CRM Touches: What They Are and Why They Matter
Customer relationship management (CRM) has become more critical in today’s competitive business landscape. At its core, CRM is about building and maintaining relationships with customers and ensuring they have a positive experience with your brand. One key aspect of CRM is the use of “touches” – regular customer interactions that help build and maintain those relationships.
So, what are CRM touches, exactly? Essentially, a touch is any interaction between your business and a customer, whether by email, phone call, in-person meeting, or social media message. These touches aim to keep your brand top-of-mind for your customers and to create opportunities for engagement and conversation.
Why are CRM touches important? There are a few key reasons:
1. Builds Relationships: By regularly interacting with your customers, you can build and strengthen relationships with them. This can lead to increased loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth recommendations to others.
2. Improves Customer Satisfaction: By staying in touch with your customers, you can better understand their needs and preferences and tailor your offerings and services to meet those needs. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Increases Sales: By staying top-of-mind with your customers, you create opportunities for sales and upsells. Regular touches can remind customers of your products and services and encourage them to purchase or upgrade.
So, how can you use CRM touches effectively? Here are some tips:
1. Have a Plan: To ensure that your touches are effective and consistent, it’s important to have a plan in place. This could include a schedule of when and how often you will reach out to customers, as well as the types of touches you will use (such as email, phone, or in-person meetings).
2. Personalize Your Touches: Customers are more likely to engage with touches that feel personalized and relevant to their needs. Use customer data and insights to tailor your touches to each customer, such as sending a targeted email based on their purchase history or preferences.
3. Be Consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to CRM touches. Set a regular cadence for your touches, such as a monthly newsletter or quarterly check-in call, and stick to it. This can help to build trust and reliability with your customers.
4. Provide Value: To keep customers engaged and interested in your brand, providing value with each touch is important. This could be in the form of helpful tips, exclusive offers, or personalized recommendations based on their needs.
5. Measure and Optimize: Like any marketing effort, it’s important to measure the effectiveness of your CRM touches and make adjustments as needed. Use metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to optimize your touches and improve their effectiveness over time.
In summary, CRM touches are an essential tool for building and maintaining customer relationships. You can increase customer loyalty, satisfaction, and sales by staying in regular contact with your customers, personalizing your touches, and providing value. With a plan in place and a commitment to consistency and measurement, you can use CRM touches to take your customer relationships to the next level.
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