A Custom Relationship Management, or CRM for short, the system is a set of tools that helps your cleaning business communicate effectively with customers who are looking to have their workplaces cleaned.
Better communication results in sales increases and improved service revenue for your business. It’s a great technology for brands to take advantage of, as it can be used in many areas, like marketing and customer support, to name a few.
In this article, we’ll look into a CRM system, explain how it can help improve your cleaning business, and break down how your marketing teams can use it effectively.
Why a CRM is awesome
The core purpose of a CRM system is to facilitate customer and sales relationships. This makes it perfect for cleaning business owners who want their customers satisfied and communication channels constantly open.
CRM software stores, organizes, and shares customer information to ease connections. Among the collected information you should be able to find customer emails, phone numbers, purchase or call dates, social media data, and a lot more. Plus, a CRM for commercial cleaning company allows you to establish a sales process and place each customer at different steps.
CRM platforms track user activity across online channels and aim to guide them into your sales funnel. They basically paint a picture your customer will better understand and lead them to fulfill their needs. Because this is an automated process, it saves loads of time and resources and focuses on identifying potential customers, instead of using a pray and spray approach and hoping customers will eventually respond.
If that doesn’t sound like a lot, here are a few more advantages your cleaning company can have with a CRM:
- Improved information organization
- Automated data entry
- Customer segmentation
- Process scaling
- Prospect follow-up reminders
- Improved reporting
The modern business landscape is ever-changing and has led to a shift in customer loyalty. With a CRM for cleaning companies, you can adjust your brand to keep customers happy and attentive, as trust is a fundamental part of current digital environments. This is why an efficient CRM for commercial cleaning companies like Motion App uses trustful communication between all parties in each process. It gives your workforce time to focus on more day-to-day tasks, and you can still get the best results!
What are the types of CRM available?
Any people confuse CRM systems with Customer Data Platforms (or CDPs) — not in name but in use.
Both systems store customer data, but they each meet different challenges. CDPs just gather customer data from different sources and then create shareable profiles. CRM software enhances communication and brand relationships with customers, using their data to create a more meaningful and engaging experience with each customer.
CRM systems go a step further… waaaaay further. They offer solutions to help support sales and, unlike CDPs, their systems use technology to ensure each step of the customer journey has as few bumps as possible.
When we say “A” CRM, it doesn’t mean there’s only one available. Many formats or types exist. Some can be cloud-based, work on premises, be industry specific, etc. Most of them can be grouped into one of the three following groups, as each group reflects a specific business function and customer need.
Operational CRMs
Operational CRM systems help sales, marketing, and service teams to better streamline their interactions with customers. There are many forms of automation available that will enable customers to have better experiences.
Analytical CRMs
Analytical CRM systems store vast amounts of data, though not many are effective at categorizing and drawing valid conclusions from it. This information gathering can help marketers determine customer preferences and improve points of contact. Data warehousing, data mining, and online analytical processing aid in drawing these conclusions.
Collaborative systems
Collaborative systems combine customer data across sales, marketing, and customer service departments. These use interaction and features like channel management to give the relevant teams a 360° view of customers.
Who wants a CRM system?
Probably everybody. CRM software can be an insanely powerful tool to all departments in your organization. In fact, 65% of all salespeople used CRM tools in 2020, an ever-growing trend that is expected to reach $157.6 billion by 2030.
If you’re a list-freak, businesses with the following qualities will likely get more out of a CRM software:
- Businesses with sales teams.
- Businesses with dedicated marketing teams.
- Businesses with accounting teams.
- Business with human resource departments.
While the previous list basically describes every type of business in the world, here is a brief overview of the results you can expect in a cleaning business by using CRM software:
- Encourage customer feedback
- Help set goals
- Provide product and service updates
- Create steps and processes to ensure customer information is safely stored
- Synchronize and share vital information with other platforms
- Get better customer insights to help you provide a better experience
- Prioritize customer service
- Keep up with the demand for great service
- Assist with logistics and transportation of equipment
- Establish consistent processes
- Assist other departments in keeping up with the increasing quantities of work
- Create a comprehensive database of customers and their information
- Improve interactions with customers and within the organization
At their core, CRM systems bring people, technology, and processes together.
How do I know which CRM system I need?
The right CRM software is going to help your company manage leads by storing the data in one accessible location. There is no wrong time to do this as long as you can afford it. However, many companies wait too long and keep waiting for the right time to do it, preferring to use traditional data storage and relying on salespeople to handle each account.
At some point, these manual systems typically end up failing. That puts an unneeded strain on relationships and companies.
The advantages of aligning teams, implementing and optimizing tasks, and personalizing the CRM service are, however, priceless. This works especially well for brands dealing with an ever-increasing amount of data coming in from multiple sources that need to consolidate information. Sales analysis and consistency in the processes are essential to making better decisions and will lead to better outcomes and improved conditions.
The needs of a growing customer base are often too much for just a few people to handle, which is another reason why CRM software is welcomed. The ability to organize, manage and connect with these new customers can be easily handled by the system.
In the end, your cleaning company and customer needs are determining factors that will indicate how soon you need a CRM system. Waiting for a bump in the road to connect sales and marketing to customers is probably the worst-case scenario, though.
But how does a CRM help sales and marketing?
We live in an era where organizations have been breaking down into smaller and more specialized pieces. Employees tend to work individually, with little communication between them. This isolation doesn’t need to sound as bad as the term, as long they stay connected within their own team.
The communication tools that businesses have access to today have streamlined team interactions and opened up channels of information sharing within companies. Thanks to Zoom, Slack, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, it is easier than ever for people on different teams to communicate seamlessly across departments, offices, or countries.
While everyone can see each other, there is still a need to unify departments and find common solutions. That’s where CRM comes in.
A CRM can provide the teams with records, notes, conversation minutes, and minor interactions between departments, as well as between customers. Additionally, these tools provide added transparency, which further improves trust among each team member involved.
Because these tools can be in the cloud, they also allow departments to work at the same time on the same files. This prevents discrepancies in the data and ensures everyone has the most updated information.
With a CRM, the historical hair-pulling and finger flipping between sales and marketing departments can be a thing of the past. Teams can now align their processes, collaborate, and drive more sales and conversions.
Personalization and personalized experiences
In a world where customers are craving personalization and customization from brands, it’s not easy to see how cleaning companies can deliver on the promise of providing personable service without a CRM.
Research shows there is still hope for goodness in this generation with one out of five marketing organizations providing standardized experiences at scale — and 63% struggle even when given technological advancements!
Many companies are turning to technology- and AI-powered solutions for their campaigns and marketing departments. These platforms can aggregate massive amounts of customer information, including prior conversations, preferences, or any other data they’ve consented to share with brands who use CRMs. A cleaning company like yours can leverage these insights and create personalized experiences that meet each individual need as opposed to delivering a one-size-fits-all message
CRM platforms can also help you predict the next best action for clients. With a more complete understanding of customers, you can easily guide them to personalized resources on your cleaning services. This proves your value as a cleaning company and builds customer trust and loyalty.
These capabilities work effectively with email, social media, and website communication. They even support over 70% of account-based marketing programs, as per the 2020 ABM Benchmark Survey Report.
A spray and pray approach to customer relationships is destined to fail because cleaning companies need to communicate effectively with their customers. Addressing their concerns in a timely manner is the proof they need that your company values their business.
How a CRM for commercial cleaning company will help your cleaning business
While it is not going to be an all-in-one solution, a CRM system’s capabilities can offer much-needed support for your sales, marketing, and customer relationship teams. Its ability to automate tasks frees up team members’ time so they can focus on their primary work.
In our experience, the cleaning companies that have adopted CRM platforms have most commonly pointed out the following as benefits:
- Ability to centralize customer data
- Improved task tracking
- Increasing their customer retention rates
- Automating most repetitive tasks
- Increased sales opportunities
- More free time to do less boring work
It’s not an automatic success, especially if you haven’t had a CRM before. However, many organizations and companies are demanding more flexible and personalized solutions, and that is one of the main advantages of a decent CRM platform.
Building a strong relationship between your cleaning company and its existing and potential customers is needed now more than ever, and our CRM system is ready to tackle the challenge. Today, many brands struggle to connect with audiences as they once did, which is most likely why the CRM market grew 10.9% in 2020 and is expected to grow to $128.97 billion by 2028.
The solutions offered by a CRM can help your cleaning company effectively connect with customers, regardless of where they enter the sales cycle.
At Cleaning in Motion, we have been working in marketing for the cleaning industry for over five years with excellent results. We also have a great CRM platform used by many of our clients. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why they contact us in the first place.
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