If you’re still using spreadsheets to record customer data and keep track of business processes, there is a better way to work, and it’s called CRM and practice management software.
In this post, we answer your most common questions:
#1 What is a CRM?
CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management.” It is software built to provide one centralised place to store customer contact information, mostly contact numbers, emails, and any company interaction with the customer.
CRMs are not just for customer data storage. They also help with sales, marketing, and service management.
Essentially, a CRM optimises business processes and improves the quality of interactions between a business and its customer base.
The tool allows people to enter information for follow-ups, send tracked emails, and then, based on the input information, provide data via reports to enable the business to make better decisions. It’s an essential way to improve the quality of service and therefore increase sales.
#2 What is practice management software?
Practice management software’s ultimate purpose is seamless operation between all departments and automation of repetitive tasks.
It centralises customer data, allowing every relevant employee to access it anytime, from any device or location. The best practice management software will easily automate the tasks that normally take up a lot of time to set up each month.
They provide the means to switch on a task once and automatically get reminders of the task every time it is due. It frees up staff time to do the actual work. Practice management software provides a single interface for all staff members to work as a team.
Practice management software helps the company to improve overall service and performance.
#3 What makes companies interested in CRM and practice management software?
On average, every year 12% more companies adopt CRM software and practice management software.
This is because more and more companies recognise that customers are their primary strategic asset and wish to better understand their behaviour and needs in order to improve customer relationships. These companies also realise the value of staff time and how overall productivity can increase by automating repetitive tasks and allowing staff to focus on the actual work.
In the next section, you can read about the benefits this tool offers.
#4 What are the benefits of this software?
Practice management software and CRM software impact ROI because of their business benefits. They:
Enhance the overall customer experience, which leads to higher customer retention.
Improve sales, marketing, and service departments' productivity and efficiency due to streamlined processes.
Decrease sales cycles.
Keep customer data safe for compliance purposes.
Decrease marketing costs.
Reduce lost sales opportunities.
Increase customer service response times.
Enhance communication between departments as well as customers.
Optimises staff performance
Provide insights into business processes.
#5 What industries most need CRM and practice management software?
Any company that keeps customer information and uses data daily to run business processes will benefit from this software, but these industries find it critical:
Banking and finance, including accountants, auditors, and bookkeepers
Retail
Consulting and services
Healthcare
Real estate
Call centre
Hospitality and hotels
Agriculture
Travel
Education
Pharmaceutical
Media
FMCG
Airlines
#6 How does it work?
CRM and practice management software:
Provides a way to store customer data, emails, and notes.
Allow you to add tasks around customers and provides important alerts.
Help identify sales opportunities.
Integrate with other software to streamline workflows.
Offer insightful reports.
Some software is industry specific which adds greater value, such as the DataGrows accounting CRM and practice management system, which is built for accountants and auditors to keep track of all their client deadlines and tasks.
#7 What is the first step to get going with the DataGrows Accounting CRM and practice management tool?
Start a free 2-week trial to see if it will work for you - click here to begin: https://mydatagrows.com/templates/crm/accounting.