Even if we are not IT experts, we use technology every day, even if we are not IT experts: the internet, email, smartphones, Excel spreadsheets, documents on virtual platforms, self-service checkouts, gas stations, etc. Most of us wouldn’t want to go back to the 20th century because technology is convenient and helps us save a lot of precious time. The same with CRM: it’s a tool to make your job easier, save time, and achieve your goals.
If IT is not your thing, the term "CRM" can sound awfully technical and complicated. However, we use technology every day, even if we are not IT specialists: the internet, email, smartphones, Excel spreadsheets, documents on virtual platforms, self-service checkouts, gas stations, etc. Probably most of us wouldn’t want to go back to the 20th century because it is convenient and saves us a lot of precious time. The same with CRM: it’s a tool to make your job easier, save time, and achieve your goals.
What is CRM?
The definitions are many and varied, ranging from "CRM" being a customer-centric business philosophy to very specific tools that help achieve goals. In the latter case, a CRM is a system that helps you collect and store the data that is relevant to you and processes it in a way that helps you make business decisions that work for your business.
The power of information
He who controls information controls the world, a phrase as trite as it is true. Today, more than ever before, you can access a vast amount of data in a convenient and unobtrusive way, but it is not enough to just collect and aggregate it; you need to analyze the data and be able to use the insights it provides.
If you are the kind of person who thinks "a robot can never replace a person" you probably have no idea what kind of robot you would even need or how you could use it so it doesn’t replace you but rather makes your life much easier.
A CRM is, in a sense, a robot whose job is not to replace you, but to process incomprehensible amounts of information to help you do your real job better.
You can look at CRM like a dishwasher. Yes, you can wash dishes by hand. Lots of people do it, and some even enjoy it. But you can leave the work to a tool instead, and while it works for you, you can spend your time and energy on more useful activities. The most successful businesses, regardless of industry, do just that. They entrust the processing of relevant data to systems and do what technology cannot: turn leads into real sales.
Do you really need CRM?
Yes, it is necessary if you want a quality result. On the one hand, the more and more varied data that is collected, the more opportunities and pathways to success are opened up. When a large amount of data is collected, what may seem insignificant to you may turn out to be a very important factor in determining buyers’ choices.
On the other hand, there are many challenges if data collection and processing are attempted manually. The first is human error in data collection. Then differences in expertise, attitudes, and thinking in analyzing and interpreting the data. Finally, data collection and analysis can mean not more benefits, but more burdens and untapped potential, because sooner or later you start to be confronted with volumes of information that no human being, no team of any size, and no Excel spreadsheet of the cleverest design can process. The data becomes useless.
You probably wouldn’t expect a single waiter to be able to successfully serve 30 tables at once, to remember the favorite dish of every customer who has been to the restaurant at least twice, and to always offer new customers something at least close to their preferences, just by looking at the clothes they wear. Impossible, right?
CRM is a system that helps you collect and store the data that is relevant to you.
We don’t know about waiters, but we have great news for property sellers: you can now really serve more customers in less time, sell properties faster, and generally perform better.
Find specific examples in our next post. Read the full guide here