Customer service and customer relationship management (CRM) tools are now more important than ever, and CRM platforms provide you with insights on your current and prospective customers — data you can use to identify problems, improve processes, increase sales revenue and build customer loyalty.
Take a look at how four companies maximize the use of CRM to gain a more thorough understanding of their customers’ needs so they can improve the overall experience.
Sephora’s Reward Marketing
Sephora does more than sell makeup — it also runs an online forum where customers can discuss various products with fellow beauty enthusiasts. Members must sign up and complete their profiles, and the company uses the information collected through this process to segment members and target them with personalized offers.
The cosmetics giant also runs a three-tiered loyalty program — which has more than 10 million members — to reward its most loyal customers. Here, the benefits and personalized rewards increase as a member moves up the scale (by spending more). Sephora’s loyalty program is a great example of how a brand can capitalize on customer engagement.
Automated Relationship Management by Airbnb
Automation has played a key role in the growth of Airbnb. The company relies on its CRM software for almost everything. When a potential customer visits Airbnb’s website and uses the search option, the information automatically gets stored in its CRM system. When that customer books a room, that data is made available to the relevant people/departments.
The company also uses its CRM platform to send out, keep track of and measure the performance of its email campaigns, so it can make changes to its processes for the better. All this is done by the CRM software, which is completely automated.
Automation saves Airbnb time and allows it to focus on other initiatives such as building its community and brand awareness.
Coca-Cola’s Focus on Customer Retention
Despite its massive customer base in multiple countries, Coca-Cola is able to always able to continue providing impeccable customer service. The beverage giant uses its CRM program to promote collaboration and deal with customer issues quickly and efficiently. Members of the Coca-Cola team can identify issues and monitor customer behavior to promote offers using its CRM software. In fact, team members can use mobile apps on the go to access customer history anytime and anywhere, create and update work orders and send out field technicians in real time.
Utilizing the features of its CRM globally, Coca-Cola can monitor customer behavior, social media activity and general online brand perception, and use the insights to promote various offers and promotions.
Activision Integrates Social Media
Activision — the brand behind some of the most popular video games — is a pioneer in the gaming industry that uses CRM to connect with gamers via social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The company uses cloud-based systems and big data analysis to monitor social media and internet searches relevant to its products. This lets the firm make accurate predictions about the reactions of its audiences.
By using a cloud-based CRM solution to communicate better with its customers, the company has reduced customer service-related expenses by 25 percent, resolved 85 percent of customer-related issues through online self-service, improved communications with its gaming community and increased overall user satisfaction rates.
