2021 is a year that will go down in history thanks to the pandemic and the lock down that sent businesses online at a pace that was faster than the speed of light! being connected with the customer can now only be done digitally now, considering the side effects of the pandemic. Yet, online visibility and engagement are not new to modern day business owners. Before we understand CRM integrations and CRM itself, we should understand the needs of business owners online.
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Business owners online need to be able to do the following in order to run a business successfully, especially in the year 2021:
Organize:
The first thing that any and every business owner – big or small – needs to do in the year 2020, is to organize information and even before that, collect it in an organized fashion. There has to be a very conscious setting up of a framework within which the information would be captured so that it can be called up at the right time for the right task.
Time Management:
This is possibly one of the most crucial things that many business owners are not able to do. This is mainly due to the fact that a business owner cannot constantly keep track of the multiple and magnified opportunities available on the online platforms.
Optimize:
In order to build relationships and to make conversions, it is imperative for businesses and their teams to optimize their ongoings. These ongoings may pertain to email marketing, social media engagements and much more. The key towards optimization is to be mindful of what the customer needs and to be able to engage with the prospects on that basis.
Manage Teams:
One of the biggest tasks in front of the business owner in 2020 is to be able to manage teams in a better manner so that they get to indulge in their core tasks rather than getting stuck in the mundane. The business owner needs to make resources and tools available for automation so that the team may concentrate on engagement for conversions rather than sifting through the bulk of big data that drives operations and marketing efforts online.
These are just a few needs that arise for the business that is trying to make its mark online. There are a number of other needs that also need to be taken care of. This is where CRM comes into play. Before we understand CRM integrations, let us understand CRM. Customer relationship management or CRM can be described as a software, a platform, a process or even a system that can propel your business towards a more automated back end which would take care of all the needs that we have listed above. This would help in making the business more self sufficient in terms of time management, organization and recall of data in a relevant manner, creating targeted campaigns to engage and optimize all sales and marketing functions, and finally – making conversions with good team management.
Yet, the answer does not lie merely in adopting a CRM framework, but in making sure that the business can integrate your CRM will all the other tools and resources to power it and to make life easier on a number of platforms. Many CRM users and businesses would be facing the difficult situation of jumping between multiple tools and platforms – and then syncing all the information painstakingly as well. This can now become old news with the CRM integrations that you must have. Here is a list of the 7 integrations your business CRM needs in this day and age:
1. Calendar Integrations:
This would be one of the most important integrations that can help you schedule meetings and stay on top of your schedule as well. Further, the team members can also receive notifications so that they can process and forward you the relevant information before each meeting.
2. Email Integrations:
This is also an important CRM integration that would help you launch a number of campaigns across various targets. Not only can you bring in all your lists and contacts, but you can also store them as per their needs and the interactions you have had with them. This will help you target the right parties for the right products and services.
3. Social Media Integrations:
When you integrate your CRM with your social media pages, you are also essentially making sure that you apply those targets to the social media feeds of your prospects so that you are able to generate leads with these targets. This works out when you want to share your information and posts with new customers and prospects as well.
4. Security Integrations:
One of the biggest things you need to look after when you integrate your CRM is to apply the best security tools to protect your information and the functions that you have so painstakingly arranged into the framework of your CRM.
5. Conference and Meeting Integrations:
In this day and age, especially with the pandemic and the lock down that it has induced, it has become even more important to have a meeting based integration that can help you retain the proper modes of communication with your team members and your audience at the same time. You can use tools like Zoom, Google Meets and others so that you stay connected at all times and this CRM integration will also give your team members access to functions and information that they would need constantly.
6. Document Integrations:
You should have a tool that helps you organize and store contracts, documents and other files that can be called up at the right time. This integration is helpful for real estate and other such industries where contractual work is the norm.
7. Web Form Integrations:
You should make way for web form integrations that can capture the information and store the same in the right places and fields for direct and easy call up for any function to be fulfilled.
