Dealing With Clients: Find Your System

There’s something to be said of business owners that throw caution to the wind and have no actual system that can be observed objectively.

I’ve seen it and you’ve seen it.  While it is far more common in gas stations, corner stores, and businesses that are cash-based, nothing is stranger than seeing it in places that do volume orders.

In the digital age, there is a tool to simplify, track, and coordinate every transaction and restocking process that would be necessary on auto.  There are ways to analyze who buys what and why, and in the face of all this opportunity for analysis, there is none.

Why?

Because most business owners either go for the cheap route or are scared to innovate.  It goes back to that old adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

While that may be the case for some businesses in the past, the reality is that it is a horrible thing to live by in the current business climate.

If you deal with an increasing range of clients, you need to have a robust system to keep them organized and up to date and ensure they return.

That happens by having a customer relationship management system that works well for your business. Beyond that, ensure your team is trained in the art of caring about the details. Not only in the sense of understanding and addressing technical issues or any other support-related issue but also in the sense of understanding the business your clients are in.

Every business has a different approach to how they interact with clients.  Yours may be more hands-off than others, but it comes down to managing expectations and delivering on what is promised.  

Recommended: How to Drive Meaningful Outcomes with Customer Engagement

Regardless, as your business grows, you will have to adapt to the challenges of scaling.  Using Google Drive and its assorted free tools will only work for so long. Emails get lost or hacked. Redundancy when it comes to technical solutions can also be a backup plan.  A backup plan is only as reasonable as the primary plan is.  

What Does A Good CRM Do?

From the initial stages of interest, your system should be able to capture data about your clients and potential customers.  This data does two things. First, it lets you build a buyer persona so that you can find more like them from more sources to help diversify and increase revenue. 

Second, it helps you to understand better that customer/client and what they need and track their relationship with your business.

The latter is especially useful in that it can help you recognize weaknesses in your sales or marketing process. It also helps you understand why certain clients have problems versus what they contribute financially so you can identify warning signs of which clients will be the most problematic. 

As many problems as businesses can cause clients, it’s a two-way street.

Regardless of which CRM solution you choose, one that is fresh off the shelf or you dig into what a custom CRM cost would look like for your team, having one that is more than the starter will pay dividends in the long term.

Author: Adam Edmond