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Author: GoCRM Team

Why Mortgage Officers Need A Lead Management System

Why Mortgage Officers Need A Lead Management System

If you are a mortgage officer, you might already know that it is tough getting leads. Rightly so, because as a loan officer, you didn’t spend time learning marketing.

After all, why would you? You are a mortgage officer and not a marketer.

We get you. However, as it turns out, with the ever-rising competition, prospecting has become a necessary task. Why, you ask? It is because the better you are at prospecting, the more loans you will close. And, as you close more loans, you will make more money.

So, how do you do that? With the help of mortgage leads, we would say.

For starters, mortgage leads are people who are interested in learning about the mortgage and might also be planning to take one. As it goes, mortgage leads are important to have a healthy pipeline and meet the targets set by your mortgage company.

How Do Loan Officers Get Leads?

More often than not, most loan officers follow conventional methods to generate leads. Here are a few commonly used methods:

Through The Word Of Mouth

Let’s face it: most loan officers rely on their referral network to get leads. While having a business relationship with other industry professionals like accountants, CPA firms, appraisers, and real estate attorneys generates a good number of leads every month, the influx is not stable. Some months you might be too busy, and it could be completely silent the next month.

Cold-Calling

Various mortgage officers cold call their prospects and try to lure them with attractive deals and offers. That is to say; these calls do not always go as expected. According to an estimate, representatives make an average of 18 calls to reach one potential buyer. This could also be why 63% of sales representatives consider cold calling as the worst part of their job.

In addition to these age-old methods, various mortgage officers are also adopting the modern approach to generating leads. Think of the right utilization of social media, launching their websites, making use of search engine optimization, and other related techniques.

Why Is Lead Management Important for Mortgage Officers?

As you can see, lead generation and management are some of the challenging tasks for a mortgage officer. While the conventional methods are outdated, the newer methods need a healthier approach to managing leads. That’s when lead management becomes important.

Lead management helps you identify your grey areas. You get a clear picture of what is working and what is not, thus channelizing your marketing efforts and strategies accordingly.

To sum up, lead management is a process of capturing leads, tracking their behavior and activities, and engaging them until they are fit to be passed on to the mortgage sales process.

What Is A Mortgage Lead Management System?

Mortgage CRM with built-in calling and SMSA lead management system helps you with lead management by acting as an organized platform in which incoming leads are qualified and nurtured to be converted into new business opportunities.

A lead management system makes your life easier by facilitating easy lead tracking and following-up. You can feed all the leads to the system generated from a range of sources – referrals, cold-calling, websites, and more.

Essentially, a lead management system helps you in:

  • Capturing the leads
  • Categorizing the leads
  • Scoring the leads
  • Nurturing the leads
  • Transferring the leads to the sales team

The capabilities of a mortgage lead management system, pretty much, end here.

What Is A Mortgage CRM System?

Mortgage CRM and Lead management relationship

Are you confused between a lead management system and a mortgage CRM? Well, the confusion is real, especially if you have not used a mortgage CRM before.

Simply put, a lead management system is a subset of mortgage CRM. A mortgage CRM offers all that a lead management system offers, but it also empowers you with additional advanced features.

Let’s have a look at some of the benefits that a mortgage CRM offers:

Increased ROI (returns on investment)

CRM equips you with in-depth insights that help you make the most out of your strategies

Lead qualification

Not all leads are equal. A mortgage CRM lets you analyze your leads regarding their health and qualification with features like lead scoring.

Cost reduction

With mortgage lead tracking, only chase the leads you think will prove to be profitable.

Faster responses

Conduct quick follow-ups and communicate with your leads in a timely fashion to close deals

Automation

Automate time-consuming tasks and boost your productivity on the go.

A mortgage CRM provides you with a holistic picture of everything recent in your dashboard, thus helping you make educated decisions.

Go With GoCRM

As it goes, mortgage CRM ticks the right boxes and makes the tedious process of lead generation for mortgage officers a lot easier. If you are out in the market looking for the best mortgage CRM, GoCRM deserves mention. Equipped with state-of-the-art communication tools, advanced automated features, and more, the platform helps you work smartly.

Some of the many features of GoCRM that will boost the productivity of your mortgage company include:

  • Call tracking – so you can follow up with your leads accordingly
  • Campaign and channel tracking – so you know what is working and what is not
  • Email automation – so your leads feel being valued
  • Marketing ROI reports – so you always have a clear picture
  • Task automation – so you don’t spend a lot of hours doing repetitive tasks
  • Test message automation – so you deliver the best customer service
  • Website form integration – so you catch the leads directly from your website

To sum up, mortgage officers need to catch up with the latest trends and technological advancements to stay ahead in the industry, or else they might lose it to the neck and neck competition.

We believe by leveraging GoCRM, our CRM Solution for mortgage lenders that comes with VOIP SMS capabilities, you will have access to the above-mentioned templates and as a result, reach prospective homebuyers with personalized messages.
Request a trial today to get started!

30 Auto Reply Message Examples Businesses Can Use In (Almost) Every Occasion

Auto reply message examples

Prompt replies can be the difference between winning and losing customers. Does the following scenario sound familiar?

You are spending the day ironing out final design details ⚙️ for a client’s new home and checking on another build that is in progress 🔨. You do not have the chance to check your email until almost 6 p.m. 🕕 When you do, you find that someone reached out with a question 🙋 about booking a design consultation ☎️. When you respond, you discover that they have booked 🤝 a consultation with your competitor because they did not hear back from you quickly enough.😓

You don’t have to lose business this way. You may not be able to respond right away, but GoCRM can, with text messages and emails customized to any situation and ready for any lead who reaches out to you via phone, email, or form submission.

Auto Reply Benefits

Auto reply benefits

Main benefits of auto reply messages.

Responding personally to every communication may seem like the best way to earn business, but the reality is that auto replies offer you and your leads many advantages. In addition to allowing you to reply promptly, auto replies allow you to do the following:

✔️ Provide Reassurance

People who reach out to your business expect to hear back from you quickly. Often, they expect to receive a message from you within the same business day.

If you take too long to respond, they are likely to assume that you are not interested in their needs. They may move on to your competitor. You will have lost their trust, and their business.

Auto reply messages prevent these misunderstandings by offering prompt replies that tell people when you will be able to respond to them.

When they receive prompt and useful auto replies, people feel noticed, cared for, and important. That helps them to maintain a positive view of your business.

✔️ Provide Further Direction

You can also use auto reply to offer additional resources and communicate critical information to people both inside and outside your organization.

Providing further direction in this way keeps people engaged with your business until you can reply to them personally.

Here are some examples of the useful information you can include in an auto reply text or email:

  • Telling customers when a technician is on their way
  • Requesting a review after a completed job
  • Providing contact information for someone who is available to talk to them immediately
  • Directing customers and leads to online information they may find useful
  • Promoting upcoming events
✔️ Take a Break

No matter how committed you are to your business and your clients, you cannot always be available to respond to messages. You need time off, and you need time to devote to other aspects of your job.

Auto replies make this time away possible. You can attend to matters outside the office, take a vacation, or even spend the evening at home while also providing colleagues, customers, and leads with the information they need until you return.

Auto Reply Principles

The key tenets of auto reply messages.

The best auto replies include certain elements that allow them to communicate clearly, professionally, and usefully. Here are the most important principles to follow when composing an auto reply.

Plan

Create your auto replies ahead of time so you have time to craft them the way you want them before you need to send them out.

Proofread

Make sure your auto reply is free from spelling and grammatical errors, adopts a friendly and professional tone, and is easy to understand.

Include Clear Dates

When communicating dates, use specific information that cannot be misunderstood. eg. ‘Oct-8′ instead of ’10-08’.

Give a Timeline

Use your auto reply to tell your lead, customer, or colleague when they can expect to hear from you.

Include Other Contacts

Include contact information for the people your colleague, lead, or customer can contact while you are unavailable.

Include Relevant Links

Add any links that will be useful to the people who reach out to you.

Include Emergency Contact Information

You may also want to include a way for people to reach you in case of emergency.

Auto Reply Scenarios + Examples

To get you started, here are 15 scenarios, with examples, where auto replies can help. You can use these examples as they are, customize them to your business and industry, or use them as inspiration for your own auto reply messages.

 

Generic Auto Reply

The generic auto reply is a message you send out to reassure a contact that you have received their message and will be in touch shortly. You can include your hours of operation, include a link for more information, or provide a timeframe for your reply.

Thank you for reaching out to {Business Name}. We have received your message and will be in touch {Time Frame}.
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Thank you for contacting us! We will be in touch shortly, but you may also find answers to some of your questions on our FAQ page at {link}.
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We look forward to serving you! We will get back to you as soon as we can within our business hours {Hours}, but no later than 24 hours from now.
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Thank you for contacting us here at {Business Name}. We will be in touch soon. We look forward to serving you.
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Hi there! We just wanted to let you know we received your message and will be in touch before our offices close at {Closing Time}.
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We were happy to receive your email. Assisting you is our priority, and that is why a member of our support team will be in touch before the end of business today.
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Thank you for inquiring about {Listing or Product}. We will be in touch in less than an hour to answer any questions you have. Please feel free to check out similar {Listings or Products} here {Link}.
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We are sorry to see that your experience with us has been less than satisfactory. We would like the opportunity to make things right. Our team will look into your complaint and get in touch with you in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, please enjoy this 10 percent off coupon.
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Learn how to setup an automatic introductory text message with GoCRM.

 

Thanks for Visiting

This auto reply example is an opportunity to thank a website visitor for stopping by your site. You can also use this message to entice them to come back and learn more or purchase from your business.

Thank you for reaching out to us through the website. We cannot wait to show you everything we have to offer. A member of our team will follow up soon, but please take the opportunity to learn more about us here: {Link}.
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Thank you for visiting our site. We are sad to see you go. On your next visit, please enjoy this 20% off coupon for anything in our inventory.
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Missed Call

If you cannot answer a call when it comes in, you can still reply automatically with GoCRM. Use a separate reply for people already in your list of contacts and for new callers.

Existing Contact Example
Hi [Customer’s Name]! It’s {Your Name}. I am sorry I missed your phone call. I will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also schedule an appointment online here {Link} if that is easier for you. I look forward to speaking with you!
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New Caller Example
Hello, it’s {Your Name} from {Your Business}. I am sorry I missed your call, but I will get back to you by the end of the business day. You can also schedule an appointment here {Link} or look around our website for more information here {Link}. Thank you!
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Welcome New Customers

When one of your leads converts into a paying customer, it is time to show them your appreciation and make their transition as easy as possible.

When you cannot communicate with new customers immediately, you can use auto replies instead. Here are some examples of automated welcome messages that will make new customers feel right at home.

Thank you for your recent purchase! Remember that we are here to answer any questions you have as you use your new product. Just contact us here {Contact Information}.
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Welcome to {company}! As one of us, you get to enjoy some pretty sweet benefits. Check them out here {Link}, and don’t forget to brag a little bit on social media. Use our hashtag {Hashtag}.
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Thank you for your interest in working with {Business}. {Contact Name} will be in touch by the end of business today to schedule a time to discuss the exciting opportunities a partnership could present!
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Learn how to setup a new lead autoresponder with GoCRM.

 

Service Maintenance

Use auto replies to stay in close communication with clients who require maintenance services from your business. Let them know you received their request for help, give them a timeframe for repairs, and alert them when a technician is on the way.

Thank you for your service request. We have opened a ticket on your behalf, and one of our techs will be in touch with you within the hour.
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We wanted to let you know that we are experiencing some service slowdowns thanks to scheduled maintenance. We anticipate being back to normal by tomorrow at noon.
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Good news! Our tech {Name} is on the way to you and will be there within the hour. Call {Contact} if you have any questions or concerns.
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Too Many Messages

If you have been away and come back to hundreds of messages, or if that social media initiative goes viral, you may end up with more messages than you can handle right away. Use auto reply to stay in touch with people while you catch up.

Thank you for contacting {Business}. Due to an unusual level of activity, responses are delayed. We anticipate responding to your message within three business days. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to {Contact} with any urgent needs or requests.
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Don’t Check Email Very Often

If you do not check your email every day, you should also use auto replies to tell people how to get in touch with you more quickly and set expectations for responses from you.

Thank you for your email. I will be able to respond to your message when I check my emails on Wednesday. Alternatively, you can reach me at {Alternative contact information}, and I will get back to you within 24 hours}.
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Out-of-Office Replies

When you are away from the office, you need to leave an auto reply that tells customers when you will return and gives them options for contacting other members of your team or getting in touch with you in case of emergency.

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from {Date} to {Date}, and will reply to your email after that. For urgent needs, please contact {Contact}. In case of emergency, you can reach me at {Emergency Contact}. Thank you for your understanding!
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Learn how to setup an out of office SMS auto reply with GoCRM.

 

Out of Office with Lead Generation

You can also use your out-of-office replies to generate leads while you are away. Here are some examples of how to encourage action on the part of those who try to contact you while you are busy.

I am sorry I missed your email. I am currently out of the office until {Date}. I will get back to you as soon as possible when I return, or you can reach out to {Contact}. In the meantime, have you heard about our new {Product}? Check it out here {Link}.
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Out of Office with Content Promotion

If your business is producing incredible content (And it should be!), then start directing contacts to that material with out-of-office auto replies.

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will return on {Date}. I look forward to connecting with you then. In the meantime, check out our latest blog on {Topic}. I think it will give you some great tips for improving your next construction project.
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Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will return on {Date}. I look forward to connecting with you then. In the meantime, learn more about how the different types of mortgages and the current interest rate situation with our weekly newsletter. Subscribe for FREE here {Link}.
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Out Of Office for Conference or Business Trip

If you are away from the office on a business trip to a certain area or for a conference, you can use your auto reply to encourage people to connect with you there. The right auto reply can help improve your networking and maybe help you nurture some new leads in person!

Thank you for your email! I am currently attending {Conference} in {Location}. If you are going to be there, I would love to connect. Please contact me at {Phone Number} or stop by our booth {Booth Information}. We can even connect via social media {Twitter handle and Facebook Page). I look forward to talking with you!
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After Hours

When people contact you after hours, you can still connect with them using auto replies. Just make sure to let them know you will be in touch with them personally as soon as the office opens again.

Hello, thank you for contacting {Business Name}. We are out of the office right now, but will be back and ready to respond to you on Monday.
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Hi there! Thank you for your interest in {Business}. Our hours of operation are {Hours of Operation}. We will be in touch as soon as we are open again, or you can reach out to us again at that time.
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Transactional Texts

Sometimes, you need to use auto reply to communicate important information to consumers. Here are some examples of times when auto replies can be useful and time-saving methods fo communication.

Appointment Reminder
Hi {Customer Name}. We just want to remind you about your appointment with us tomorrow with {Name} at {Address} at {Time}.
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Opt-in Responder
Hi {Name}. Thank you for opting in for {Name of service chosen}. Please confirm your opt in decision by replying Y to confirm or STOP to unsubscribe.
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Status Alert
Hello {Name}. We just want to let you know that your order will be ready by {Time}. Please text back with any questions. You can change your order by {Change deadline}.
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As you can see, auto replies are a powerful way to stay in touch with contacts even when you cannot reply to them personally.

With GoCRM, you can create and implement these auto replies, personalize them to client names and specific scenarios, and see improvement in your level of engagement with leads and clients as a result. Let us show you how GoCRM can make a difference for you, and schedule a free demo today!

7 Ways to Automate Marketing for Mortgage

Mortgage automation

A mortgage is a major commitment. Potential clients require time, information, and support when choosing a mortgage provider.

At the same time, busy financial services providers often lack the time to market to their target audiences and nurture the leads that come in. They need a way to save time and maximize the productivity of their marketing efforts.

Marketing automation with the right CRM can provide tremendous benefits to mortgage companies. Automating your sales & marketing process ensures that essential elements of lead acquisition, engagement, and nurturing occur without taking time away from your busy staff.

Here are seven ways to use your CRM to automate marketing for the mortgage industry.

Call Tracking

Mortgage call tracking

Because of the complex nature of mortgages, leads often choose to communicate with mortgage providers via phone. To accurately track the information shared during these conversations, you need a CRM with integrated call tracking.

GoCRM’s cloud-based VOIP system automatically records phone calls, imports information from these phone calls into the central database, and provides a way for your sales team to make and receive phone calls from the device of their choosing.

With the ability to communicate over the phone with leads anytime, anywhere, your sales team can more easily nurture leads, close sales, and answer client questions.

Besides, you can create automated workflows through GoCRM that include scheduled phone calls. For example, you can have the system automatically schedule a phone call to discuss mortgage options with a new lead and place it as a task in the assigned sales rep’s calendar.

By automatically recording data, importing information, scheduling phone calls, and improving your sales team’s phone accessibility, GoCRM saves time and effort while ensuring that no lead ever falls through the cracks.

Lead Engagement Workflows

Lead engagement workflows

It can be easy for leads to fall through the cracks if a system for nurturing them is not in place. With GoCRM, you can effectively nurture every lead with automated lead engagement workflows. You can customize each workflow to the way your company does business to accomplish tasks such as the following automatically:

  • Engage with mortgage inquiries that stopped responding
  • Follow up with new mortgage applications and inquiries from your online sources (i.e., Website, social media, etc.)
  • Onboard new clients (i.e., Send welcome letters to applicants whose mortgages are approved, send information about mortgages, etc.).

Build the workflow to your specifications, and the system will implement it, send emails and text messages, and schedule phone calls and meetings with each lead. These automations ensure consistent follow-ups and maximize your sales team’s productivity, all without taking precious time away from their other tasks.

Sales Team Activities Assignment

task assignment

To ensure that each lead receives the follow up they require, you can use your CRM to assign leads and tasks to your sales team automatically.

You can use GoCRM to assign certain leads to certain sales reps or have the system assign them in a round-robin style. For example, choose one sales rep to handle all new mortgage applicants or allow new mortgage applicants to be assigned in order throughout your sales team.

Once assigned, the system will send a notification of each task to the sales rep, add the task to their calendar, and send out reminders. You can also conveniently view the entire workload for your team in one location.

In combination with automated workflows, GoCRM’s automated task assignment ensures that every task is completed on time, and every lead receives consistent and appropriate follow-up.

Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing campaigns automationSend emails to leads with automated email marketing campaigns. For example, send messages to your leads to:

  • Inform your target audience about new services, low-interest rates, or educational information that could generate leads.
  • Re-engage cold leads with information about record-low interest rates or a mortgage product that relates to them.
  • Respond to form submissions and direct leads to more information about your financial services.
  • Onboard new customers
  • Send out paperwork, and more

All you have to do is create email templates within GoCRM once. The system will use the workflows you create to send out the appropriate template at the appropriate time. The system will even personalize the emails to the lead’s name for an improved customer service experience.

Personalized Marketing Communications

Personalized communications

GoCRM can also personalize emails, phone calls, and text messages from your sales representatives to leads and potential clients.

For example, when the system sends out a reminder email to a lead about a new mortgage product, it sends that email from the assigned sales rep’s email account. When a sales rep calls a lead to ask about the paperwork they need to turn in, the phone call shows up as coming from their number. Text messages also similarly show up as coming from the sales rep’s number, even if sent automatically.

As a result, a lead can respond to the phone number or email and immediately reach the assigned sales rep, who can seamlessly continue the conversation. The lead also feels that they are receiving personal attention, even when they receive automated messages, which improves the customer experience.

Data Entry

Data Entry

CRM only works if it is kept up to date with the most recent information about a lead. However, busy sales representatives can easily forget or lack time to keep the CRM software properly updated.

With GoCRM, you can automate data entry for the system. For example, GoCRM integrates with numerous platforms and imports the information into a centralized database.

As soon as a phone call is made, an email or text message is sent, or a form submitted, the system adds this information to the database. Imagine being able to see as soon as a lead requests paperwork, receives an email about new interest rates, or commits to a mortgage.

With automated data entry, your sales and marketing teams can see a lead’s entire journey at a single glance. That information allows them to tailor their approach and market more productively to leads and clients.

Analytics Tracking

Analytics tracking

It would be best if you did more than implement sales and marketing strategies. You need to know how they are working. It will help if you track your analytics.

GoCRM automates analytics tracking. For example, it can automatically assign a unique phone number to each marketing effort (Brochure, billboard, online ad) and track how many phone calls come into that number. You can use that information to see which ads perform best.

Similarly, the GoCRM system can track the origins of leads who submit forms, contact your business, or browse your website. It can see what actions each lead takes on your site, and it can tell which ones convert and which ones go cold.

With detailed, automated analytics tracking, you can enjoy access to all the information you need to craft powerful and effective marketing and sales teams.

Automating your marketing and sales efforts for the mortgage industry is easy when you use GoCRM. Our system is designed to simplify tasks you would otherwise have to complete manually. That saves you time and effort while giving you greater insights into your leads and their journeys. Improve your leads’ customer experience and your productivity with automated marketing and sales through GoCRM.

 

5 Benefits of Integrating GPS Tracking Data with CRM Software

GPS tracking CRM

A busy sales team is often dispersed across a large geographical area as they meet with leads, close sales, and even cold-call potential clients. Keeping track of their work can be a challenge, and traditional methods (such as manual check-ins) can be time-consuming for your team.

To easily keep track of where each team member is, you may benefit from location tracking software connecting with your customer relationship management (CRM) platform. When you can integrate the data from that software with your CRM, you and your sales team enjoy several benefits.

1. Gain Real-time Sales Data

Real time sales dataJust how effective is your sales team? GPS integration with your CRM can help you find out. GPS technology does more than tell you where your sales team members are at any given point during the day.

It also allows you to track which leads and clients your team is connecting with, which follow-ups are occurring, and which sales are closing. You can see a complete picture of the work your sales team accomplishes while out in the field.

Even better, when this GPS data integrate into your CRM, you can access this data in a centralized location. This integration means that you can see a lead’s entire history with your business with one glance, including the follow ups, meetings, and results from your sales team’s work. All this information is loaded to the CRM in real-time, letting you have an updated understanding of your sales funnel.

2. Efficiently Manage Client Meetings

Client meetingsWhen new leads come into your CRM or clients reach out, you may need to respond quickly. In these cases, knowing where each member of your sales team is can enable you to assign leads and manage client meetings efficiently.

Say a client requests a meeting that same afternoon. Check your CRM to find out where the closest team member is so you can send them to the client. Say a new lead comes into your CRM, and they require a phone call. Check your GPS tracking platform to find out which team member is headed back to the office, finishing up a meeting, or on a break so you can assign the phone call to the person who can most quickly follow up.

With prompt follow up and efficient meeting management, you can contact more leads and clients more quickly, leading to more sales, more profits, and happier customers.

3. Accurately Manage Travel Expenses and Reimbursement

Travel expensesAccurate information on travel times and distances can be challenging to come by. Team members may forget to fill out forms or need to estimate their travel. Inaccurate reimbursement based on erroneous data can be unfair to your business and your team members.

Avoid this frustration and ensure accurate reimbursement and travel expenses with location tracking software. Consult the software to find out exactly where a team member traveled to get the information you need to pay them back fairly for their incurred expenses.

Your team and your budget will be happier with accurate travel reimbursements based on GPS tracking.

4. Save Time on Manual Check-ins

Check insYour busy sales team shouldn’t have to take time out of their day to call or check-in at the office. Save time and free them up to do more with a GPS CRM that allows them to check in to each location automatically.

When the GPS data integrates with your CRM, you always know where your team members are. No more taking time to call the office, stop in or send emails. No more resentment from team members who want to complete their work independently. Your team can focus on chasing leads and closing sales, and you still always have the information you need.

5. Improve Your Sales Team’s Productivity

Sales team productivityYour sales team’s productivity is directly related to your business’s profitability. Enable them to achieve maximum productivity with GPS data that integrates with your CRM.

When you know where your team members are, you don’t have to follow up with check-ins, so they can focus on closing sales and keeping clients happy. When they don’t have to fill out reimbursement forms, they can devote that time to sales. When you can more efficiently manage client meetings, you can get more done during the day.

To gain real-time sales data, efficiently manage client meetings, accurately manage travel expenses and reimbursement, save time on check-ins, and improve your sales team’s productivity, use a CRM that allows for GPS integration.

Try GoCRM. Our GPS Check-In feature allows team members to confirm their location from within the mobile app. That data is entered automatically into the CRM’s feed, where you can access it in real-time. As a result, you always know where your team members are, who they are meeting, and how to help them make the most of their time.

With GoCRM, get a full-funnel marketing approach including GPS integration that makes your team more productive and more efficient over the long term.

Call Tracking For Real Estate: How To Get Started

Call tracking for real estate

Albeit a digital world, phone conversations still play an essential role in driving conversions, particularly in the real estate industry. But today, phone calls do not merely mean two individuals connected over the phone; instead, a mine of data.

The right access to call tracking solutions can help you optimize your marketing strategy and drive leads while helping you make educated decisions.

So, how do you get started? Let’s find out.

How Call Tracking Works For Real Estate Agencies

To understand the importance of call tracking in the real estate industry, let’s look at how this industry works.

You will be surprised to know that the real estate industry is more significant than you think. With more than 106,548 brokerage firms operating in the US alone, there is neck and neck competition. It is much more critical for real estate firms and agents to distinguish their services and assist their customers in their journeys, both off the phone and on the phone, today than it was a decade back.

More often than not, a real estate customer’s journey begins with home hunting on a digital source. It is not surprising to know that homebuyers prefer using their smartphones to find their dream home and connect with a real estate agent to assist them.

As mobile usage is up by 81%, it is the right time for real estate companies to optimize their mobile ad spend to ensure that their advertisements meet the right eyes and convince them to call.

And even if you somehow manage to get your customers to call you, it is crucial to understand where they are coming from. Are they calling you in response to a direct mail? Maybe your paid search is working well? Or did they happen to check out a newspaper ad?

Whatever it is, collecting the right call tracking information is essential to understand the effectiveness of your keywords, ads, and campaigns.

Let’s discuss the benefits of real estate call tracking in detail in the next section.

Call Tracking Key Benefits

Analyze The Advertising Effectiveness

Customer journey

You will agree with us that the real estate industry has one of the highest acquisition rates. Thus it makes sense to invest in resources that provide you with the most qualified leads.

A call tracking program allows you to collect data on the calls received for each number, and assigns it to your acquisition campaigns, traffic sources, and advertising media to help your team make educated decisions.

Understand the Customer Journey

One of the biggest challenges for the real estate industry is understanding the customer journey and bridging the gap between offline and online customer interactions. Inaccurate info on consumer choices can lead your marketing strategy in the wrong direction, thus turning futile all your efforts.

The above is why you should also follow the phone call journey in addition to tracking your customer’s behavior online.

Improve Customer Experience

Customer experience is essential. You won’t want to deal with a business that is not serious about your needs. You gave them a call, and they were to busy to attend you, or they might have promised you to call back within an hour, and it is 2 hours since then with no response.

Would you like to deal with them again? No. You would switch to their competitors.

The former being one awkward situation that call tracking can help you avoid.

Now that you have a basic understanding of call tracking’s unbeatable benefits, it is the right time to check out the fantastic features that call tracking empowers you with. Read on the next section.

Call Tracking Basic Features

Call Tracking

Inbound call tracking is a practice of tracking your ROI wherein you assign specific numbers to different promotional activities. So, your Facebook ad could ask real estate buyers to call one number, and your paid search ad could show a different number.

This way, when you get a call, you can track the number you are getting the ring on and use it to analyze the respective campaign’s effectiveness.

Call Recording

You will agree with us that your ultimate goal is not just to answer every call you receive, but also to use it for internal introspection and training purposes. When you cannot convert a lead, call recording can help you analyze what went wrong and what could have been better. Correspondingly, when a particular call yields the expected results, you can use it to train your other team members.

Call Routing

As you establish yourself in the real estate industry, you will likely start getting an overwhelming number of calls, requiring you to route it to an appropriate agent. This assignment task helps you route a call from one busy customer representative to the next available representative, or maybe finally to a voicemail.

Call Reporting

So, how do you ensure if your efforts are reaping the results as intended? That’s when call reporting helps you out by sending daily, weekly, or monthly reports containing details on lead sources, number of calls answered, number of calls missed, call duration, and other vital information.

Note: It is imperative to mention that most call tracking software will only provide the bare minimum feature of call tracking. However, if you wish to make the most out of the data that calls provide you with, GoCRM can help you tick the right boxes by integrating flawlessly with your business processes.

Call Tracking Software Alternatives

Various call tracking alternatives can integrate with your real estate business, like:

Skype

Skype is a telecommunication application that helps you with video chat and voice calls between computers, mobiles, and tablets. However, the platform cannot provide additional features like call routing, call reporting, etc.

Google

Google offers a lot of call tracking tools to assist your business processes. You can make use of free Google voice numbers for your call tracking needs. However, these numbers are not real phone lines; instead, they need to be forwarded to other existing phone lines, thus killing the customer experience.

RingCentral

RingCentral is another popular tool that can integrate with about 100 apps. It starts from $20 per month, and you would need to upgrade to its advanced version to access more features. However, it could be tough to extract the related data from this platform, which is more comfortable with CRM software.

CallRail

Starting from $30 per month, CallRail is another call tracking software that can help you in call tracking and monitoring. However, since this is a piecemeal tool, it could be tough managing different apps and devices, especially when a CRM could take care of it all.

GoCRM

At $39 per user per month, GoCRM is our best alternative for real estate call tracking. While not only limited to call tracking  features, it’s benefits surpass above and beyond that of regular call tracking apps, along with integrating or complementing some of your sales and marketing processes or departments.

How Call Tracking Guarantees Lead Conversion Success

Generate And Respond To Leads

So, your team member somehow missed a call from a couple looking for a new condo to move in? How do you get back to them? This opportunity is when call tracking helps you out. In addition to helping you generate leads, the right call tracking platform can also help you respond to real estate leads.

And believe us, it is no more a choice to respond to real estate leads instantly, but a requirement. A report revealed by the California Association of Realtors on consumer expectations found a direct correlation between the increased mobile usage and anticipation of an instant response to queries.

Improve Lead Conversions

While generating leads is one fundamental aspect of real estate tracking, research has revealed that responding instantly to inquiries could increase internet lead conversion real estate by whooping 391%.

This misconception means that if you do not leverage the impressive capabilities of call tracking, your competitor will push you back in the market.

Deliver a Wonderful Customer Experience

A CAR report on response time revealed a massive gap between the actual response time and expectations, and this gap is an enormous opportunity for the real estate agents and firms.

The report suggests that more than 94% of consumers expect a response within 1 hour. However, only 36% of agents meet this requirement.

The key takeaway: if you respond within 1 hour of a customer calling you, you can outperform 64% of your peers – as simple as that!

Your Turn

As you can see, call tracking is necessary for the real estate industry if you do not wish to miss out on your leads or feel outdated among your competitors.

Call tracking helps you track the numbers, but it also enables you to route a call to an appropriate agent, record it to derive critical insights, and its reporting capabilities allow you to analyze what is working and what is not

Stop Paying for Real Estate Leads (Do This Instead)

Why you should stop paying for leads and what to do instead

Real Estate leads are not difficult to come by. Businesses covet them, brands chase them and ads target them. They are purchased regularly. But how do they fare in the sales funnel? Real estate agents often find, to their dismay, that third-party leads are either fake or twice removed from their needs. If you have plans to pay for real estate leads, read on to find out how they pose a risk to your business and what you can do instead. Today, CRM has emerged as a go-to solution for real estate businesses.

What is the difference between buying leads and generating leads?

Woman watering plant and growing money

Buying Leads: A lead vending website or a third-party provider brings in a list of potential clients. They claim that the data belongs to those who have shown quite an interest in your services. So you pay a hefty price and acquire it. The payment could be on a monthly basis or paid for each lead you get. That’s it – you’ve purchased leads.

Generating Leads: On some other occasions, you might want to generate leads on your own by advertising your business online or offline, promoting it in social media, calling up people you know, emailing referrals, and meeting-up with clients face-to-face.

Why do businesses pay for leads?

Why indeed, when you can generate your own? Businesses often outsource this lead securing part to a third-party firm. The hired company does the fieldwork and brings home leads. This lessens the load on their in-house teams and gives them more time to connect with customers. This list contains names and numbers or emails of interested buyers. All you are left to do is contact them and convert them into paying customers.

Yet, real estate agents often complain about how they ended up wasting time and resources on procuring this database. So what goes wrong?

What are the risks of purchasing leads?

To begin with, you risk buying an irrelevant database. The cons of buying leads outnumber their pros if any. We’ve highlighted the common flaws that plague real estate companies when they work with a purchased list:

Business man yelling at desperate man through loud speaker

1. You get common leads

Your potential real estate buyers are not exclusively yours. A shady vendor will try to sell the same list to you and ten other competitors. So, instead of finding buyers solely interested in your business, you get a list of people interested in the broad industry and/or certain related services. Instead of loosening, the competition tightens around you. Only the first agent to contact a lead has any hopes of cutting a deal.

2. Unqualified leads

You may end up with a database that’s unrelated to your business. You provide end-to-end home building services while the 40,000 people you talk to are not interested in anything more than renting. So, if you pay $1000 for the data, you’ve lost it on useless leads. And there’s no money-back option.

3. Conversion is not easy

It wouldn’t be, since potential buyers are not interested in your services in the first place. They want to put their money on something else altogether.

4. You are paying for someone else’s business

When you pay for leads from a third-party, there’s no way to know whether they would qualify. So all you’re doing is filling their coffers without a single benefit to your brand – one of the worst cases of negative returns on investment. No one wins, except the vendor.

5. You may compromise on quality

Since you are pitching to uninterested customers, sometimes you may have to lower your prices. To keep it profitable, you would be forced to lower your standards. Simultaneously you lose out on goodwill, word of mouth, and repeat clients.

Do This Instead

So, as you see, buying leads doesn’t work as effectively as you were led to believe. What can you do instead? Is there a system that can help you acquire quality leads? And analyze them, grade them based on urgency, and help you maintain a robust connection with potential customers and existing clients?

Enter CRM.

Customer relationship management is a process that not only provides businesses with complete lead management solutions but also takes the association with their customers further. A well-made CRM strategy works at 3 levels and raises the volume of good leads, sales, and returning buyers.

CRM Success diagram - 1) Lead management, 2) Calls Scheduling, 3) Follow Up

The cycle of CRM success.

These functions are variously performed by different activities as listed below:

Lead Management

This helps you secure all leads coming in through different channels. Lead management helps businesses plug lead loss due to forgetting, or overlooking them.

Living inside the sphere of lead management, conversion tracking is the engine, making sure all leads are promptly and adequately followed up into their next desired phase, while ensuring every channel, campaign, and activity is logged, from inquiries, to leads, to appointments, to sales, and finally, repeat sales.

Sales Scheduling

The CRM process helps you fix appointments with your customers through phone calls or emails and in-person meetings, with many automations available when using CRM software. Studies show that it is best to call your leads as soon as they are acquired. For an in-depth discussion, you could let them schedule it, preferably on the same day. You may consider mailing them the meeting date and time for a site visit, for instance.

Follow Up

Businesses continue to follow up with existing customers in a bid to acquire more sales from them. Older customers turn business promoters indirectly if they receive good services and continued assistance from you. They may be offered with discount codes or coupons or invited to special events. Nurturing this relationship with customers is the cornerstone of an effective process.

To sum up, purchasing leads is a risk best avoided. A proven alternative is implementing a CRM system. It helps you generate unique leads, transform them into sales, and continue to give after-sales assistance.

 

What is Lead Management and How to Get Started?

Lead management

Lead management is a process that tracks and manages prospective leads into becoming buyers.

It helps you design an enhanced sales cycle, cut wastage, and widen your reach. Coupled with CRM software, the process has undergone a complete upgrade and has businesses working smarter, maximizing the output of their campaigns, and avoiding pitfalls like missed or forgotten leads. Brands are fast waking up to its benefits.

What is lead management?

Lead management refers to the process of generating, tracking, filtering, contacting, and converting leads into customers. It functions in five stages: 1) Lead Generation, 2) Lead Tracking, 3) Lead Scoring, 4) Lead Distribution, and 5) Lead Nurturing. Different teams and departments come together in this.

Lead management stages

In marketing campaigns, leads are generated when potential buyers show an interest by making a phone call, sending a text message, clicking on a link or submitting a website form. This database is filtered as per priority and prospects are contacted by phone, SMS, email or other mediums.

The process helps businesses know where the potential buyers are coming from, what they want, and what works favorably for their campaign.

What is the difference between lead, prospect, and customer?

Lead to prospect to customer funnelLeads, prospects and customers are mutually exclusive terms. A lead is an unqualified contact who is part of your target audience based on location, age, buying power, and related factors. A prospect is a lead curious about your brand, that has been qualified to fit certain criteria. A customer is someone who buys your product or service.

Why is lead management important?

The importance of leads in organizations can’t be overstated. Leads who notice your brand have also likely noticed your competitor. Several studies have shown that the first brand to connect with prospective buyers usually gets them. This becomes possible when you know which sales channels and strategies are bringing in highly qualified data – your most potent leads.

Additionally, the lead sales management process gives you a clear picture of a lead’s entire history of engagement with your brand.

Not only do you identify the most effective sales channels but also the least useful ones. Almost 80% of leads are lost and 7 out 10 brands do not have a dedicated lead monitoring system in place. However, those who do so can connect with more than 70% of their leads. They improve the efficiency of their campaigns.

What is the lead management process?

The process of managing leads starts after brands start promotional campaigns and use a lead tracking system. Business release brochures, flyers, emails, coupons, online ads, landing webpages, and participate in trade shows, conferences, and seminars with a single objective in mind – advertising.

But how do they know which channel or campaign is turning out potential buyers or any buyer at all? It is here that the process of organizing leads kicks in. It helps you zero in on the most productive marketing channels engaged in promotions and calls out the useless ones. After that, it analyses leads and gives them a priority ranking. Important leads are filtered and sent over to the sales team.

The overall lead management process flows as follows:

Lead management flow

The above flow helps you move leads from one step to another, while ensuring every lead is one step closer to qualification to full conversion.

What is lead management in CRM?

Lead management vs CRMThe main difference between lead management and CRM is scope. Lead management lives inside CRM.

CRM or customer relationship management goes beyond capturing and converting leads. It refers to the process of dealings and communications between a brand and its customers, whether new or returning.

When sales reps receive graded and qualified data, they know the entire lead background of the target and are hence better prepared to give you higher sales. Also, it encourages collaboration among different departments. Since a lot of data is available for shared work, there is less confusion and higher productivity.

As a process, CRM helps businesses win and retain customers. Acquiring new customers is a tedious and expensive process. Besides, maintaining proactive relations with existing clients is more practical in the long run – it helps brands up-sale and cross-sale.

When you know how an existing customer responded to your ads and what solutions they purchased, you know how to retain them and bolster brand loyalty. Furthermore, it helps businesses understand the patterns of customer interaction and leverage them for more profits.

For this reason, companies invest in CRM software. It helps them automate and organize their sales and marketing efforts, from the perspective of leads.

How to manage a lead generation team?

Nowadays, teams dealing in generating leads often make use of pre-defined processes and CRM software. All lead data, from online and offline sources, is centrally stored, and can be accessed and controlled by the team. Data is then manipulated by software in order to execute otherwise routine tasks and thus saving sales rep hours of man work.

CRM software enables you to assign tasks to team members, either manually or automatically. So everyone stays updated and accountable. The main benefit is that the entire workload is clear and delegation becomes easy.

How to get started with lead management?

The best way to manage leads is to automate the whole process. There are software-driven systems that help marketers save time and money. With CRM technology at your fingertips, businesses can achieve more with the same resources. As a lead management software, CRM collates lead data from hundreds of sources, saves them in a single repository, and attaches tags like channel, campaign name, and so on for quick search results. There are lots of filters to group your lead data and you can even add a few of your own. Teams receive leads automatically and can connect with them via VoIP phones, or email them personally.

With call and text records, GoCRM enables sales teams to overview the lead history and align their message accordingly. Emails, texting, and calls are built-in and synced so there is no need to enter data manually. GPS tracking helps you locate each team member precisely. The software ultimately increases your ROI and offers complete customization according to your business needs. Some of the services offered by the software include call tracking, lead distribution, task automation, newsletter builder, appointment calendar, sales pipeline, reports, voicemail, and lots more.

For more details on CRM software, connect with us today.

Small Business Call Tracking

Business call tracking: how it works

What Is Call Tracking And How Does It Work?

When a customer calls your business, you need to know how they learned about you. Business call tracking provides this answer. This marketing tactic gives you an accurate way to track phone calls from both online and offline marketing efforts for a very reasonable cost.

What Is Call Tracking In Business?

Call tracking in business is the practice of linking specific phone numbers to specific online and offline marketing campaigns. When a customer calls your business using one of these numbers, you can easily identify which campaign drove the customer to call you.

In addition, by using call tracking technology, sales and marketing teams can enjoy a 360-degree view of the phone call and the lead behind it. They can track information such as how the call went, how the lead responded, and whether a conversion ever took place.

What Is Dynamic Number Insertion?

Dynamic number insertion is the practice of assigning a unique number to each campaign you wish to track. Potential customers who call that unique number are forwarded to your primary number. Your call tracking technology logs which unique number the caller is using to reach you, so you can easily link them to a specific marketing effort.Dynamic number insertion in action

For example, you may assign one number to your social media campaign, and one to your billboard campaign. When a prospect sees your billboard and calls the number, the call tracking technology logs the billboard number as the one that was called. The same process would apply every time someone called the number you included in your social media campaign.

You can use DNI to assign a separate number to every online marketing campaign or advertisement you create. However, DNI works best when you limit your numbers to two online numbers (One for your website and one for your other online efforts) and other unique numbers for each of your offline advertisements.

How Does Business Call Tracking Work?

How dynamic number insertion works

Call tracking works by using dynamic number insertion to assign a unique number to each of your desired campaigns, whether online or offline. That technology then creates an entry in your dashboard every time someone uses one of those numbers to call your business.

In concert with robust customer relationship management, call tracking paints a complete picture of every phone call that comes from your marketing efforts. Integrate call tracking with your CRM to evaluate the quality of the call, record follow ups, and track interactions and conversions to take the next best steps to turn your phone leads into paying customers.

Why Is Call Tracking Important In Business?

Call tracking in business is important because, even in a digital age, phone calls generate leads and sales. As a result, businesses need to understand exactly how phone calls are contributing to their bottom line. Call tracking provides this information by developing a picture of who called from each campaign and what those phone calls (And, by extension, those campaigns) did for the business.

Mobile searches lead to phone calls 61 percent of the time. About 65 percent of Fortune 500 companies consider phone calls to be their highest quality lead generators. Yet, phone calls are not trackable using traditional online analytics. Without call tracking, phone calls generated by your online and offline campaigns do not count in your total numbers.

Call tracking fills in this missing information so you can accurately evaluate your campaigns, follow up with potential leads, and focus your marketing and sales efforts on those campaigns and leads that matter most.

Call tracking even allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your sales strategies and the quality of your sales calls. As a result, call tracking leads to (1 Improved ROI (2 More conversions and (3 Better customer service.

Call tracking is not the same as recording phone calls (Though you may choose to do that as well). It simply records the phone number that the prospect calls in order to track marketing campaigns and sales strategies. As a result, call tracking is a legal practice that does not infringe on the privacy of your customers.

If you do choose to record phone calls as part of your call tracking process, you may need to follow certain steps to inform the caller that their call is being recorded. Before implementing call tracking or recording, be sure to check with a legal professional about the intricacies of doing so in your state and your situation.

Can Small Businesses Implement Call Tracking?

Call tracking is a valuable tool for small businesses who want an easy and inexpensive way to track their marketing campaigns and include phone calls in their analytics. Call tracking is simple to install, because it does not require advanced hardware or infrastructure, and it is cost-effective, fitting into almost any small business budget. In addition, call tracking can even save small businesses time and money by allowing them to focus their resources on the marketing and sales strategies that work best.

How Much Does Call Tracking For Business Cost?

Call tracking for business is relatively inexpensive. GoCRM, for example, only costs $39 a month per user for a full suite of CRM tools and integrations. You can then add dynamic number insertion to your monthly package for only $45 a month. Other CRM call tracking platforms range between $25-$125 per user per month.

Other CRMs also allow you to integrate call tracking with their platforms, for an additional cost. Consider the integration costs of these CRM softwares:

Salesforce: Up to $25 per month, per user

Close.com: Will provide call recording at its business level of $123.25 a month, but does not provide dynamic number insertion.

Freshworks.com: Allows you to buy, mask, and port numbers. Its costs range from free (plus $1 a month for each number you buy) for startups to $99 a month per user plus $1 a month for each number you buy for enterprises.

What Are The Pros And Cons of Call Tracking For Business?

Call tracking can increase ROI and improve customer experience. Taking the right steps can help businesses reap these benefits while avoiding downsides such as technical difficulties and potential confusion among consumers.

Some of the pros of call tracking include: marketing attribution, fewer lost leads, time saving, more control over sales and marketing and its affordability even for small businesses. Some of the cons include: lack of SEO friendliness, potential for customer confusion and technical difficulty when implementing.

Let’s look at the pros and cons in detail:

Pros

Cons

Marketing Attribution

Call tracking makes it easy to attribute every lead to a specific marketing effort and to analyze the effectiveness of each campaign, even those that do not benefit from traditional online analytics.

Lack of SEO friendliness

If you use too many unique numbers to track your online marketing efforts, you risk running afoul of Google, who may penalize your website for what it considers to be gray SEO techniques. Communicate clearly with Google’s search bots by limiting your online numbers to two and by avoiding the use of call tracking in your directory listings.

Fewer Lost Leads

Call tracking cuts down on the number of leads that fall through the cracks by ensuring that every lead is logged and tracked. Call tracking also ensures that leads earned through phone calls instead of digital means are recognized.

Customer Confusion

If customers see different numbers for your business in different locations, they may be confused about which one is your “real” number.

Save Time

Call tracking saves time by improving the efficiency of marketing campaigns and by automatically identifying the origin and progress of phone calls. That means that your sales and marketing teams can target their efforts on growing impactful campaigns and processes.

Technical Difficulty

If your call tracking technology does not work correctly, or if you do not understand how to use it, you may not reap the full benefits available through this strategy. You can prevent these problems by choosing a reliable business, like GoCRM to provide training and support to ensure the smoothest use possible of your call tracking technology.

More Control

Call tracking improves the control you have over your sales and marketing efforts by delivering actionable information to your fingertips.

Affordable

Call tracking can be implemented for a very low cost. As a result, even small businesses can afford to track their marketing performance.

The pros that call tracking offers are important in driving increased ROI and in crafting more effective marketing campaigns and sales approaches. Call tracking does have a few potential downsides that you need to be aware of. However, savvy use of the right call tracking technology can help you to avoid many of these problems.

How Can You Implement Call Tracking?

Perhaps the easiest way to implement call tracking is through a robust CRM that includes dynamic number insertion and call tracking in its services. This way, you enjoy total integration and reliable training and support from the get-go.

GoCRM provides dynamic number insertion and call tracking that seamlessly integrates with the rest of the platform. As a result, call tracking becomes one tool in an entire suite of tools designed to help you track, engage with, and convert leads at every stage of the sales funnel.

CRM Process and the Impact on Business Performance

CRM business performance

CRM and Business Performance

Customer Relationship Management is a prime focus of sales and marketing. One of the most important questions firms must ask is how CRM improves business performance and whether it’s worth pursuing or not.

CRM is grounded on high quality customer data and enabled by IT. And all this happens when data, sales strategies, and technology come together.

Because the primary goal of CRM is to improve sales efficiency by prioritizing leads and opportunities likely to convert. It makes sense that CRM and business performance ought to be inherently linked.

What are the 5 beacons of CRM and business performance?

Managing a profitable customer relationship works in the following ways:

1. Create customer segments

Not all customers are equally profitable for your brand. The task of CRM is to find out the high-value customers. These shoppers display high brand loyalty and give you a lot of business. However, they are to be looked at as company assets instead of targets. Loyal customers are usually offered incentives. Firms can cut down on useless spending and channelize their funds to get higher returns this way.

2. Integrate technology, databases and related tools through CRM software

CRM software and automation takes the load off of tedious data mining. It consolidates all customer contact points, all channels of marketing, and the performance of different campaigns. With these data at hand, you can see how your funds are best utilized and where you need to cut down on spending. Well-designed CRM software is an invaluable part of any business.

3. Gain customer knowledge and interpersonal skills

Apart from technology, CRM also takes into account the human factor. To improve performance, businesses usually put in place highly trained personnel to maintain clear and positive communication with their existing and new customers. No amount of data is going to help if CRM executives are discourteous, vague, or unskilled in managing customer behavior.

4. Start, sustain and even end client relationships

CRM not only helps businesses build a loyal customer base but also trim it to keep it profitable. When you can see your client’s response, you no longer need to spend your dollar on non-returning or casual buyers. In order to keep the worth of your customer database high, you can downsize the database and pay more attention to a select category of individuals.

5. Knowledge of market position and competitors

To fully understand the CRM impact on firm performance, you need to understand your position and that of your competitor. Before adopting CRM into your everyday processes, you must gain a clear understanding of why you would want to invest and what’s in it for you. Your sales and marketing team and related departments have to work together to make it a success.

CRM process and its impact on business performance

CRM does a few things that impact your business performance, it:

  • Increases customer satisfaction through customized service. Loyalty increases and profit margins widen through made-to-order benefits.
  • Helps businesses cut down expenses on acquiring new customers. Getting new buyers on your list is an expensive step and not always reliable. But returning customers are like gifts that keep on giving. It is only good sense to maintain a worthwhile relationship with them.
  • Help businesses improve workflow. It brings together different departments and automates workflow. As a result, downtime is reduced and productivity improves.
  • Delivers high-quality service to its buyers. Since CRM follows buyer behavior closely, it is able to design responses that are highly appreciated and useful for them. This not only improves sales figures but also goodwill.
  • Helps companies align their workplace practices towards a customer-oriented approach. Unless the company work culture is geared towards a buyer-centric strategy, CRM alone cannot solve performance issues. Hence, companies must orient their policies and drives in the right direction.

The role of CRM software

Sales & Marketing Streamlining process visualization

In order to streamline customer communication, CRM is teaming up with information technology. CRM software applications and business performance are closely linked. This helps businesses record and store buyer information from various sources. This information is analyzed and interpreted to gain a better understanding of what the buyer wants and how far the brand is fulfilling that need.

In addition, data mining and analytical tools help you deduce the shelf life of your lead and whether it is worth pursuing. It helps you zero in on potential buyers and activate your sales force.

Not only do you manage each transaction more smoothly but have at hand a go-to solution for a host of different issues, for instance, managing conflicts between different departments.

CRM software gives you a clear picture of your sales pipeline, including sales channels, conversion data, and ROI. All these functions are performed by CRM applications that blend smoothly with your business processes.

CRM software is usually implemented in stages. Company size and levels of technological readiness also affect how soon they can implement CRM software. CRM takes time and effort to show results; it is no magic trick. Hence brands need to have a long-term vision to adopt and implement it.

So, you can see how CRM improves business performance by improving the business ecosystem within which it functions. It builds a business atmosphere where every customer is valued and tended to with personalized attention.

Software integration reduces the turnaround times of marketing and outreach programs. Automation lends flexibility and makes everything measurable. Hence using technology to boost CRM directly improves business processes steadily.

How to Design Marketing Emails with GoCRM

How to design emails in GoCRM

Any email which fails to stand out in your client’s inbox suffers from a failure of design features. That’s the reason GoCRM uses professionally reliable designs in its email templates.

Integrated with some of the major email providers, our templates help you keep track of all client communication from your account without moving between different platforms. This keeps communication up-to-date and consolidated. A GoCRM email marketing template blends ease of use with design flexibility.

Versatile features for Custom Design: Content and Structure

The email editor comes with a lot of fun, useful features. For example, it lets you play around with design elements like texts, images, and videos. It also brings to you a great number of choices when it comes to formatting rows, columns, and other settings to compose your mail.
Content, rows and settings

Content

Columns are usually meant for the content – text or image. Click on any tile to add a content element and drag it inside the columns. No need to fix the width as they will auto-fit. The sidebar displays the content properties.

Rows

They usually have up to four columns. You can add content to them or just leave them blank as suits your design.

Settings

This option lets you really bring together everything in the email. You can choose your default fonts and define the appearance of rows and columns.

Rows structure

Rows show the horizontal space and their usage in a mail. For this they use columns. You can add or remove the number of columns and display content next to each other. Each template is open to editing and this widens the design possibilities. For the mobile view, rows are stacked by default, unless you set them otherwise.
Rows
Now, there are 3 types of Rows you can use: Empty Rows, Default Rows and Custom Rows. Let’s look at each:

i. Empty Rows

They are blank so you can design from scratch.

ii. Default Rows

They are the most popular templates so you can just jump-start designing. Layouts are ready to use and content placement is pre-set.

iii. Custom Rows

These are meant for specific uses. Should you need Mailchimp, HubSpot, SendGrid, or Klaviyo, you can swiftly access a customized layout.

Another way you can use layouts that fit your need is by searching for ‘My Saved Rows’ so that you can always go back to what is perfect for your GoCRM email.

Content Types

Add 10 types of content to your mail by clicking and dragging a tile inside any of the columns. Apart from texts, images, and videos, you can also include buttons, Gifs, Icons, and Stickers among other things. We’ll look through the different content tiles you can incorporate in your message.
Content types

Text

Format anything you want – paragraphs and lines, links, and padding with the toolbar for texts. Important text blocks like ‘Open Link’ or “Make a Call’ need careful designing.

Image

Add images after dragging the Image tile inside one of the columns. You can either drag and drop images or upload them from your system through the File Manager.

Button

Add buttons to your message with unique names, colors, borders, and thickness.

Divider

Highlight different sections of your message with various types of borders – solid lines, dots, slashes, or transparent strokes. Make them as thick or thin as you desire.

Social

Connect your social accounts with your mail. Add icons from an inbuilt list or upload one of your own.

HTML

Add HTML codes using the HTML tile. If the code is incompatible with the email, it is deleted so that you can send an error-free message.

Video

Link YouTube or Vimeo videos with the mail using the Video block. Just Copy the URL and paste it to add the video.

Sticker

Get your favorite GIPHY stickers in the mail. Drag the tile and begin your search.

Icons

Similar to social icons, this particular Icon block lets you include pre-listed items in the email maker or upload a personalized one.

Menu

Help your readers go back and forth easily in the email by adding a Menu block.

Configuring Message Settings

Message settings config

You can define the width of the content area, the background and link colors as well as the Font style in this Settings Tab.

The Content Area Width is set at 600px which is quite large and one of the most popular with desktop and web clients. The Settings section allows designers to configure every aspect uniquely like choosing different colors for different links or fixing every text block with a different font.

Exporting

So, you’re ready with the email design now. All that’s left to do is Export. There are 3 ways you can go about it – downloading a PDF version or a ZIP file with all the HTML and images, sending it to your default mailing service, copying the HTML only, or saving the template on the cloud to continue formatting.

Email templates bring freshness to your message and an impact that’s hard to ignore. When combined with GoCRM’s email tracking features, they are even more powerful. So, send them to clients or distribute them to your in-house sales teams to maximize marketing mails with GoCRM.