According to a poll by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 80 percent of all respondents conduct online research before they buy electronics, computers, books, music and movies. Regardless of what your customers are buying, they are most likely researching your business online to compare prices, look through customer reviews and learn more about your product and service features. Their research can sometimes steer them away from your business, so it’s your job to keep them interested.

You can entice customers to stick around by making use of a customer relationship management (CRM) system. CRM allows you to integrate leads into your sales cycle, nurture those leads throughout the process and then convert them into lifelong customers for a more healthy bottom line.

And while there are endless ways to navigate the CRM journey, it can be a time burden for small businesses. Fortunately, you can automate CRM for your website with the right tools and resources to get more leads and convert them into sales. Here are four ways to get started:

Get CRM Training

The first step in automating CRM for your website is finding the right tools that go beyond just capturing data. There are solid options on the market to manage your contacts and sales, but there is more to think about than just the tool you’re using. Research from EMC found the data we create and copy annually will reach 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes by 2020. Your ability to interpret, analyze and use the data to help your sales cycle is what really matters for business success.

Educate yourself on how to use your CRM tools with online training. There are in-depth Infor CRM training videos available that your sales team can use to setup their sales pipeline for improved analysis forecasting. Set aside monthly or quarterly meetings to discuss training needs. Making ongoing CRM education a focus of your business can help foster a culture of data-driven sales.

Offer Omnichannel Support

Your customers are asking for omnichannel support, and will go to your competitors if you don’t offer what they’re looking for. The Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report published by Parature found that 97 percent of global customers say customer service plays an important party in their brand loyalty. Customers also report wanting not just multichannel customer support, but omnichannel customer service for a seamless experience.

Automate the customer service experience by giving customers self-service options and omnichannel support features that feed into your sales data cycle. Empower your customer service representatives to jump in to assist, resolve issues and answer questions through chat options, interactive FAQ support and email support.

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Pair with Marketing Automation

Unlock the power of your CRM automation by pairing it with marketing automation tools. Zapier can connect tools for lead capture and email marketing management like ActiveCampaign with your CRM tool of choice. When a potential customer signs-up for a lead capture form to receive a tip sheet or white paper in exchange for their email, a tool like Zapier can automatically import it into your CRM tool. The ability to work on marketing and customer relationship in tandem can streamline your data and save time jumping between tools.

Analyze Real-time Customer Analytics

Getting a look at what your potential and current customers are doing on your website can transform how you approach the sales process. Woopra connects webmaster tools like Google Analytics to integrate directly into your CRM to see what your customers and visitors are doing. Get a closer look at how your users found your website, what they’re doing and whether or not they use omnichannel support features like live chat. The real-time data you collect can better inform your team on what type of website content and support to include, and what to cut.

CRM has become an indispensable tool for sales teams, especially given its options for automation and the ability to work in tandem with other software. To attract the lifelong customers that are so essential to your business’s bottom line, make sure your team fully understands how CRM works and how to analyze the data it provides.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also want to check out these others:

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Social Media: 5 Ways To Sell Without Looking Like You’re Selling
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How to Target Large Clients with Little to No Money
Is There Still Gold in Cold Calling?

This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising,  graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering,  Now what do we do?”  We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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