By and large, most business pros understand the importance of having a CRM to help them manage stakeholder relationships from beginning to end – at least at a philosophical level. But what folks often fail to understand is the critical role a CRM can and should play to facilitating a company’s overall resourcing strategy.

Often CRM implementation is couched in talk of “digital transformation,” which is a truism – CRMs are the bedrock of digital transformation. But this isn’t just a buzzword. It’s day-to-day efficiency, real world decision-making, and a foundation to realize greater income for both individual employees and the business at large.

So, when we claim that CRM data is the hinge upon which your enterprise resource planning (ERP) strategy moves, what do we mean?

  1. For sales – This is probably the most obvious example. But having actionable, accurate data in your CRM means your sales team can sell more, more often by leveraging a data-driven approach to lead engagement. This is everything from which day to place a phone call to which key messages to touch on in email and phone conversations to planning cross and up-sell opportunities in advance.
  2. For marketing – For marketers, this data acts as a catalyst for broad communications planning – when to blast emails, how to gauge lead and customer engagement, campaign planning, messaging and positioning evaluation, and much, much more. In today’s digital-first environment, the CRM is the brains of the operation as it integrates with a full stack of martech capabilities. So when the data is dirty or not there at all, you can be sure your marketing efforts are going to waste.
  3. For finance – For your finance team, CRM data is the foundation of forecasting and budgeting.  Better insight into customer needs and requires results in increased fiscal accuracy. Additionally, CRM data acts as a validation for possible employee bonus payouts and can ensure your sales team is paid what they’re owed – on time and accurately.
  4. For supply chain and inventory management – For your supply chain and inventory management counterparts, especially in a season where so many supply chains are facing acute disruption, CRM data allows them to better plan purchasing and resource allocation both in the near and long term. They’ll be able to evaluate anticipated new sales and renewals and make informed inventory adjustments accordingly.
  5. For human resources – For HR, CRM data offers a view into employee performance. By evaluating CRM Activity, they can better understand employee interactions with customers and remain coordinated with finance on employee compensation. Additionally, businesses often look to their customer and partner as a source for future employees. Accessing that CRM data allows them to understand who may thrive at the company, who may be a particular fit for an open requisition, and understand the context in which that contact has previously engaged with your org.
  6. For CX – For your CX team, CRM data is the story of a customer’s entire journey with your business. Knowing how a customer has interacted with your org can help them inform overall strategic planning and enable them to make pivotal changes to the customer journey which will improve your customer’s overall experience, meaning more loyalists and more recurring revenue.

At AutoPylot, we’re the mechanism driving more and better data input into your CRM. Learn how we make that happen for your entire sales team.