Top 3 Amazing Benefits of a CRM Database

A customer relationship management (CRM) database, also called a CRM system or CRM software, is a robust technology that allows you to organize all of your customers' data, engage with them, and track your interactions from a single hub. In this blog, learn three ways you can leverage and manage customer data in your CRM database.

1. Get Personal with a CRM Databse

Using data intelligently can be a challenge.

One of the simplest ways to leverage customer information is to tailor your messaging and offers according to a customer’s unique profile. The power of personalization cannot be understated.

In your CRM database, you can record all the essentials:

• Name
• Birthday
• Mailing address
• Preferred method of communication
• Occupation
• Products they’ve viewed
• Website visits and activity

Sometimes you can even record custom data like the fact that they’re a die-hard Giants fan or the name of their favorite golden retriever. It all depends on the CRM software you purchase.

You can segment your database into specific groups and tailor your messages accordingly. This lets you market on the individual level.

Here are some ideas:

• Send a “Happy Anniversary” email on someone’s special day.
• Forward relevant deals and special offers based off of their browsing history or wish list.

It takes your relationship beyond the transactional. Little, personalized gestures make your customers feel welcome and valued.

This is key: According to Marketing Insider Group, 78% of U.S. Internet users feel personally relevant content from brands increases their purchase intent.

2. Opportunities with Customer Data

You can align your marketing and sales teams by keeping all customer information in a central hub.

Or, if you’re a small company where every team member wears a lot of hats, a customer database can save you the headache of sorting through your emails, text messages, and Google Docs for the information you need.

A good CRM database is cloud-based; the most up to date information is accessible by anyone, from anywhere (i.e., It’s not stored on Suzie Sales’ desktop or in Mark Marketing’s endless abyss of spreadsheets).

The benefit of this central hub is that everything you could want to know about your customers’ needs is recorded in your CRM database!

As a result, you can easily:

• Automate a personalized email campaign
• Spot opportunities to upsell and resell
• Identify “at-risk" accounts
• Notice when there is a drop in engagement or customer activity
• Reach out to customers with tailored messaging 

Whether you’re trying to get your team on the same page, optimize your marketing and sales process, or retain customers, a CRM database holds all of the information you need—all in one place.

3. Optimize the Customer Experience 

In a study fielded by American Express, 68% of participants said that a pleasant representative was key to their recent positive service experiences.

Chances are, those working in customer service know your customers better than anyone else at the company. They’re on the frontlines. They interact with customers daily. Each customer service rep can be a goldmine of information, and a CRM database allows everyone else to access that knowledge.

From there, it’s easy to discover and solve problems the company wouldn’t otherwise be privy to.

For example, if you’re a company supplying kitchenware, complaints in your CRM database might reveal that a certain line of glass dishes often breaks during shipping. As a result, you can meet with the quality control team and try to determine a better way of packaging the product.

By noting trends in customer feedback and tickets, you can improve the customer experience.

Similarly, a CRM system can even help you develop new features.

For instance, during a call with a customer, they mention how great it would be if users could toast bread remotely. Kind of weird, but okay. You note it on their file. Turns out it’s not so weird. Looking for trends in your CRM database, you can see that a disproportionate number of customers have requested this feature.

Great! It’s a data-backed idea you can kick over to your product developers. And when they come out with the world’s first remotely operated toaster, you can take all the credit.

In all seriousness, being able to view patterns in customer behavior, complaints, or requests is an invaluable tool for any business.

In fact, this highly-targeted approach to marketing and sales is used by virtually all big brands. Adopting the approach (and adapting to the technology) can give small businesses the edge they need in order to compete.

Want to learn more about how CRM can increase profitability? Download our free eGuide 'CRM Software: What You Need To Know' now!