How to Use a CRM for Marketing (Complete Guide for 2023)
Are you looking for ways to improve your marketing?
Do you want to find new customers and learn of better ways to keep them?
If so, consider using a CRM for marketing as part of your solution.
Coupled with marketing project management software, customer relationship management tools help you track your customer interactions, find new leads, and automate marketing tasks – all while ensuring that your projects stay on track.
With more functionality built into CRMs these days, they can be a valuable tool for marketing.
The right CRM software can perform various functions in your business.
For example, Nutshell CRM can manage your pipeline to give into your sales progress, help you record customer interactions, and perform any needed tasks.
In this article, I’ll give you a complete guide on how to use a CRM for marketing while making the most out of this valuable tool.
Let’s get right into it.
Why Is CRM Important For Marketers?
Knowing what a CRM system is and how it can benefit one’s marketing team is key.
A CRM system helps you automate and streamline your marketing processes, making them more efficient and effective.
A CRM system also gives you a centralized database to store your customer data.
This data can include contact information, social media profiles, purchase history, etc.
This information makes it easy to segment your customers and target them with personalized messages.
When choosing a CRM for marketing purposes, look for one that includes the essential features you need in your marketing (more on this later).
These features then make it easy for you to create targeted marketing campaigns and track their results.
With the right CRM system in place, you’ll be able to work smarter, not harder, and see better results from your marketing campaigns.
Specific Ways A CRM Can Help Marketers
A marketer needs more than just customer data to manage customer relationships effectively.
They need CRM tools to help them turn that data into actionable insights and automated processes to free up their time, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks.
The following are some of the best ways to use CRM software in marketing.
Identify New Content Opportunities
Both marketing and sales teams can make the most of the latest marketing tools to help identify new content opportunities.
Your CRM system can track your team’s online and offline interactions with customers.
These interactions can provide valuable insights into what content will resonate with your audience.
For example, let’s say you run a software company that sells accounting software to small businesses.
You could use your CRM system to track the questions customers ask during sales calls and use those as topics for new blog posts related to current accounting trends.
Plan Customer Journeys
A customer journey is a path a customer takes from becoming aware of your product or service to making a purchase.
Your CRM system can help you plan and optimize customer journeys by tracking customer interactions and providing insights into what’s working and what’s not.
Managing customer relationships is a complex process, but your CRM system can help you keep track of all the moving parts and ensure your marketing efforts align with your sales goals.
Data-Driven Marketing
The most successful marketing campaigns are based on data, not gut instinct.
A CRM system can help you collect and track customer data to make informed decisions about your marketing efforts.
Data-driven marketing is more effective and efficient than traditional marketing, and it’s the key to success in the modern age.
Manage Inbound Leads
CRM marketing involves a ton of work with leads and potential customers.
A marketing team’s job is to generate leads, and a sales team’s job is to convert those leads into customers.
But for the sales team to do their job, they need access to leads.
A CRM system can help you manage inbound leads, so you can nurture them and pass them on to the sales team when they’re ready to buy.
Lead management is a crucial part of the marketing-sales process, and a CRM system can help you do it more effectively.
Furthermore, contact management is a big part of using a CRM for marketing.
Your CRM system can help you keep track of your contacts and follow up with them to build relationships.
Inbuilt contact management software is one of the most valuable features of CRM systems for marketing teams.
Execute Specific Automation
Using marketing automation tools can help you free up time for more strategic tasks.
Your CRM system can help you automate repetitive tasks to focus on more important things that are more significant levers in your business.
For example, you can use your CRM system to send automatic follow-up emails to customers who haven’t responded to your initial contact.
You can also use it to send automatic birthday and holiday greetings or automatically update your customers’ records when they make a new purchase.
AI in marketing is now used to automate many tasks, but it’s important to remember that automation is only effective if used correctly.
That is why knowing which CRM system is right for your business depends on the functions on offer.
Having Correct Marketing Data In A CRM
In business, interacting with customers using incorrect data is a recipe for disaster.
It’s essential to make sure that your CRM system has the correct data for each customer so that you can communicate with them correctly at just the right time.
This marketing data includes names, contact information, purchase history, etc.
If you don’t have the correct data, you risk confusing and frustrating your customers, which will damage your relationship with them.
It’s also essential to keep your data up to date to ensure that you’re using the most recent information when making decisions about your marketing efforts.
Small Businesses And CRMs
While a small business might not need all the features of a CRM system, there are still some benefits to using one.
First, a CRM system can help you keep track of your customers and their interactions with your business.
This information can be valuable for marketing purposes, as well as for customer service and support.
Second, a CRM system can help you automate some of your marketing tasks to focus on more important things.
And third, a CRM system can help you keep your data organized and up to date, so you can make sure you’re using the most recent information when making decisions about your marketing efforts.
Having the proper conversation, at the right time, and with the right people is something that a CRM system can help you achieve.
Key Features In CRM Marketing Software
Let’s now look at the key features you should look for when choosing a CRM for marketing purposes.
Email Marketing
One can’t underplay the connection between a CRM platform and its email capabilities when providing a great customer experience.
CRM solutions that include email platforms make it easier for sales and marketing teams to work together and provide a seamless customer experience.
Email campaigns can be automatically generated and personalized based on customer interactions, data, and historical behaviors.
The best CRM platforms will also provide insights into how successful each email campaign is, so you can make the necessary changes on the fly and optimize for future campaigns.
Custom Workflows
Workflows in a CRM system help you automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on more important things in your business.
For example, you can use your CRM system to send automatic follow-up emails to customers who haven’t responded to your initial contact.
You can also use it to send specific information to customers based on their interactions with your business.
Workflows help you make the most of your CRM system by automating repetitive tasks and providing personalized information to your customers.
Customer Segmentation
One of the key benefits of CRM systems in marketing is their ability to help you segment your customers.
This is important because it allows you to target your marketing messages and strategies specific to the needs of each customer group.
For example, if you have a group of high-value customers and another group who are low-value based on their purchase history, you can segment them accordingly.
You can then create marketing messages and strategies designed to increase your high-value customers’ value and encourage your low-value customers to purchase more frequently.
You can group customers based on shared characteristics to target them more effectively with your marketing efforts.
CRM Data Filtering
The best CRM systems provide a variety of ways to filter your data.
This is extremely useful when targeting a specific group of people with your marketing campaigns.
One of the most common ways to filter data is by location.
This can be extremely useful to target people in a particular city or state.
Another way to filter your data is by customer type.
This can be helpful if you want to target a specific type of customer with your marketing.
Lastly, you can also filter your data by the date they were added to the CRM.
This can be helpful if you want to target customers who have been in the CRM for a certain amount of time.
Unified View For Various Departments
When marketing teams use CRMs, they boost their sales and productivity and improve customer support.
CRM systems provide a single view of the customer so that support teams can see all of the customer’s interactions with your business.
This helps them resolve issues more quickly and efficiently, so it’s critical that the CRM system you use has a unified view of the customer so that all departments can work from the same page.
Forecasting Tools
Using the correct data (that might include demographics, web activity, customer service interactions, and more), a CRM system can help you predict future customer behavior.
This is an important marketing tool because it helps you do more of what works (and less of what doesn’t) while allocating your resources more effectively.
The right metrics can help marketing teams better understand what’s working and what needs to be changed.
Having real-time data that everyone on the team can easily access is essential for making data-driven decisions.
Customer Retention Features
If a marketing team wants to increase the lifetime value of their customers, they need to focus on retention and acquisition.
Optimizing customer retention is different for every business, but a CRM system can help.
For example, a business might want to keep first-time buyers happy, so they come back, or increase customer loyalty by giving existing customers rewards.
A CRM system can automate customer retention tasks, including sending out birthday coupons or automated loyalty points.
It can also help identify at-risk customers so the team can reach out before they churn.
Phone Calls
Some CRM systems have built-in call center features, which can be a valuable marketing tool.
Recording and reviewing phone calls can help you improve your customer service and sales processes.
These are all crucial factors in a company’s marketing strategy, and using a CRM correctly can help you stay on top of them.
Templates
The best CRM systems come with various templates to help you save time and be more productive.
For example, you might find templates for email campaigns, social media posts, and even landing pages.
Using templates can help you create high-quality content more quickly, so you can focus on other aspects of your marketing efforts.
Additional Apps
Some CRM systems also come with a variety of apps to help you extend the functionality of your system.
For example, you might find apps for accounting, project management, or even ecommerce.
Integrating these apps into your CRM can help you automate more of your marketing processes and save even more time.
Sales And Marketing Using CRM
When using a CRM system, the collaboration between sales reps and marketing teams is essential for success.
Whether closing new leads into customers or upselling existing customers, sales and marketing need to work together to accomplish the company’s overall goals.
A CRM helps address the customer needs and increase customer satisfaction when handling customer requests or identifying potential areas of improvement to the product/service on offer.
It also allows the company leaders to see the big picture regarding the marketing strategy that is in motion.
Understanding how salespeople and marketers can work together to improve the sales process is the first step to a more effective customer relationship – and using a CRM correctly can bring everything together.
How Much Does A Marketing CRM Cost?
The pricing of marketing CRMs can vary depending on the features and functionality you need.
Some providers offer a free version of their CRM with limited features, while others charge a monthly fee.
The price also varies depending on the size of your business.
For example, a small business might pay $10 per month for a CRM, while an enterprise business might pay $1000+ per month.
To get an idea of how much you’ll need to budget for a marketing CRM, consider your needs and compare the cost of different providers.
CRM For Marketing – FAQ
What Are Some Of The Most Famous CRM Systems For Marketers?
Pipedrive, monday.com, Salesmate, Freshworks CRM and Salesforce are some of the most famous CRM systems for marketers.
Should Startups Use A CRM From Day One?
The age-old debate of whether startups should use a CRM is always prevalent.
Some say that a CRM is essential from day one, while others argue it’s unnecessary until the company grows to a specific size.
So, which camp is right?
Overall, a CRM can be a valuable tool for startups. It can help you save time, money, and effort and give you valuable insights into your customers.
If these benefits appeal to you, then a CRM may be worth considering for your startup.
What Is A SaaS CRM?
Software as a service CRM (SaaS CRM) is a cloud-based CRM solution that enables businesses to manage their customer relationships via the internet.
Using a SaaS CRM includes lower upfront costs, easier deployment and scalability, and increased flexibility.
Wrap Up.
Understanding how the marketing department can use a CRM is critical for any business.
One can use a CRM system to manage customer data, use marketing automation software to nurture leads, create targeted marketing campaigns, and even close more sales.
To get the most out of a CRM for marketing, it’s essential to choose the right system for your business and ensure that your team is adequately trained on how to use it.
With the right CRM in place, your marketing team will be able to work more efficiently and effectively, resulting in a higher ROI for your marketing campaigns.
Further reading on AdamEnfroy.com: Have you heard of an ERP?
Do you know the difference between a CRM and an ERP and the benefits these both provide in business?
Check out my ERP vs. CRM post to learn more.
Last Updated on December 8, 2022 by Adam Enfroy
