All businesses rely on various software tools and other systems to be able to maintain and enhance relationships with their customers as well as managing the business itself, so it stands to reason that integrating these two supports for a company would increase their effectiveness and utility to the business even more.
For this very reason, many businesses are trending towards using Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone systems, since they can easily be integrated with the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system. There are a number of benefits which accrue to any company which undertakes this integration, as can be seen from the discussion below.
It demonstrates professionalism
After a company has installed a state-of-the-art telephone system, incoming calls from potential customers and all other business associates are handled with professional ease, such that callers become impressed with the demonstrated efficiency, and it reflects on the company itself. Incoming calls can also be routed in a manner which supports your company’s CRM objectives, to further solidify the perception of efficiency and business savvy. When a high-quality VoIP system like this is synced up with your CRM productivity software, it ensures that all calls which originated from customers, as well as potential customers, are followed up on by internal personnel.
Data-gathering
With the integration of these two systems, a great deal of valuable information becomes available. For instance, you will know which of your salespeople are making the most outbound telephone calls, and by associating those calls with performance metrics, you would be able to tell how many of those calls are really effective. You’ll also be able to gather statistics on how long the average customer is kept on hold, and how long the average sales call takes to complete. By combining your modern telephone system with an effective CRM software tool, all this information will be at your fingertips and can be used to maximum advantage.
Strategizing
Beyond the statistics provided by the integration of your two business systems (VoIP and CRM), you’ll also be able to use the information gathered to analyze business trends, and to strategize about opportunities for growth, in areas related to marketing strategies for example. From the CRM side, you would have increased the ability to manage prospects, customers, and the salesperson assigned to them.
From the VoIP phone system, you would have advanced features, such as generating emails based on recorded voicemails, you would be able to record calls to ensure high-quality customer service, you can evaluate user productivity, and you would have the ability to stage useful conference calls from your conferencing system that help share information and increase productivity.
All these business advantages can have a far greater impact when your VoIP and CRM systems are integrated than they would have as standalone systems. That makes integration of your telephony service and your CRM system a soup-and-sandwich match that your business should definitely take advantage of.
