If customer information is not managed, marketing and analysis cannot be properly conducted, and it is difficult for customers to continue to choose your products and services. For this reason, an increasing number of companies are using customer relationship management tools (CRM) to manage their customers and revitalize their sales activities.
On the other hand, there may be many people who feel the challenges of paper or Excel-based customer management and want to migrate to a customer management tool, but are unsure of the types of tools and their functions.
In this issue, we will focus on an overview of customer management, points to note about Excel, and tool selection points for below people.
- “We feel that customer management on paper or Excel is difficult and inefficient.
- “The difference between CRM and SFA/MA tools is unclear, and you are not even sure which one is appropriate.”
- “We are looking for a tool that is simpler and easier to manage customer information than Excel.”
If you are one of these people, this article will give you tips on how to manage your customers, the best tools to use, and help you solve the burden of inefficient customer management.
Contents
- 1 What is customer management?
- 2 Necessary items in customer management
- 3 Notes about using Excel for customer management
- 4 3 merits of using customer management tools
- 5 Selection points for customer relationship management tools
- 6 Best tool that make customer management easier than Excel
- 7 Summary of customer relationship management
What is customer management?
Below you will learn about the importance and types of customer management.
Customer management refers to the management of data such as customer attributes including name and age, as well as product and service transaction information. It is generally managed on paper, in customer management tools, or in Excel for sales and marketing purposes.
Managing customer information also makes it possible to analyze trends and evaluations about the company’s products and services throughout the entire customer base, making it easier to discover new marketing strategies.
Importance of customer management
The background for the importance of customer management is the “diversification of customer needs”.
In the days without the Internet, “mass marketing,” which mainly focused on mass production and mass consumption, was the mainstream, and there were not many options for products and services.
However, with the development of the Internet, the information on products and services available has increased and customer needs have diversified, so company-oriented marketing is no longer sufficient.
Therefore, it is necessary to clarify “what customers want” through customer-specific level marketing based on customer information, and to develop strategies to ensure that customers continue to choose the products and services of company.
Types of customer management tools
There are 2 types of customer management tools: on-premise and cloud-based.
- On-premise type
- Cloud Type
On-premise type refers to tools that are built and developed from the ground up with dedicated servers and software to suit the business model of company. Since it is built to suit your company, it has no unnecessary functions and can be easily integrated with existing tools.
Also, compared to cloud computing, payment is made only at the time of contract, so there are no ongoing costs or expiration dates. However, it should be noted that the initial cost is high.
The cloud type refers to tools whose servers are provided online and do not require the construction of their own servers. Maintenance is handled by the company that provides the tool, so maintenance costs can be reduced.
In addition, since there is no need to prepare an infrastructure environment or in-house servers, the initial cost is lower than for on-premise type tools. On the other hand, there is a monthly fee in addition to the initial cost, depending on the number and size of employees.
Today, cloud-based tools are the major choice for companies due to their low cost of long-term operation.
Differences between CRM and SFA/MA
CRM, SFA, and MA are often confused as customer management tools. They have differences as belows.
What is CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, a management tool to strengthen customer relationships in order to increase sales and profitability.
- Customer Management
- Promotion Management
- Customer Analysis and Marketing
This function manages “personal information” such as customer names and phone numbers, “sales records” such as transaction and purchase histories, and various other information related to customers.
Promotions can be managed based on customer information, such as distribution of PR releases, DMs, and email newsletters. Some tools also have a function to send coupons or special coupons based on purchase frequency and amount, and analyze whether they are being used.
Based on the customer information held, analysis can be performed to discover customer needs and create ideas for new products.
Therefore, if customer information is managed by a tool, it is easy to devise sales strategies starting from the customer, which can easily lead to the acquisition of new customers and the growth of existing customers.
What is SFA?
SFA stands for Sales Force Automation. It is a sales support tool that assists sales representatives, rather than customers, by enabling them to convert customer information into data and share the status of sales progress, which tends to remain with the individual sales representative.
It visualizes the progress from the sales representative’s first meeting with the customer until the customer receives the order, and can also analyze and accumulate sales activity records.
It is also intended to “support sales activities” such as customer and project management and support for preparing quotations and purchase orders, solving the need for sales representatives to perform tasks other than responding to customers.
What is MA?
MA stands for Marketing Automation, a tool that automates and supports a company’s marketing process.
It can “understand the needs of each customer” by analyzing the frequency of searches for products and services, information on related pages viewed, and other information. It is equipped with functions to visualize the interests and concerns of prospective customers, enabling a tailored approach to each customer, leading to more efficient business negotiations and sales activities.
In addition, SFA and MA cannot “manage customers” like CRM. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of sales activities, such as acquiring new customers, making contracts, and managing existing customers, the functions of the 3 tools must be accurately understood and used.
Necessary items in customer management
The following is an explanation of the items required for customer management. The following items are a prerequisite for the development of your services and the activation of your sales activities.
Customer attributes
First of all, customer attributes are the basis of customer management.
Customer attributes specifically refer to “corporate information” such as company name, location, sales size, number of employees, fiscal year end, and organization chart, as well as “customer information” such as name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address.
Once such detailed information on customer attributes is obtained, marketing activities can be tailored to the customer, making it easier to provide services and proposals that are more in line with the customer’s needs.
In addition to the information of the contact person, if we can also obtain information such as the name of the contact person’s supervisor and the decision-making process, you can deepen understanding of the customer’s needs and preferences.
Sales history
Sales history is another necessary part of customer management.
If the customer is a company, there is a possibility that multiple meetings will take place. Therefore, if you keep a sales history, you can tailor your sales to the schedule of customer, making it easier to make a good impression and build a long-term relationship with the customer.
For example, your sales history includes the time you responded to e-mails, past business meetings, and seminar participation. The key point is that if you keep the dates and times you were able to contact these customers, it will be easier to determine from quantitative data when it is easiest to make an appointment, or when it is best to avoid direct approaches because they are busy in the morning, etc.
In this way, accumulating sales history can improve the smoothness of business negotiations and prevent unnecessary time spent on progress checks.
Purchase history
The recording of purchase history is also an essential part of customer management.
A purchase history of customer includes the name of the product or service purchased, the number of times it was purchased, and the price. When a customer’s purchase history is quantified, it is possible to determine the points at which the interest of customer and willingness to purchase increases, allowing you to narrow down the target audience for your sales activities.
The quantitative data obtained from the purchase history can also be used for the budget of company and sales forecast for the next fiscal year, which is very important for the development of sales strategies.
Notes about using Excel for customer management
One way to manage customers is with Excel. However, since Excel is a tabular tool and does not have customer management functions, there is a high possibility that customer management with Excel will be difficult.
Therefore, below are 2 points to keep in mind when using Excel for customer management.
Difficulty in organizing information
Excel does not allow for speedy organization of customer information.
As customer information increases, the amount of files to be managed increases along with the number of data, resulting in cases where “files are scattered around”, and it is hard to tell which file contains the latest information.
In addition, since Excel basically does not allow for collaborative editing, without Microsoft365, we would have to use an inefficient updating method, handling one file at a time while communicating with each other.
Therefore, if you want to organize customer information in Excel, you must use an Excel sheet dedicated to organizing or another information storage tool.
Screen traversal is required for comparisons
Excel requires traversing screens to compare and review related information.
If customer information is managed by file as in Excel, the information cannot be confirmed only by URL when comparing. This means that the user has to open each file and switch screens when checking information.
For example, if there are only 2~3 customers, comparison is possible, but if there are more than 10 customers, it is difficult to compare them on a single screen. Then, when employees feel that it is easier to print and check the information, they start managing the information on paper, resulting in unnecessary costs.
Thus, even if the information is organized within Excel, opening and printing files every time information is checked or compared is generating time that is not originally needed. Therefore, the trend today is for non-IT companies to use simple IT tools like Stock to manage customer information in a more organized manner than Excel.
3 merits of using customer management tools
Customer relationship management tools are a non-Excel way to manage customers. When the use of customer relationship management tools becomes common throughout a company, the following 3 merits can be gained.
Prevention of impersonalization
Customer information is consolidated in the tool, thus preventing the creation of a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
If sales history and records of interactions are entered into the tool along with customer information, detailed information can be quickly obtained by any employee in the event that the person in charge is absent or suddenly leaves or moves to another location.
For example, if an employee is away on vacation in a work environment in which customer information is personnalized, it is inefficient because business may be delayed until the employee who is on vacation can be contacted. However, if customer information is centrally managed in the tool, other members of the team can respond to customers, and this can also reduce training costs for new and mid-career employees.
Improved customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction can be improved through analysis and marketing.
Analysis and marketing can be done based on customer information accumulated in the tool. Some tools can automatically visualize the position and interests of customers, allowing you to propose the best products and services based on the output data.
There are examples of toC businesses that have improved customer satisfaction by distributing coupons and special offers based on purchase history and frequency, and even toB businesses have measures to appropriately change their responses based on the number of contacts with existing customers. All of these approaches can build friendly relationships with customers and lead to an increase in repeat business.
Such approaches cannot be taken promptly and appropriately without customer management by IT-tool. This is one of the reasons why customer management tools are essential for improving customer satisfaction.
Information can be easily shared since it can be used from a variety of devices.
Most customer management tools are multi-device compatible, so you can enter and check customer information regardless of time or location, even if you have to go to the company’s reference room or the person in charge is not in the office.
For example, customer information and sales activity records can be shared across departmental boundaries, making it useful for creating new product ideas in the product planning department as well as the sales department.
In addition, when customer information is updated, it is shared in real time, reducing the amount of time it takes for other employees to check the information after it has been updated.
Selection points for customer relationship management tools
Here are some points to consider when selecting a customer management tool. If the following selection points are not met, you will have to consider reintroduction of the tool.
Can all employees use the tool easily?
Make sure that all employees can easily use the tool.
If the IT skills vary within the company, a tool with many functions and complex operations may result in a situation where employees unfamiliar with the tool are unable to check customer information.
On the other hand, if the tool can be used immediately by employees, there is no educational or time-consuming cost for training on how to use the tool. Therefore, it is important to determine whether the tool can be used by all employees, not just those with decision-making authority.
Is the security strong?
Security is also an important factor.
Customer management tools handle sensitive information, so security must be strong.
For example, features such as administrator rights and login settings, certification systems such as ISO (International Organization for Standardization), and a good support system in case of problems can be expected to speedily resolve any problems that may arise. In addition, the following 3 conditions must be guaranteed as a guideline for security.
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
Information can only be accessed with authorization.
Information cannot be tampered with or erased.
Information can be accessed when needed.
If the above 3 elements are in place, the security risk of the selected plan is maintained.
Cost and functionality are not excessive or insufficient?
Be sure that the cost and functionality are not excessive.
Customer management tools vary in price depending on the functionality of the tool and the number of users, in addition to cloud-based and on-premise models. Therefore, carefully determine whether your company’s costs and required functions match, and whether there is not excess or insufficient functionality.
For example, if you choose a multifunctional tool because it has features that you may use in the future, you may find that the cost is higher than expected and you end up discontinuing the use of the tool.
To avoid such cases, it is important to clarify “how many people” and “what functions” will use the tool before introducing it.
Best tool that make customer management easier than Excel
Below is tool that make customer management easier than Excel.
Excel is a commonly used tool that does not require new training costs and can be quickly mastered by employees. However, it is not a tool for managing customers, so while it can input and store customer information, it is difficult to manage because it does not allow for searching and organizing information.
On the other hand, customer management tools have more functions than Excel, and the complexity of operation makes it difficult for employees unfamiliar with IT to use them. Therefore, in order to make customer management easy, the tool should be “as easy to operate as Excel and reliably manage customer information”.
Instead of introducing a well-known customer management tool unnecessarily, to improve customer management efficiency with Stock, which allows you to manage customer information centrally with simple operability and quick access to the information you want.
Stock allows you to simply manage customer information entered in “Note” with intuitive “Folder” and access information with a few simple operations. In addition, “Task” and “Message” can be associated with Notes, making it easy to share detailed information and manage tasks for each customer.
Stock｜A tool that makes customer management easier than Excel
The simplest tool to stock information "Stock"
https://www.stock-app.info/en/
Stock is the simplest tool to stock information. Stock solves the problem, "there is no easy way to stock information within the company".
With Stock, anyone can easily store all kinds of information, including text information such as requirements, images, and files, using the Note feature.
In addition, by using the "Task" and "Message" functions, you can communicate with each topic described in the Note, so that information is not dispersed here and there and work can always be carried out in an organized manner.
＜Why do we recommend Stock?＞
- A tool for companies that are not familiar with ITYou don't need to have any IT expertise to get started.
- Simple and usable by anyoneStock is so simple that anyone can use it without any unnecessary features.
- Amazingly easy information storing and task managementIt is amazingly easy to store information such as shared information within a company, and intuitive task management is also possible.
＜Stock's pricing＞
- Free plan ：Free
- Business plan ：$5 / User / Month
- Enterprise plan ：$10 / User / Month
Summary of customer relationship management
We have focused on an overview of customer management, notes on Excel, and points to consider when selecting a tool.
Customer relationship management in a company is important because analysis and marketing of customer information leads to the creation of plans and discovery of strategies that match the needs. In general, Excel, which is easy to operate, is the mainstream for customer management, but it is not suitable for managing customer information because “it is difficult to organize information.”
Therefore, any company, regardless of industry or type of business, should use a customer management tool to streamline the sharing and management of customer information. However, it is important to note that the main premise of a tool, besides cost and security, is “whether or not employees can reliably use the tool”.
A tool that can be easily operated like Excel to organize and manage information is suitable for customer management. For example, Stock, is so easy to use that you can share and manage customer information without any explanation.
Free registration takes only 1 minute, so using Stock to reliably manage customer information and improve the efficiency of your sales activities.
