Published on Friday, 28 October, 2011 | by Sophie Azeezah

Sitting back and waiting for the economic forecast to show an upturn in the economy is not a good idea. You have every right to worry that you may become a victim of these adverse conditions. However, there is a way forward – if you`re committed. The best way to deal with an economic downturn is to work not just harder but smarter by planning and innovating your way to continued prosperity. CRM can be used to enhance your business opportunities both tactically and strategically to cement your customer relationships.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. During a recession, you need to take action whether your business forecast is strong or not. Work your Opportunities register to keep track of your potential clients. Classify your leads within the system to help you analyze your opportunities and develop a sales strategy for each product and service opportunity.

Always give something. Long-lasting relationships with customers are important and cost-effective. Not all your opportunities are going to be profitable in the short term, so look to their long term worth to identify your best opportunities. Spend more time with customers to stay close to them. Have a proactive strategy by making appointments and listening to what your customer is saying. Showing you care about their satisfaction is also essential. You can do it through feedback and regular contact. Use the CRM software to assign long-term value categories and analyze your leads that way and look to offering them something extra. It may cost you a little more to secure them but you will get the benefit over the long-term.

Word of mouth is very powerful. Building a great customer relationship is a good sales strategy as your existing clients will discuss your service or product with others. Use this to attract other new customers. Pay close attention to your opportunities register and identify which of your leads are like your happiest customers and introduce them to each other.

Customer satisfaction is worth a lot. Customer loyalty is priceless. We all know, it`s harder to attract new customers than keep the existing ones so it’s very important to create loyalty between you, your company and your customers. To keep your customers loyal, concentrate on providing them with a good product or service that is good value for money. During tough times the way of your customer service is indispensable part of your business. Use the CRM tool to record where you are meeting customers` needs as fully as possible. Several features - Leads, Campaigns, Activities in CRM tool will help you record after-sales contacts such as customer support calls, issue resolution and enquiries. These will indicate opportunities to offer other services.

Demand better results. Your CRM allows your sales and customer support teams to work together. Get both better and smarter by using all the available information and by managing it through the CRM system.

If you need advice on how you can use KPI.com CRM to make the most of the current economic condition, please contact us.

Created by: Sophie Azeezah
Assisted by: Geoff Round

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