Every sales professional knows that every customer contact should be tracked in order to deliver the best possible customer service. Nothing is more embarrassing for the sales professional than the unhappy customer who received less than stellar service in an interaction for which the sales professional had no knowledge. At the same time, the sales professional doesn’t want to promise the customer a follow-up and then fail to do so. Disorganization, failure to follow through and a sales staff with no knowledge of customer activities – yours is a prime destination for contact management.
Contact Management – Beyond the Business Card
For years, the standard business card has served as the primary source of information exchange. Individuals in nearly every line of business would carry a card so if asked, could share their information with potential clients, partners or colleagues. Contact management solutions take the concept of the business card and expand it to deliver better value across the enterprise. Contact management captures all information regarding the customer and their interactions with the company. Robust contact management solutions will capture not just those who interact with the customer, but also what is said, actions taken, promises on service or product deliveries and more.
Contact Management Helps to Eliminate Disorganization
While there are a number of different contact management solutions on the market that will promise to solve all of your problems, you need to be clear on what you need before you start looking. One integration feature you do not want to do without is integration into your current environment. If your company relies on Outlook to handle contacts, e-mails, appointments and tasks, you need to be able to organize this information around your client accounts. A robust contact management solution will provide full integration, identifying that information that should be captured into a client’s account and take care of that action for you.
Contact Management Software – Why You Need a Peak at History
Would it hurt your credibility if you couldn’t follow through on a promise to a client? Your sales professionals don’t want to lose credibility with clients and they need a way to take a peak at the history associated with a client account. The ability to review the history of communication with a client is a vital component within a robust contact management software solution as it not only supports follow-through, it also helps to promote up- and cross-selling opportunities. You never know when a client might need something else that your company has to offer. Tracking all communications and presenting them in a historical reporting view for opportunity identification.
Contact Management Solutions – Easy Access
As much as your sales people would love to be available for every client all of the time, they need support personnel to help to deliver what the clients need. When everyone within your organization can gain access to the contact management platform, customers can be helped by anyone who answers the phone or responds to a service call. Every face of the company represents the company and can either support a positive perception for the client, or ruin the perception with bad service. With a robust contact management solution in place, you are much less likely to create the latter.