About the Episode
The episode of “Corralling the Chaos” focuses on the topic of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Angela and guest Kristen Traynor discuss the importance of CRMs for businesses, how they can be leveraged, and best practices for data management within a CRM.
Meet Your Speakers
– Angela Alea: President & CRO of LASSO, Host of Corralling the Chaos
– Kristen Traynor, Revenue Operations Manager at LASSO
Overview
– Introduction to the topic of CRM systems
– The importance of CRM systems for businesses
– How to leverage a CRM system effectively
– Best practices for data management within a CRM
Listen
Watch
Takeaways
Takeaway 1: CRMs are essential for operational risk mitigation and effective pipeline management
In the webinar, CRM was highlighted as a crucial tool for businesses, especially for managing operational risk. Angela explained the importance of having a system in place that can continue seamless operations in the absence of anyone in the team.
Kristen emphasized this, stating, “When your event, your rolodex of crew is in your head, and you’re operating out of a spreadsheet or whiteboards, and something happens to you, you get sick or leave the company. All of that data, all of that institutional knowledge goes with you.”
Additionally, Kristen outlined the value of CRM in effective pipeline management. She explained that a CRM could help track sales opportunities, identify successes and areas of improvement, and provide a broad overview of the business, allowing for better prioritization.
Takeaway 2: CRMs play a vital role in marketing and customer retention.
The speakers underlined the significant role of CRM in marketing and customer retention. They agreed that CRM is the backbone of a marketing team, enabling better-targeted messages for customers and prospects.
Kristen stated, “It enables them to segment their customer prospects and customer database so that they can create better targeted messages, you know, and they can hit the right people at the right time with the right message.”
Moreover, they discussed CRM’s contribution to customer retention, noting its ability to identify opportunities for expansion, upsells, and seamless handoff between marketing and customer success.
Takeaway 3: Selecting and implementing a CRM requires careful consideration.
The speakers emphasized the need for careful consideration when selecting and implementing a CRM. They discussed the importance of identifying what the business wants to achieve with the CRM, considering costs, and determining the must-haves versus the nice-to-haves.
Kristen advised, “You need to have your goals in mind. Some of those common goals could be, I just want to operate more efficiently. I want to manage my sales pipeline so I know what’s coming in and where the status is at any given point in time, or I want to provide an exceptional customer experience.”
They also stressed the need for a CRM champion within the business to help maintain clean data and ensure the tool’s effective use.
Insights surfaced
– CRM systems are crucial for businesses to manage operational risk and ensure business continuity.
– CRM systems can assist with effective pipeline management, providing visibility into business operations and helping to identify areas of success and improvement.
– CRM systems originated from the backbone of a marketing team and can help to segment customer prospects for targeted messaging.
– It’s important to have a champion or point person to manage the CRM system.
– Clean data is crucial for effective decision-making and everyone in the organization plays a role in maintaining data cleanliness.
– It’s beneficial to choose an all-in-one platform for CRM to serve as a central source of truth for the business.
