Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions have been around for a long time now. From the beginning of digital Rolodexes and databases back in the 80s and 90s to today’s software as a service powerhouses, CRM technology has always showed signs of change the way sales and customer service work. However, while several CRM solutions include marketing tools and functionality, none of them give the majority of the tools that today’s marketer needs to support the sales and revenue goals of their business.
It is of no doubt that integrating CRM and marketing automation is a key step to the success for any business, irrespective of its size. Here are five benefits businesses can gain by integrating CRM with the right marketing automation solution.
Deliver more sales-ready leads
When you’ve got them working consistently, marketing automation and CRM can help you verify the leads that get provided to your sales team are warmed up and prepared to purchase. A good marketing automation solution uses your CRM database to get it going by carrying customized, balanced correspondences – messages that are enhanced and informed by the information gathered through prospect and visitor tracking, and smart segmentation.
Track the value of every campaign by gaining visibility into performance
By integrating, the marketing platform and CRM can help you track the aftereffects of your marketing campaigns from first touch to last sale. You can get insight into conversions by perceiving what number of prospects reacted to your call to activity. Furthermore, what’s really beneficial is that you can track how the revenue was really created by all these campaigns. With a specific objective to improve the results of your marketing and sales efforts, this sort of visibility is very beneficial.
Improve productivity by helping sales prioritize leads
A marketing automation framework that integrates specifically into a CRM gives a window into the online communications that prospects have had with an organization, for example, their web visit and download history, webinar attendance, opened and clicked, messages sent, etc. Marketing automation makes it easy to score leads based on particular activities, profiles, and special events, bringing about lead qualification based on recognized factors – real, certified, sales-ready leads.
Speed up the process by shortening the sales cycle
As per an IDC study, over 50% of leads in the average B2b contact database are out of date. Marketing automation can help move the live opportunities through the pipeline quicker. A good automation platform lets marketers nurture leads effectively in the pipeline by utilizing strategies like content marketing, triggered email campaigns, site visitor tracking, and coordinated social media outreach. They can also reenergize cold leads through retargeting email campaigns.
Increase revenue and average deal size through lead nurturing
A nurtured buyer is better-taught – and more motivated to purchase more. With the use of marketing automation, marketers can give content that directly addresses the issues they confront at each one point in the decision process. Whether it’s a series of white papers, ROI calculators, product comparison collapses, videos, and case studies, this content helps them get the insights they require as they advance through the buying cycle. It not just make them ready to buy… but ready to buy more!