customer information becomes personalized and dependent on individuals..

For example,

• ▷Only sales representatives know customer information

• ▷ Information is lost when you leave your job.

• ▷Inability to share information within the company

In this situation, it is impossible for a company to manage its customers.

By implementing CRM,
Customer information will be able to be shared across the entire company.

Benefits of implementing CRM

Implementing CRM will significantly change your sales activities.

Customer information can be managed centrally.

By managing customer information in a system,
This will enable information sharing within the company.

Even if the sales representative changes, we can still handle the situation by referring to past records.

Sales activities can be made visible.

In CRM,

• ▶Negotiation status

• ▶Project progress

• ▶Sales History

You can manage things like that.

This allows you to visualize your sales activities.

Data can be utilized

As data is accumulated in the CRM,

• ▷Contract rate

• ▷Sales Process

• ▷Sales forecast

This makes it possible to analyze things like that.

Sales activities are not "experience"
You will be able to make improvements based on the data.

Typical CRM services

Many CRM services are currently available.

For example,

• ▶Microsoft Dynamics 365

• ▶Salesforce

• ▶HubSpot

• ▶kintone

And so on.

The most suitable CRM system varies depending on the size and purpose of the company.

Importantly,
Choose a CRM that suits your company's sales process..

Key points for CRM implementation

The most important thing when implementing CRM is

It's not about the system itself, but the operational design.

For example,

• ▷Sales Process

• ▷Input Rules

• ▷Data Management

By organizing and reviewing these factors before implementation, CRM can be highly effective.

Conversely, if you implement it without an operational design,
There are many cases where CRM systems are no longer used.

Are you struggling to effectively utilize your CRM?

If currently,

• ▶We manage customer data using Excel.

• ▶We implemented CRM but are not utilizing it effectively.

• ▶Sales information is highly dependent on individual employees.

If you are facing these kinds of challenges, we recommend that you take a look at how you are currently using your CRM system.

At ARCUS Japan,
Free CRM diagnostic tool to check your CRM usage statusIs available.

By answering a few simple questions, you can check your current CRM usage level.

Please check it out.

CRM diagnosis here

CRM Doctor Free Diagnosis - Arcuss Japan Inc. - A leading CRM company and IT consulting firm