Author: GoCRM Team

Digital Transformation During Covid-19 Times

Posted on August 17, 2020 by GoCRM Team - CRM 101

CRM: Digital Transformation Covid-19 Times

Why CRM is Key to Digital Transformation During COVID-19 Times

Digital transformation (DT) is essential for businesses serious about connecting effectively with consumers. DT refers to the process of using technology to reach consumers when and where they prefer to connect.

For example, digital transformation might look like creating an active social media presence on the channels your target audiences prefer to use, implementing closed-loop marketing so you can track every single sale back to its source, or directing marketing spend toward online search marketing campaigns instead of toward offline efforts such as print advertisements.

DT is particularly important in the time of COVID-19, when people are increasingly spending time online rather than making in-person appearances at businesses.

However, the digital landscape is broad and diverse. Businesses that undertake DT need a way to identify the most effective approaches and integrate their efforts if they hope to succeed. That is where CRM software comes in. A strong customer management platform delivers the tools and data that enable a business to pursue effective digital transformation trends.

CRM identifies the right approach to digital transformation.

Businesses increasingly recognize the need to integrate digital approaches into their sales and marketing efforts, but they do not always know how to do so effectively. According to data by Harvard Business Review, an astounding $900 billion (70%) of the $1.3 trillion spent on digital marketing in 2018 was spent ineffectively.

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of DT depends upon having access to information and tools that make it possible to pinpoint the right approach to technology integration. Otherwise, businesses are “flying blind” as they devote resources to initiatives and technologies that may or may not work.

A robust CRM can deliver the critical information and tools that drive transformative digital integration. Consider these insights available through a CRM:

Analytics on every marketing campaign’s performance
Data on the origins and pathway followed by every sale
Information on where and how prospects and customers connected with your business
Comprehensive data on sales/customer interactions and their results

Using these analytics and data, businesses can see where their customers are spending time online, how they are accessing information about the business, which digital strategies are earning engagement, and which approaches work best for ushering leads through the sales funnel. Based upon this information, businesses can craft powerful digital strategies that lead to sales.

CRM facilitates a multi-channel approach.

A customer’s pathway to conversion is rarely a linear process. Instead, consumers often use several channels over a period of time to complete a sale. A single customer, for example, may utilize social media, review sites, live chat options, text messages, online browsing, and even an in-person trip to the store before they complete a purchase.

As a result, digital transformation within an organization often includes embracing multiple digital channels in order to communicate with consumers whenever and wherever they wish, at whatever point in the sales funnel they happen to be.

While necessary, this multi-channel approach can lend itself to disorganization unless a robust CRM is utilized. The right CRM can facilitate a multi-channel approach by integrating all channels within a single, intuitive user interface so that no data or leads fall through the cracks.

For example, with GoCRM, every interaction with a customer is carefully logged within the system, thanks to the system’s ability to pull in data from hundreds of sources, including social media platforms, marketing campaigns, phone calls, emails, and texts. As a result, a prospect’s entire history appears in one location for easy access, evaluation, and follow-up.

In addition to facilitating a multi-channel approach, a CRM also enables a business to use all of these channels to deliver an exceptional customer experience. With customers expecting a response from businesses within an hour of reaching out, the ability to monitor and respond to any digital channel consumers use is critical, and available through a powerful CRM platform.

Integrating platforms and digital channels in one place simplifies the process of using multiple digital channels while allowing your sales and marketing teams to access the data they need. As a result, you can more effectively use multiple marketing channels to more effectively reach each target audience at each stage of the sales process.

CRM enables personalization of digital approaches.

Consumers expect personalized interactions with businesses. In fact, 75 percent of consumers report that they are more likely to buy from a company that knows their name and purchase history and offers product recommendations based on that purchase history. More than half of consumers want businesses to use their personal information to create relevant content targeted at them.

Clearly, digital transformation has to enable personalized communication with consumers. A robust CRM enables this personalized marketing and sales campaigns by 1) Gathering relevant data about consumers and by 2) Automating processes to deliver individualized content to prospects and leads.

Data Compilation:

By integrating a multi-channel approach and centrally locating all customer data, a CRM provides a comprehensive view of a lead, or even of an entire group of potential consumers.

Based on this data, you can craft campaigns directed personally at these consumers. For example, you may implement text messaging campaigns directed at consumers who filled out a web form, sent a message via social media, texted a rider sign, or click on an ad on Facebook, Google or YouTube.

Automated Processes:

Personalization is also easier through automated processes delivered by a robust CRM like GoCRM. For example, you can not only use the data in your CRM to craft a targeted email campaign, but you can also deliver those emails automatically through the CRM.

Similarly, you can automate processes such as text messages, phone calls, and drip campaigns based upon specific customer segments and actions. Add in the ability to incorporate customer names into those communications, and your automated processes reduce time and energy while increasing personalization for digital transformation that gets results.

The right CRM can support the digital transformation businesses need to adopt during the time of COVID-19. By embracing a targeted, personalized, and multi-channel digital approach, you can reach consumers even while they remain hesitant to shop in-store.

💡Takeaways

The key to digital transformation success is your CRM. This tool allows you to identify the right approach, facilitate a multi-channel strategy, and enable personalization. As a result, your sales and marketing teams can access complete information on consumers and campaigns and successfully craft strategies that earn more leads and more sales.

Get your Covid-19 CRM Free trial. Our full-funnel sales & marketing approach is designed to be both intuitive and comprehensive, with customizable features that can make it the ideal tool for your sales and marketing teams.

SMS Message Examples For Mortgage Lenders

Posted on August 14, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Mortgage

Real estate agents surrounding mobile phone vector illustration

20 Text Message Templates For All Stages in the Mortgage Lending Sales Process

No doubt about it- the mortgage industry is not where it used to be largely due to the proliferation of new digital technologies. Today’s homebuyers expect the same level of experience they get from large brands such as Amazon, Airbnb, Uber, among others. Whether it’s reaching out to them for the first time or communicating with them during the loan approval process, homebuyers expect the level of communication to be top-notch, timely and convenient.

So, the big question is- what is the best way of communicating with prospective homebuyers in today’s complex mortgage market?

Data from a survey of more than 500 consumers and more than 350 sales professionals showed nearly 80 percent of consumers prefer texting as it speeds up the sales process while close to 90 percent of sales professionals plan to increase their use of text messaging over the next four years. Additionally, the study found out that consumers respond faster to text compared to any other form of communication channel; in fact, more than 300 consumers who took part in the survey said they respond to a text message within 10 minutes.

The implication here is once a prospective homebuyer submits an inquiry on your website a mortgage lender needs to adopt the best-in-class text messaging strategies which will ensure they provide prospects with a seamless home buying journey.

Through this primer we want to show you how GoCRM can help you get the most out of texting prospective homebuyers using eight sales text message scenarios that come with follow-up text formats. You will be able to increase your prospects conversion rates and move them down the sales funnel much faster.

Text Message Templates Index

Introductory Templates

Relationship Building Templates

Lead Nurturing Template

Meeting Scheduling Templates

Meeting Follow Up Template

Pre-approval Status Template

Review Template

Prospect Re-Engagement Template

Introductory Templates ˄

As a mortgage lender you have to ensure that you personalize your text messages when introducing yourself for the first time to prospects. Use this template to introduce yourself.

Hello [prospect first name]. It’s [your first name] from [your company name]. I wanted to let you know that you’re free to text me with any questions you have about the home loan buying process. Always here to help!

Follow-Up texts:

Deliver value and introduce yourself.

Hi [prospect first name]. This is [your first name] from [your company name] Please let me know if you need help with your credit score. I’d love to be of help. You can call, text me on this number. Have a great day!

Good morning [prospect first name]. This is [your first name] from [your company name] we spoke in the past weeks about your pre-qualification on a home loan. Please don’t forget about us!

Learn how to setup an automated mortgage introduction SMS with GoCRM.

Relationship Building Templates ˄

This template will enable you to build stronger and more personal relationships with realtors such that they will be able to easily send prospects your way.

Hey [realtor first name]. I saw that you recently attended (real estate expo event name). How was the event?

Follow-up texts:

Good morning [realtor first name]. Don’t forget about us this weekend! We’re here to assist you with any other mortgage questions!

Hello [realtor first name]! Rates are at their lowest in years. Do you have anyone who is interested in buying a new home? Feel free to reach out!

Lead Nurturing Template ˄

Once realtors send you prospects or you’ve acquired them on your own ensure that you provide them with value. Use this text template to reach out to them.

Hey [prospect first name]. [realtor/agent first name] asked us to help you with the home loan buying process and get you pre-approved to buy a home. When is a good time to talk?

Follow-up texts:

Hey [prospect first name]! This is [your first name] from [your company name] Just checking up to see if you need any assistance on your home loan buying process! Keep me posted! Thanks again!

Hello [prospect’s first name]. Thanks for your message. I need some documents from you. Will you be available to touch base next week?

Meeting Scheduling Template ˄

When you think it’s the right time to have a conversation (via a phone call, video chat, or meeting) with a prospective homebuyer who has shown some interest in your services then this template can be a good choice.

Hey [prospect first name], I saw you liked our services and even asked us to help you get pre-approved to buy a home. When is a good time to talk?

Follow-up texts:

Hi [prospect first name], I’ve been having a hard time getting a hold of you on the phone. Do you have 15 minutes tomorrow afternoon to discuss the pre-approval process? Let me know what time you’ll be free. Thanks!

Meeting Follow Up Template ˄

You can use this text message template to follow up after the meeting and, hence keep the conversation going.

Hey [prospect first name]. It’s [your first name] from [your company name]. I appreciate so much for taking the time to chat with me today. Thank you!

Follow-up texts:

Hello [prospect first name]! Thanks for requesting a pre-approval consult for your home. Feel free to give us a call to get started. We’re happy to help. Thanks!

Pre-approval Status Template ˄

This text template will help show prospects where they are in their loan application process. You will also be able to ask for missing documents and even request for their signatures.

Hi [prospect first name]! Thank you so much for submitting your application. We are working on your file and will be in contact soon when it’s ready.

Follow-up texts:

Hey [prospect first name], we are missing some documents to issue you a pre-approval letter. You can email, or drop them by the office. Just text me in case of any questions. Thank you!

Hello [prospect first name], I just emailed you the documents requiring your signature. Please confirm that you received them. You need to sign them in order to proceed. Thank you!

Review Template ˄

This text template can help turn your existing clients into advocates. It will encourage them to leave a review on your website, social media channels, among other platforms.

Hello [prospect’s first name]! We are so happy to help you and your family get your new home. Would you mind leaving a review for us on [platform link]? We would really appreciate. Thank you!

Prospect Re-Engagement Template ˄

This template will come in handy in case prospects go cold.

Hey there [prospect’s first name]. Do you still need help with mortgage lending? I think we could work together to find a solution. Would you be open to chatting soon?

Follow Up texts:

Hello [prospect first name]. Looks like we keep missing each other! Still need help with the home loan buying process? I’d love to be of help. Thank you!

Good morning [prospect first name]! Interest rates are at their lowest in years. Still thinking about buying a new home? Feel free to reach out we talk through your options!

User Guidelines

The mortgage sector is a complex industry thanks to ever-changing consumer expectations. Homebuyers expect personalized messages that are tailored to their pain points. This means organizations need to make the most of text messages if they want to increase their prospect’s conversion rates.

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!

Why CRM Projects Fail?

Posted on August 10, 2020 by GoCRM Team - CRM 101

Top 5 Reasons Why CRM Implementations Fail and What To Do About It

Customer relationship management software (CRM) provides exciting tools for marketing and sales departments as they seek to more efficiently and productively identify, earn, qualify, and nurture leads. Between 2000 and 2005, the potential of CRM drove spending on these platforms to more than $250 billion (paywall).

Purchasing a CRM system, however, does not automatically lead to improved sales and marketing success. In fact, the implementation failure rate of these systems is often quite high (as high as 90% according to HBR).

One evaluation from MIT Sloan found that 55 to 75 percent of companies fell short of their expected ROI from their CRM systems. CIO Magazine, in 2017, estimated that an average of one-third of CRM implementations fail.

The cause of CRM implementation failure can vary from business to business. However, 5 primary reasons drive why CRM projects fail. Here is a look at all 5 of them, and how to fix them.

1) Lack of Supportive Capabilities

A CRM is a tool. As with any tool, its effectiveness depends upon how it is used. In order to effectively choose, implement, and use a customer relationship management platform, businesses must first have certain capabilities in place.

That is, businesses that are positioned to make the most of their CRM platforms are those businesses that can effectively:

Generate revenue
Capture and communicate insights about customers, competitors, and markets
Build effective brands
Develop customer relationships

Without well-established organizational processes designed to meet these marketing goals, a business is unlikely to effectively leverage their CRM technology. CRM implementation failure occurs when a business expects its customer relationship management software to automatically generate revenue, deliver insights, build brands and drive customer relationships without a knowledgeable team applying proven capabilities to their use of the software.

A better approach for businesses that wish to use their CRM effectively is to develop those capabilities within their organization, and then to purchase customer relationship management software that can support and enhance those capabilities.

2) Lack of Effective Organizational Integration

In order to deliver the greatest possible benefits, a CRM platform depends upon effective integration into an organization’s workflows, sales team, and customer relationship processes. When a CRM cannot or is not integrated into existing and successful approaches to sales and marketing, sales teams quickly become frustrated, and the CRM itself becomes less effective.

For example, one study revealed that among the departmental responses to CRMs, the sales teams reported the highest levels of dissatisfaction with the software. Why? Because they felt as if they spent hours inputting information without receiving significant benefits in return.

On the other hand, a CRM that integrates into the workflows and, as mentioned above, capabilities, that already exist within an organization delivers a seamless experience for every team member who uses it.

Consider the difference, for example, between manually inputting customer data from a website contact form into a CRM and having that CRM automatically integrate that information into a central database. Imagine the possibilities available when the CRM automatically adds follow up phone calls to a sales rep’s calendar or sends out follow-up emails triggered by certain lead actions that fit with the workflows already set up by your business.

How does a business achieve this level of integration so that the CRM saves sales teams time and energy rather than consuming more of it? Through careful consideration of their workflows and the selection of a customizable CRM with a proven ability to fit within them.

The right CRM becomes the foundation for successful workflows. You know it is doing its job when it makes your team members’ jobs easier, enables your team to devote more attention to higher-quality leads, and develops greater efficiencies within your organization.

3) CRM Investment Without Planning

Why do CRM investments fail? According to MIT Sloan, the businesses most likely to experience a CRM fail are those that invest large sums of money into customer relationship management without spending time beforehand evaluating their institutional needs and how a CRM might meet those needs.

Why a CRM fails, then, often has less to do with the capabilities of the platform and more to do with the organization’s self-understanding.

A business whose customers prefer to discuss things over the phone or in person, for example, may experience a CRM fail if it invests in software that streamlines emails and text messages.

In order to avoid CRM failed actions, a business should take stock of its marketing and sales situation before making an investment into customer relationship management software.

Careful reflection and evaluation can allow a business to align a CRM solution with their customers, workflows, and unique needs to develop a platform that is truly effective.

4) Collaboration Failure Across Departments

Why does CRM implementation fail? One of the biggest reasons is difficulty getting departments to collaborate with each other regarding the use of the CRM. In particular, it is collaboration between marketing and sales departments (or the lack thereof) that drives (or undermines) CRM success.

Marketing and sales may have different roles to play in the capturing and nurturing of leads, but both are critically important in earning leads and converting them into paying customers. Marketing needs to identify target audiences, develop strategies for reaching them effectively, implement those strategies, qualify leads, and pass them on to sales.

Sales needs to evaluate leads sent to them by marketing, nurture leads through each stage of the sales funnel, and complete the sale when the lead converts. These tasks also require sales to identify prospects that do not provide a promising source of revenue and to keep track of interactions with each potential consumer in order to streamline their trip through the sales funnel.

A CRM can help marketing and sales with each of these responsibilities. However, the CRM is most effective when sales and marketing use it, together, to create integrated approaches to earning leads and customers.

For example, GoCRM delivers all relevant information about a lead in one centralized and intuitive interface. Using this interface, sales and marketing can work together to translate this information into effective strategies and materials that can win over customers and close sales.

5) Failure to Train CRM Users

If a CRM is only as effective as the people who use it, then the question of why a CRM fails and how to fix it can also be answered with employee training. Users who do not understand the CRM, do not know how to leverage its capabilities to achieve the greatest possible benefits, or do not feel comfortable utilizing its platform are not likely to see much improvement from the CRM.

In fact, team members who do not feel comfortable using a CRM are more likely to abandon its use or to use it improperly. For example, the loss of time that occurs when an employee spends too much time figuring out a function of the CRM can outweigh any benefit that function provides the business.

In order to prevent CRM failure due to lack of training, businesses should focus on CRMs that are: 1) Easy to use and 2) Training rich. For example, GoCRM uses an intuitive interface to simplify its use and provide easy access to all relevant data on all leads and customers. Automation of tasks also simplifies the use of the CRM and saves team members time.

Simultaneously, we provide comprehensive training in the use of the CRM. Every user receives instruction in how to make the most of GoCRM so that every employee feels comfortable using GoCRM to achieve your company’s sales and marketing goals.

💡Takeaways

You do not have to become a CRM failure statistic. When applied correctly, a CRM can be an invaluable tool for improving the efficiency and success of your customer relationships. Understand the potential cause of CRM implementation failure, and know how to avoid them. Then, find a customizable, flexible, and state-of-the-art CRM, like GoCRM, to match to your organizational workflows, capabilities, processes and goals in order to enjoy all that a CRM has to offer your business.

5 Reasons Why You Should Not Get a ‘Free’ CRM Software

Posted on August 3, 2020 by GoCRM Team - CRM 101

Illustration of two people in front of each other with 'Free vs Paid CRM' overlay text

“Cheap is good, free is better,” as the old saying goes, but not when it comes to your CRM. With many customer relationship management platforms offering free versions, it can be tempting to sign up for a way to track and nurture leads that does not impact your budget.

What you may not know, however, is that these CRMs often come with their own costs. And they usually lack critical features that your business needs to really understand and manage your marketing campaign, sales workflows, and customer behavior.

Here are 5 reasons to avoid a free CRM in favor of a high-quality and customizable paid platform.

1. “Free” CRMs are rarely free

Most ‘free’ CRMs are stripped-down versions of more feature-rich paid platforms. You can enjoy basic functionality, such as contact management and some integrations. In order to enjoy additional features, however, you need to upgrade to a paid version of the platform or buy additional products offered through the company. A paid CRM, on the other hand, offers all the customization, versatility, integration, and reporting you want, with no need to keep upgrading.

2. Paid CRMs allow for more users

Most “free” CRMs limit the number of users on the platform to fewer than 10, and often to just 1. To add users to the CRM you have to upgrade to a paid version. For most businesses that utilize a team of marketing and sales professionals, these “free” versions will not be enough.

A paid platform, on the other hand, allows businesses to add as many users as they need, often through a flat monthly fee per user. With the option to customize the pricing to fit their needs and team size, these paid versions add value that is worth the cost. Plus, it won’t be necessary to retrain users in order to get them to learn new features from an upgrade or new CRM.

3. Paid CRMs come with a full set of features

“Free” versions that remove essential features rarely deliver the functionality required by robust marketing and sales departments. Paid CRMs stand out because they deliver a full set of features that allows businesses to perform all of the tasks they need to generate, nurture, and convert leads throughout every stage of the sales funnel. With no need to continue upgrading, many businesses prefer to choose a paid CRM over a “free” version that limits what they can achieve and adds costs every time they add functionality.

4. Paid CRMs are customizable

No two businesses are alike, and a cookie cutter CRM or a “free” CRM with limited features is unlikely to satisfactorily meet the needs of every business. When companies request additional functionality from a “free” platform, they also often find that they can only get what they need by upgrading to a paid account.

Instead, the best CRMs are paid ones that allow businesses to choose the features they want upfront. Being able to get all of the features you want, with no excess features and no hidden costs, is peace of mind that is worth paying for.

5. Paid CRMs integrate with everything

Businesses utilize many tools to generate, track, and nurture leads. Everything from email to phone numbers, databases, and cloud programs work together to keep sales and marketing departments running.

A CRM needs to integrate all of these tools into one easy-to-use platform. That way, users can see all of the relevant information about every lead in one place and easily complete tasks from within the platform.

“Free” CRMs rarely offer widespread integration. That means that businesses will either need to continue using some tools apart from the platform or pay for an upgrade.

Paid CRMs, on the other hand, integrate with every possible application and tool your business uses, with no additional costs or hidden fees. That type of functionality makes it easier to use the CRM and ensures that no lead ever falls through the cracks.

💡Takeaways

“Free” CRMs may look good upfront. However, in the end the vast majority of businesses will benefit from choosing a paid option instead. Paid alternatives allow for more users, deliver a full suite of customizable features, and offer total integration for one transparent cost. And, you never need to worry about paying for constant upgrades to your system.

Right now, with GoCRM, you can get the best of both worlds: A free trial when you purchase a subscription. As the only CRM that offers a full-funnel approach, you can enjoy everything we have to offer with no risk to you.

Request your free trial today!

How CRM Helps You Manage Real Estate Teams

Posted on July 27, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Real Estate CRM

Real estate transactions are unique. Long-term, individualized, and complex, they require more attention, greater nurturing, and smarter strategies than do other types of transactions.

That is why they also require custom-built CRM software. Customer relationship management looks different in real estate than in any other industry. Technology that effectively supports real estate agents as they gain leads and move those leads through the sales funnel has to look different too.

That is why the best CRM for real estate teams is flexible, tailored, and feature-rich. Read on for a look at how the right real estate team CRM can help you manage your team, make more sales, and implement processes designed specifically for the buying and selling of property.

CRM systems for real estate teams offer total integration

Before CRM, your real estate team used an array of tools to connect with leads. From email to databases, from Zillow to DocuSign, these tools enable you to earn, track, assign, nurture, and advance leads through the sales funnel. But they were also difficult to keep track of.

Not anymore. The right real estate CRM integrates all of those tools into a single, powerful, intuitive interface. Import contacts from your databases. Score leads based on information gathered from your website, real estate sites, and contacts. Automatically process paperwork through the same platform.

With total integration, your CRM can automate, streamline, and simplify the lead nurturing process. Simply sign into your CRM dashboard, where follow-ups are scheduled (or initiated), leads are added, and scored, and all of your tools are accessible in one location.

CRM for real estate agents enables on-the-go productivity

Real estate agents rarely put in a full day in the office. Instead, they are constantly on the go, meeting with buyers and sellers, buying houses, overseeing inspections, and more. CRM systems for real estate teams need to keep up.

With mobile integrations, the best CRM for real estate teams make it simple to keep up with leads and contacts from anywhere. CRM software that includes a mobile app makes all of the software’s features available anytime, anywhere, from your mobile device.

With the right program, you can make phone calls, send emails, update notes, track leads, follow up with contacts, and close sales from your car, restaurant, client home, or anywhere else your day takes you.

With GoCRM, we also have GPS capabilities built into our platform for simple tracking of your team’s day, appointments, and client contacts. Seamless communication and lead management for real estate has never been easier.

The top real estate CRM for teams allows for ground-up customization

Not every CRM is right for real estate teams. With their unique needs, agents require specialized support and features to effectively move leads through the sales funnel and close deals.

That is why the best real estate CRM for teams is one that allows for ground-up customization. With extensive options available, real estate teams can define their needs and build in the functionality they require to improve their productivity and their sales.

Here are just a few of the ways in which real estate agents should be able to customize their CRM:

Task automation
Lead assignment
Workflow structure
Contact filters
Forms
Lifecycle stages
And more

The right CRM built for the specific applications your team needs becomes a powerful tool driving productivity, innovation, and results among every member of your real estate team.

CRM for real estate agents improves time management

When you manage a real estate team, your responsibility is to maximize their productivity with smart policies and streamlined processes that save time. The right CRM systems deliver productivity and save time by making it easier, and faster than ever before to generate, follow up with, and nurture leads.

Manual tasks can eat up hours that your agents could be spending finding the perfect home for a client or making a sale. Replace repetitive data entry and lead scoring with a CRM that pulls in information from hundreds of sources and organizes it in one easy location according to the custom fields you choose.

Enjoy automatic lead scoring and assignment so agents always focus on the highest-quality leads first. Save your agents the time it takes them to learn about a lead by scouring two databases, an email account, and their colleague’s brains by giving them a CRM that can synthesize all that information and deliver it to one place for easy access.

The best CRMs for real estate agents do more than automate manual tasks and organize data. They also perform these time-saving tasks to get your agents focused on the most important parts of their jobs:

Integrate with your team’s current workflow
Trigger campaigns based on a lead’s score or activity
Automatically initiate drip campaigns
Automate first contact for certain leads
Schedule or initiate follow ups for leads after certain triggers occur (i.e. action taken on your website, certain amount of time since last contact, etc.).

With an effective CRM taking over time-consuming tasks and streamlining others, your real estate team will always be on top of their game. They can focus on advanced lead generation and nurturing so you and they can enjoy more sales and greater profits.

The top real estate CRM for teams is easy to use

Real estate agents are experts in real estate, not technology. If they have to fight with a sluggish or complicated customer relationship management software, they may choose not to use it all. A system they cannot use will also never save them the time they need to work more productively.

That is why the CRM you implement needs to be lean, agile, and intuitive. The best CRMs for real estate agents have all the features they need, with none of the extra bloat that can slow down the interface and increase the complexity of the platform. The only thing worse than navigating a complicated piece of software is navigating features you cannot even use.

Customization can help you to find a CRM that is as lean and lightweight as you need. Add the functionality you require and leave out the rest. Choose simplicity over bells and whistles, as long as your program delivers what your team needs.

In addition, your real estate CRM should boast an intuitive user interface where all relevant information is available at a single glance. GoCRM, for example, presents all relevant data about your leads and contacts within a single interface that you can easily understand and interact with.

Add comprehensive training to an easy to use CRM (GoCRM includes employee training), and you can keep streamlined processes and lead management in the hands of everyone on your team.

Real estate CRMs give you a 360-degree view of your leads

Real estate leads often take longer to convert into customers than do leads in other industries. Thanks to this longer life and the more extensive nurturing required to move prospects through the sales funnel, you need a CRM that can deliver a 360-degree view of your contacts.

For example, if a lead looks at a home on Zillow and then waits 60 days to reach out to your office, can your CRM see their previous interest and score them accurately? Can your CRM track a prospect’s activity and contacts over multiple channels and over the course of weeks or months?

The right CRM for your real estate team will seamlessly track leads from the beginning of the sales funnel to the end, no matter how long the process takes. This capability reduces duplicate leads and ensures that your team always responds appropriately to every contact

In addition to tracking leads over time and across channels, the right CRM for real estate agents can accurately assess which channels drive not just the most activity but also the most profit for your business.

As a result, you can more effectively focus on the leads and the marketing channels that yield the most business. With long-term tracking of lead activity and robust reporting, a strong real estate CRM, like GoCRM, can enhance the accuracy, effectiveness, and success of your team’s efforts.

Total integration. On-the-go productivity. Ground-up customization. Improved time management. Ease of use. Comprehensive lead tracking. The best CRM for real estate agents delivers all the tools you need to effectively manage leads and close sales with customized features that deliver results for the real estate industry.

When looking for a CRM that has all these features, you need to choose between real estate specific CRMs and more generalized CRMs that allow for extensive customization. When making your choice, consider a platform like GoCRM.

With extensive customizable features combined with a powerful platform and intuitive interface, you can use GoCRM to craft a platform that is ideal for real estate and ideal for your specific team. Integrate GoCRM with your existing workflows. Take advantage of its powerful reporting capabilities and numerous integrations. Enjoy a customer management tool that allows your real estate team to more accurately, effectively, and easily manage every lead that comes your way.

Marketing Attribution

Posted on July 20, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Marketing, Product Updates, Web

How To Track Your Marketing

If you can measure it, you can manage it. Tracking your marketing is about more than just numbers. If you do it right, you can use the data to determine what is or isn’t working and to measure the efficacy of different channels and campaigns. Ultimately, this puts you in a position where you’re able to decrease marketing spend on underperforming channels to maximize results from high-performing channels, thus creating a cost-effective marketing strategy that gives you the results you want.

GoCRM offers advanced marketing attribution features that collect valuable in-depth data and help you find out exactly how you should adjust your marketing strategies to increase their results. With so many different marketing campaigns and channels, GoCRM helps you track the detailed performance of each. Let’s understand how to track your marketing with GoCRM.

Marketing Channel & Campaign Tracking

Regardless of your industry, any effective marketing strategy relies on an omnichannel approach. This means you use various channels – like radio, magazines, email sequences, social media ads, SEO blogs, etc – to attract leads. And often, a channel can have multiple marketing campaigns running at once. A singular marketing campaign can also span across various channels. This can get tricky to track if you don’t have the right system, but GoCRM tracks your marketing results across every channel and every campaign.

It assigns specific phone numbers or URLs to your marketing channels and campaigns. This tracks where leads come from and show exactly how many leads a specific source is bringing in. This helps you to get a better idea of how your different marketing channels and campaigns perform. The GoCRM system automatically organizes all your leads into one centralized location where you can see every lead’s exact journey. You can easily view any contact to instantly see their origin, channel, and campaign.

The Methods:

GoCRM offers attribution features that act as the perfect tracking toolbox. Because the system is integrated with all your marketing efforts across the board, it collects valuable data and helps you track your marketing in three main ways:

Call Tracking

Call tracking gives you in-depth information on every person who calls your business and correlates incoming calls with different ads or marketing campaigns. This helps you understand which campaigns are working and how you can adjust your marketing strategies for improved capturing and conversion.

GoCRM helps you detect leads by assigning different phone numbers to different marketing elements. Whenever a lead uses a specific contact phone number to contact you, you will know which marketing material they engaged with. This way, you can connect leads to the right channel, measure different channels, and analyze whether results match spend.

Dynamic Number Insertion & Form Tracking

Instead of just knowing a lead came from your website, GoCRM integrates with your website to track all forms and phone calls and the lead’s entire session data. Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) integration changes any phone number from within the website to update in real-time in every place where it’s listed to measure the impact of marketing efforts on inbound contact.

Through DNI, GoCRM integrates with your website and tracks all website form submissions and calls to collect the following information: Page URL, Referrer URL, Landing Page URL, UTM source (tracks which platform the traffic comes from, like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter), UTM medium (shows what kind of traffic it is, such as paid, referral, organic, etc), and UTM campaign (pinpoints the specific campaign that resulted in the traffic.) This way, you can see the lead’s behavior and their steps taken while engaging with you. GoCRM’s web tracking can also be used for designated URLs to gauge how certain campaigns, products, or special offers compare to each other.

Direct Lead Integration

Even direct leads can be tracked with GoCRM’s advanced direct lead integration. It uses third-party Zapier integrations to collect leads which can then be automatically assigned to a source from within GoCRM.

Examples:

Wondering exactly how these tracking methods work? Here are some examples of what you can do with your GoCRM tracking tools:

Offline Channels

With the GoCRM Channels toolset, you can create unique phone numbers and track custom URLs for your marketing pieces. So say you had a promotion being advertised through direct mail, this postcard will have a designated phone number and/or URL so that if somebody calls you from the postcard, the system will know where the call originated. If somebody visits the landing page, then makes a phone call or submits a form, through DNI, we’ll be able to trace it back to the source direct mail.

Online Channels

Leads come from various places online, like Search Engines or Social Media. GoCRM combines call and URL tracking to accurately determine where leads found you. It determines what post, ad, campaign or other element lead them to you. This example shows how GoCRM tracks incoming leads from Facebook through a variety of methods. It also demonstrates how a lead is tracked if they directly called the unique number listed on a Facebook page.

Third-Party Direct Sources

Whenever a form is filled out by a lead, whether it’s online or offline, it will be tracked. GoCRM also lets you integrate direct sources from a third party with Zapier integration. The system uses all the information available on a lead to autofill forms with their right details and ensures all third-party forms are captured as well.

Don’t Forget About Reports

While having access to data about your marketing performance is great, it’s only one part of tracking. The other part is being able to view all of this information in a way that helps you understand what is happening and learn where you should make changes. This is why GoCRM also gives you the option of creating detailed reports of your data.

The system compiles all tracked data into an in-depth report that breaks down your marketing performance. These results can be viewed by channel, show the month-to-month growth of each, as well as how many deals were closed from every channel. These reports measure your marketing spend compared to the results to tell you what the ROI of different marketing tactics are. Essentially, detailed reports help you minimize marketing spend while maximizing results.

Curious about GoCRM? Try it free for 30 days to see these tracking features and much more in action.

Top 5 Ways CRM Empowers Sales Teams

Posted on July 20, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Sales

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A motivated and empowered sales team is a force to be reckoned with. Creating an environment where your sales team can thrive involves a combination of smart management, talented team members, and the right tools.

Among those tools should be a great CRM. In fact, effective sales teams use a CRM 81% more often than do teams that are less successful. This tool does more than offer real-time insights into leads and customers. The right CRM for sales teams empowers your sales team in five incredible ways.

1. Streamlines employee onboarding

The more time you have to spend onboarding new team members, the less time you, and they, have to spend actually closing deals. Improving CRM use compliance among your sales team also means that you have to effectively train team members in using the platform from the first moment they join your team.

Enter a CRM software for teams. More than just a way to connect with customers, the right platform makes it easier to get new employees up and running with your sales team.

While it will not entirely replace your traditional onboarding process, such as in-class training and mentoring by seasoned team members, it can assist the process in the following ways:

• Ease of Use

An intuitive user interface is important for your entire sales team, but doubly so for new members. You need them to start using your CRM right away so they can start entering data, nurturing leads, closing sales, and communicating with team members.

A CRM that delivers an intuitive user interface and seamless integration (or replacement) with the phone, email, calendars, and more is less frustrating to use and faster to learn. That ease of use translates into new team members who feel empowered to perform from day 1.

• Self-Teaching Features

Small sales teams may not have much time to spend walking new employees through processes and technologies.

The best CRM for 10-person sales teams, or other small teams, is one that can help with self-teaching tools such as walkthroughs and video instruction built into the platform. These tools reduce the in-class instruction needed while quickly familiarizing team members with the CRM so they can start getting to work.

2. Centralizes customer data

Customers expect sales teams to possess and act upon their information. In fact, 84% of customers express frustration when a salesperson cannot immediately access their account. They feel even more frustrated when they receive duplicate communications from your sales team.

An empowered sales team is a team that has instant, easy access to all of the relevant information about every prospect. The best way to centralize your customer data? CRM software.

CRM for sales teams collects all the data you have on every customer in one interface, where any member of your team can quickly view it. Information your team can access through the right CRM includes the following:

Contact information
Account history
Customer communications
Industry and business
Hobbies
Preferences
Relationship Strength
And more

When your sales team can access the most up-to-date information in one location, they can avoid duplicate communications, seamlessly nurture a lead through the sales funnel, close more deals, deliver personalized information to customers, collaborate with other team members, and save time.

Perhaps even more importantly, they can keep customers happier. No more contacts slipping through the cracks. No more hunting around for information while on the line with a client. No more duplicate communications. Just efficient, streamlined, and productive work.

3. Automates processes

Manually entering customer information into a database is a surefire way to squelch employee morale, and productivity. Empower your sales team to accomplish more with CRM software that automates many of the repetitive tasks your employees currently accomplish manually.

A CRM for sales teams offers many ways to automate tasks your team used to have to do themselves. The best platforms allow you to customize which tasks are automated, and even to integrate those automated tasks with your current workflow.

Imagine how much more productive and motivated your sales team would be if they could let your CRM software do these tasks while they focused on the meaningful work of lead nurturing and deal closing:

• Customer Data Entry

Your CRM should pull in data from every important source automatically and organize it in one central location for easy access.

• Relationship Strength

Your system should help you stay top of mind and provide you insights of business that may slip away.

• Certain Standard Responses to Customer Inquiries

Dispense with manual boiler-plate responses to contact forms and basic inquiries.

• Task Assignment

Your CRM can automatically assign leads and tasks so everyone knows their responsibilities and no tasks are duplicated.

• Appointment Scheduling

With a phone or email integration, your CRM can automatically add appointments and follow-ups to the calendar.

4. Can be used anytime, anywhere

In today’s digital, and pandemic-influenced, world, teams increasingly work remotely. Scattered across towns, states, and even countries, sales people need a way to stay connected with each other and with their prospects.

The best CRM for international teams, and other teams working remotely, can be used anytime, anywhere. Consider these features that make mobile, remote work possible for even the most distant members of your sales force.

• Phone and Email Integration

With built-in phone and email integrations, your CRM can work with most major email providers and phone carriers. That means that your team members can make phone calls from any device, or create and send emails from any provider, and have it show up as coming from your business.

In addition, these integrations allow the CRM to automatically enter data and schedule appointments based on the conversations your team members are having. The result? Your team is empowered to work anywhere they are, anytime that is convenient, from any device they have access to.

• Centralized Data

Collaboration and communication among your team members is key to turning them into a powerful sales force. Even remote teams can achieve effortless collaboration with the right CRM, thanks to this software’s ability to centrally locate all data about a prospect.

If one team member makes a phone call in the morning, a team member who comes online in the afternoon can see that phone call, and the associated notes, right away. If a lead contacts your organization overnight, your CRM can qualify and assign that lead so that the appropriate team member can reach out in the morning.

CRM software for teams doesn’t just create streamlined communication with your prospects. It allows your entire team to operate as a unified whole.

5. Improves employee buy-in

In today’s world, you can no longer control a sales team with orders and metrics alone. A productive sales team is a motivated sales team. When you have buy-in from every team member, you do not need to control them; you simply need to support them with the right tools and training.

The right CRM software can help you create a motivated and powerhouse sales team by delivering tools that make their job easier, more efficient, and more productive.

Consider, for example, how much more focused your team would be if they could devote their time to qualified leads rather than sorting through hundreds of low score leads. Imagine how much more they can accomplish when they do not have to spend hours tracking down information on a prospect before a sales meeting.

💡Takeaways

With the right CRM for sales teams, you can improve their efficiency and their productivity by saving them time, putting relevant information at their fingertips, and making collaboration intuitive.

If your sales team objects to using a CRM, you might just be using the wrong one. The right CRM for your business will empower and motivate your sales team, not present a struggle as you try to encourage its use and face pushback from your team.

If you need a powerful, customizable, and unique CRM for your sales team, consider GoCRM. As the only CRM with a full-funnel approach, we offer the tools you need to improve productivity and efficiency combined with an easy to use interface that makes the platform a pleasure to use.

Discover how GoCRM empowers your sales team. Create a flexible and supportive environment with the right CRM.

Do you need to streamline employee onboarding? We provide tutorials, walkthroughs, and support to teach your employees how to take full advantage of our platform’s features from day 1.
Do you need to centralize customer data? GoCRM pulls in information from hundreds of sources, automatically, and organizes it according to your custom fields so you can always get the information you need at a glance.
Do you need to automate processes? GoCRM will reduce your team’s workload and eliminate repetitive tasks while making sure no lead ever gets overlooked.
Do you have a remote or mobile team? GoCRM allows for phone calls, text messages and emails to be sent from anywhere, at any time. As a recommended CRM for a small sales team with full Google apps integration, you can use any of the tools you want from any location.
Do you want to improve employee buy-in? Motivate your team with a CRM the tools that make their job easier to accomplish while freeing them up to focus on the leads and the strategies that will deliver sales.

Empower your sales team with a powerful CRM, choose GoCRM. Request your demo and start closing more deals today.

Best Practices For Texting Your Real Estate Leads

Posted on July 14, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Real Estate CRM

Text wins over email when it comes to sales and marketing. Studies have found that 98 percent of text messages are opened, compared to 20 percent of emails. People read texts more quickly than they read emails too: Over 90 percent of text messages are read within 3 minutes.

The Real Estate industry is no stranger to this boom. A 2019 report by the National Association of Realtors found the vast majority of real estate agents prefer to use SMS to communicate with their clients.

Need convincing? Think about your own approach to emails vs. texts. Do you feel like you are being marketed to more when you receive an email or a text? Which do you answer faster? And which do you open more frequently?

Your leads are responding the same way. That is why real estate lead texting is a must-have tool to add to your arsenal. To get results, you have to go about it the right way. Here are some of the best practices for reaching out to your leads via text message.

Real Estate Texting Best Practices

1. Call first

Texting real estate leads is not meant to replace good old-fashioned connections in person and over the phone. If you try to text before making a more personal connection:

You are 40 percent less likely to receive a response.¹
You are 4.9 percent less likely to close the deal after getting a response.

You should always have an initial contact with a lead before texting. Your text should never come as a surprise to your lead. Preferably, you should make that contact over the phone in order to enjoy the best results from your conversations.

2. Get permission

Texting is a more personal form of engagement than an email and feels more intimate than a business phone call. As a result, you should always ask for permission to send texts to a lead, even if they have willingly provided you with their phone number.

You can get this permission by including an opt-in or opt-out on online forms, or by asking permission during an in-person visit or phone call. When asking for permission in person, make sure to emphasize:

Why you will text the lead (i.e. Confirm appointments, provide links to possible homes, etc.)
That texting is common practice for you (i.e. Say something like “I text many of my clients because it is convenient for them.”).
That texting is fast and convenient (You may want to emphasize, for example, how texting allows you to alert them to potential properties as soon as they come on the market).
That you will never text outside specific windows of time (i.e. After business hours)

3. Text promptly

Some experts recommend reaching out to text message leads within 5 minutes of hearing from them. This may not be realistic in every circumstance (i.e. When they text you late at night) unless you are using some form of automation for real estate, but it is a good rule of thumb. Since most people read texts within 3 minutes of receiving them, taking longer than 5-10 minutes to respond could make your lead feel ignored.

When initiating texts, you want to time your contact carefully. In general, you should follow these rules for timing your texts:

Avoid texts outside business hours.
Never text early in the morning or late in the evening.
Consider sending initial texts on Wednesdays or Thursdays because these days receive better responses.
Consider texting in the afternoon for better responses.

Of course, much of your successful texting strategy will depend upon following your instincts and your knowledge of the potential client when it comes to timing, messaging, tone, and more. Never be afraid to reach out when you feel that it is appropriate.

4. Keep It Simple, Silly

Texting is not a replacement for an email. Meant to be short and sweet, it is best used to communicate quickly and efficiently with leads. A long paragraph of text will confuse or frustrate clients, who may choose not to read or engage with your message.

To boost engagement and effectively deliver your message over text, keep your texts to 300 characters or fewer. Try the following tips to keep the length of your text messages down:

Avoid text signatures.
Communicate one piece of information per text.
Use direct, concise language.

5. Do not spam your leads

Permission to text a lead is a privilege. Do not abuse it by sending spam to your contacts. Keep every text personal and relevant. The best practice when it comes to text marketing your real estate leads is to make sure that every text you send has a clear purpose and adds value to your potential client.

For example, if you are sending a follow up text about a property that a lead has shown interest in, you should say something about the property that will interest your prospect or dovetail with what you know they are looking for in their purchase.

Examples of reasons you may want to text a real estate lead are the following;

Set an appointment
Confirm an appointment
Alert a prospect to a new real estate listing
Send a resource
Provide quick answers to prospect questions

In order to avoid spamming your leads with texts, you also need to avoid sending too many messages. A good rule of thumb is not to send multiple texts without a follow up from the lead.

6. Strike a balance between professional and friendly

Texts are a more laidback way of communicating. People do not expect stilted or formal language. On the other hand, real estate lead texting is still a professional form of communication. In order to connect with your leads, you need to strike the right balance between professional and friendly. Try these practices:

Allow your personality to come through the text.
Use contractions when they feel natural.
Use emojis 🤝😊 when they feel natural 🌱
Avoid formal language.
Avoid text abbreviations (like “ur” for “your.”)
Write in complete sentences.

7. Use your texts to create a conversation

The best lead gen intro text for new real estate leads is one that encourages a response from the lead. As you and your lead interact, you have the opportunity to build a relationship that guides them down the sales funnel.

Try these practices to build a conversation with your leads over text:

Ask questions rather than making statements.
Address one thing in your text at a time.
Ask your lead for their opinion or ideas.
Don’t just send a resource; elicit feedback about the link.
Use clear, conversational language.
Match your tone to your relationship with the client.
Make sure to respond promptly to any messages your client sends after your text.

8. Know when to avoid using text

Texting can be a valuable aspect of your lead gen strategy. However, there are times when you should not text a lead and should pursue other methods of contact. For example, because texting is more casual than other forms of communication, you may need to avoid texting when you must formally communicate important information.

Consider these practices to avoid texting real estate leads:

When you need to deliver sensitive information.
When you are dealing with legally binding documents.
When you are making contact with a lead for the very first time.
When a lead has not responded to an initial text message.
When you do not have permission to text a phone number.
When a contact asks that you reach out a different way.
When you have nothing of value to add to your conversation with your lead.

Make texting part of a larger lead gen strategy

Texting your real estate leads should be only one part of a larger lead gen strategy. While SMS communication can be helpful when you want to connect quickly with leads, gaining their attention, eliciting fast responses, and guiding them through the sales funnel, you will only make sales if you operate a comprehensive campaign for capturing and nurturing leads.

The best way to use texting is as a supplement to a strategy that integrates many other forms of communication. Your strategy should include phone calls, in-person appointments, showings, blogs, a website, print materials, virtual tours, ads, social media, and more.

Together, all of these channels of communication connect with your target audiences and deliver the information they need, when they need it, where they need to see it. Texting becomes a useful part of that strategy when you use it to arrange meetings, follow up with questions, and respond to client answers.

💡 Takeaways

The right CRM can integrate text with customer relationship management that works for your business.

When you choose GoCRM, you enjoy a customizable CRM that integrates phone, email, text, and more to gather data into a single, powerful, interface.

Text from a company number, even when you are using your personal mobile device. Communicate on the go. Find the latest information on every lead. Close more sales. All with the only CRM that has a full-funnel approach designed to turn your sales and marketing efforts into a single powerhouse. Request your demo today!

7 Ways CRM Software Can Be Used For Marketing Purposes

Posted on July 8, 2020 by GoCRM Team - Marketing

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Customer relationship management (CRM) has long been considered the purview of a company’s sales team. Marketing delivers the leads, but it is the sales team’s responsibility to nurture those leads through the sales funnel.

Not anymore. With CRM software rapidly advancing in its features, capabilities, and customization options, it is now as much a tool for marketing as it is for sales. In fact, when businesses use CRM software to merge the efforts of marketing and sales, they create a powerhouse of customer conversion.

CRM marketing strategy focuses on a number of specific areas where the CRM’s functionality can inform, automate, and improve the marketing field.

Lead Targeting

The importance of CRM in marketing begins with identifying the best audiences to target with specific marketing efforts. CRM software also allows marketers to identify and target the most profitable prospects, as well as qualify leads before handing them over to sales.

CRM software accomplishes this task by pulling in information about potential prospects from every possible source. GoCRM, for example, can pull data from hundreds of sources in order to create a complete picture of every prospect. This data is placed in one central location for easy access by marketers and sales teams alike.

Marketers can identify the audiences that make the most purchases, deliver the most revenue to the business, respond the most to certain marketing tactics, and more. Armed with this information, they can deliver targeted marketing that maximizes revenue and profits.

Lead Qualification

Without the right CRM marketing initiative, businesses have two options: Send every lead to the sales team or spend many hours manually qualifying leads before handing them over to sales. The first option overwhelms sales with leads that may or may not be ready to engage with the business, while the latter consumes time the marketing team needs to reach new prospects.

That is why one of the most useful marketing CRM features available to businesses is automatic lead qualification. As leads begin to come in, the CRM software can analyze the information associated with the lead, assign it a lead score, and take automated action depending upon that score.

Among the many CRM marketing examples available is the CRM’s ability to automatically send high score leads to the sales team, along with all relevant information. At the same time, low score leads may trigger additional marketing campaigns, automated follow ups, and more.

Lead qualification is useful from a marketing and a sales perspective. It allows the marketing team to identify prospects who require marketing follow up, while saving both marketers and sales team members time and effort. With more qualified leads and greater clarity about those leads, sales can focus on what they do best: Closing the deal with the leads that marketing delivers.

Audience Segmentation

Any CRM marketing strategy has to include segmenting audiences. Chances are, you already segment audiences in order to deliver impactful campaigns to the right groups of people.

However, segmentation can be an arduous manual task that is prone to errors. Without enough information about a potential prospect, you may place them into the wrong category, which means they receive marketing messages that are not relevant to them.

Today, marketers need the ability to personalize their messaging to every potential prospect, and that means they need detailed information about every potential prospect. CRM software delivers by gathering information about prospects from every possible source into a single, organized location.

Imagine moving your marketing segmentation from broad categories like company or industry, to specific categories, such as last product viewed, emails opened, hobbies, social media frequented, and more. Imagine the level of personalization you could achieve, as you craft messages tailored to every prospect’s needs and interests. CRM for marketing makes this possible.

Personalized Messages

Personalized marketing gets results. Consider these statistics:

72% of consumers will only engage with personalized marketing messages
Marketing’s digital personalization can cut the cost of acquiring a customer by half
Personalization increases brand loyalty among millennials by 28 percent
80% of customers say they would be more loyal to a brand that showed they really understood them

That is why CRM marketing initiatives have to include personalization. With the CRM software at their fingertips, marketers can immediately access a wealth of information about their target audiences, and they can automatically craft personalized messages to them.

For example, an email campaign to an email list can include a prospect’s name, as well as personal details such as the company they work for. More in-depth information, such as a prospect’s hobbies, can also be used to identify messages and channels for effective marketing communication.

The key to this type of personalization is marketing CRM features that give marketers insights into their target audiences. Customizable fields, like those in GOCRM, for example, allow you to capture and organize any information you find helpful in crafting your marketing messages.

Segmentation and personalization work hand-in-hand. Marketers can customize their CRM to gather any data they need to achieve their desired audience segmentation. Then, they can use that data to choose which messages will be most impactful for each audience and even each individual prospect.

Together, segmentation and personalization drive more qualified leads into the business, and then help to nurture those leads through the sales funnel toward conversion.

Automated Lead Nurturing

Marketing doesn’t just stop at passing a lead over to sales. Marketing messages delivered at every stage of the sales funnel can provide prospects with the information and the encouragement they need to take the next step toward conversion.

Identifying where every prospect is in the sales funnel and delivering the right message at the right time and in the right place is impossible for businesses attempting to track their leads manually. Leads will fall through the cracks and sales will be lost.

CRM for marketing, however, closes the gap between marketing and lead nurturing and automates the process of analyzing and responding to leads at every stage of the sales funnel. The software can accomplish these tasks because of its ability to collect and analyze large amounts of data about every customer.

For example, your CRM software can identify a prospect who makes a purchase and automatically begin a campaign to win that customer’s repeat business. In addition, the CRM can see how that client prefers to receive information (i.e. Facebook ads or emails) and deliver the re-engagement campaign through those channels.

Lead Follow-Up

Following up on prospective customers isn’t just the responsibility of the sales team. Marketing also requires certain actions in response to prospect activity.

For example, social media engagement requires a prompt response, as does a review left on your website. Your social media manager needs to know when individuals take these actions.

Similarly, new information about a prospect may require a new marketing message. That means your marketing teams needs to know when new information arises.

At these times, CRM software can enhance marketing’s ability to respond in a timely and appropriate manner. Automated processes within the CRM (which you can customize and integrate into your existing workflows), ensures that no follow up task goes unnoticed.

For example, the CRM may alert members of the marketing team when prospects take certain actions, like opening emails, responding to a social media post, or leaving a review.

The software also provides a place where new information about prospects is gathered, integrated, and made available to every marketing and sales team member. Everyone has access to the most accurate and up to date information about every prospect.

The right CRM platform may even be able to automatically complete some of that follow up for you, reducing your team’s workload and allowing them to focus on the more complex and important marketing interactions necessary to drive customers down the sales funnel.

Performance Tracking

Analytics are central to any marketing campaign. With data on the performance of individual campaigns and advertisements, your marketing team can pursue the most successful efforts to maximize leads and conversions among every target audience.

CRM for marketing delivers the most detailed and organized analytics possible for your marketing team by tracking the origin of every lead, the quality of that lead, and the revenue generated by that lead.

With the right CRM, there is no guesswork about the success of your marketing. With that knowledge comes power: The power to fine tune your messaging to get the most qualified prospects to engage with your business.

When you optimize your channels, your messaging, and your prospects based on real-time data and actual results, you can develop an ongoing marketing plan that drives leads and sales for your business.

As your marketing becomes smarter, thanks to your CRM software, you gradually drive down marketing costs and costs per acquisition. You also save time, which means you have the time and manpower you need to expand your efforts to reach new prospects.

To enjoy the benefits of CRM for marketing, you need the right CRM software. GoCRM delivers a full-funnel approach and integrated CRM marketing features.

Request a demo today to find out how a customized, integrated, powerful CRM software can turn your marketing team into a marketing powerhouse.

What Is CRM Software Designed To Do?

Posted on June 26, 2020 by GoCRM Team - CRM 101

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Salespeople spend only 34 percent of their time selling to prospective customers. The other 66 percent of their time is spent managing the data related to the sales process. Improved efficiency in the collection, organization, and management of that data is the single biggest way to boost your sales and marketing team’s productivity.

Enter customer relationship management (CRM) software. A powerful tool with dozens of applications, CRM software automates tasks, creates efficiencies, centralizes information, and optimizes customer interactions for businesses of all sizes. With the right CRM tool, you can build a full-funnel approach to your sales process that nurtures leads through the entire customer lifecyle, all for less time, less effort, and (probably) less money than you are currently spending.

What is CRM software?

Simply put, CRM software is a program that gathers and organizes all data on every lead and every customer in a central location, where it can be used to forge strong customer relationships and improve interactions with leads.

However, CRM tools offer much more than centralized data storage. A good CRM is a powerful tool for streamlining your entire sales and marketing process so you can strategize, implement, and connect in a more effective and personalized way.

Imagine, for a moment, what you could achieve if you could automate email responses to initial online inquiries or automatically schedule a follow-up phone call 48 hours after an email to a lead. Would you be able to devote more time to closing the deal with your biggest leads? What if you could personalize your marketing to individual leads? Would you be able to close more sales more quickly?

Consider the efficiency your sales team could achieve if every email, phone call, meeting, contact form, and deal was automatically entered in one central location, rather than being spread across multiple platforms. Then, dream about what could happen if every team member could access this information at a single glance. And organize it and customize it.

If you are imagining new efficiencies, collaboration possibilities, happier customers, fewer missed opportunities and more sales, than you are imagining what is possible with the right CRM platform.

CRM Benefits

A good CRM, efficiently customized and utilized, delivers a wealth of benefits to an organization and its sales teams. Here are some of the advantages CRM software can give your business:

1. Data Organization and Utilization

Your CRM software will pull in data from many sources, including phone calls and emails, and organize it in an easy-to-understand format within the program. Your team can then organize, segment, analyze, and view this data at will in order to use it to its full potential to serve current customers and convert new ones.

2. Communications Personalization

Any team member can see a customer’s entire history at a single glance, so communication is always streamlined and personalized.

3. Improved Customer Service

When your sales and customer service teams can see a customer’s entire profile, including previous communications, purchases, and activity, they can better respond to customer needs. Improved customer service leads to happier customers, lower churn rates, and greater customer retention.

4. Improved Efficiency

With a CRM that congregates every single interaction in one easy-to-read interface, leads no longer fall through the cracks. No more missed phone calls, follow-up emails, or forgotten meetings. No more repetitive contacts and fewer hours getting up to speed on a customer before heading out to a sales meeting. Greater efficiency leaves your team more time to do what they do best: Sell your products and services.

5. Improved Collaboration

CRM software does more than improve interactions with customers. It enables collaborations among your team members and among the different teams in your organization. Everyone can access the same information on customers, enabling everyone to see what others have done with a lead and preventing miscommunications and redundancy.

6. Increased Sales

When your team has to devote less time to organizational tasks like entering data about customers into spreadsheets or hunting for the latest information on a lead, they can spend more time closing deals and making sales. Plus, the insights that a CRM provides into a customer’s history and preferences allows your sales and marketing teams to personalize their approaches in order to win more customers.

7. Analytics Insights

CRM software can deliver critical information on every lead, such as business information, demographic information, and what ad or contact led them to your organization. Use these insights to craft personalized marketing, segment your leads, identify where each lead is in the sales funnel, pinpoint weak areas where customer churn is high, and more.

8. Task automation

Save your sales team hours of time and improve the percentage of time they spend selling by automating tasks, emails, phone calls, and workflows.

How does CRM software work?

A CRM software works by utilizing a wide array of features to automate tasks, emails, phone calls, and workflows, and to collect and organize data that you can then use to improve your sales and marketing efforts. A CRM program will also integrate other programs, such as email, phone numbers, texts, and even GPS in order to serve as a one-stop location for all sales and marketing related information.

The specific features of a CRM will vary depending upon the platform you choose and the functionalities you need for your business. However, a good CRM will deliver powerful, streamlined, customized services in the following areas:

1. Data Collection

Your CRM software will work by pulling information in about prospects from every conceivable source, including phone calls, email, social media, your website, and more. Every time your sales team communicates with a prospect, that information will be added to the customer’s profile within the CRM.

2. Data Segmentation

A CRM can segment your prospects by many different fields, from geographic location to location in the sales funnel to industry or demographic information. Segmentation allows for personalized sales and marketing techniques.

3. Task and Workflow Automation

Your CRM will automate many aspects of your workflow, including scheduling appointments and phone calls to sending emails and incorporating information into a customer’s profile to save you time.

4. Analytics

A CRM’s analytics capabilities allow you to track leads, conversions, and marketing efficacy and even evaluate a lead’s importance so your sales team can focus on the most important prospects first.

5. Lead and Contact Management

CRM software enables the management of leads and contacts by displaying all communications and information about these leads and contacts in one easy to access location.

What’s a good CRM software experience?

This wide array of services and functionalities allows a CRM to deliver productivity-boosting, efficiency-creating benefits that advance leads along the sales funnel with less work and more success on your end.

When you choose a CRM for your business, you can expect to go through a process of customization that matches the CRM’s features to your business and your workflow. A good CRM like GoCRM should deliver the following experiences for your business:

Personalized Setup

A CRM should complement and enhance the workflows you already have in place so you do not have to completely change the way you do business. By integrating into your current workflow and processes, a good CRM software reduces the amount of training you need to complete and supports systems you already know work.

As a result, a CRM should work by enhancing the processes you already use. For example, if your workflow requires a follow-up phone call 24 hours after an email, your CRM should automatically schedule the phone call and add it to your customer’s profile, rather than changing the frequency with which the phone calls are made.

Customized Utilization

You can also expect customized access to your CRM. GoCRM is completely customizable to meet your sales and marketing needs, whatever they may be.

For example, add as many fields as you need into a customer’s profile in order to capture the information you need to effectively personalize communications and convert them. Segment your audiences based on your desired demographics. Here are just a few of the things that you can customize with GoCRM:

Lifecycles
Forms
Stages
Statuses
Analytics
All CRM Functions

💡 Takeaways

A CRM software is a powerful addition to any company’s sales and marketing teams because it enables the efficient, transparent collection and utilization of customer data. As a result, it drives greater customer engagement, interaction, and support.

With GoCRM, you enjoy all of the benefits, functionalities, and efficiencies of a CRM software, and then some. We are the only customer relationship management solution that takes on a full-funnel approach by combining powerful marketing and sales features. This means you get a robust platform that supports scalable business growth, streamlines sales processes, and enhances the overall customer experience.

Does all this sound like something your business could use? Request a demo today to find out how a customized, integrated, powerful CRM software can change your sales and marketing efforts for the better.

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Why CRM is Key to Digital Transformation During COVID-19 Times

CRM identifies the right approach to digital transformation.

CRM facilitates a multi-channel approach.

CRM enables personalization of digital approaches.

Data Compilation:

Automated Processes:

💡Takeaways

20 Text Message Templates For All Stages in the Mortgage Lending Sales Process

Text Message Templates Index

Introductory Templates ˄

Follow-Up texts:

Relationship Building Templates ˄

Follow-up texts:

Lead Nurturing Template ˄

Follow-up texts:

Meeting Scheduling Template ˄

Follow-up texts:

Meeting Follow Up Template ˄

Follow-up texts:

Pre-approval Status Template ˄

Follow-up texts:

Review Template ˄

Prospect Re-Engagement Template ˄

Follow Up texts:

User Guidelines

Top 5 Reasons Why CRM Implementations Fail and What To Do About It

1) Lack of Supportive Capabilities

2) Lack of Effective Organizational Integration

3) CRM Investment Without Planning

4) Collaboration Failure Across Departments

5) Failure to Train CRM Users

💡Takeaways

1. “Free” CRMs are rarely free

2. Paid CRMs allow for more users

3. Paid CRMs come with a full set of features

4. Paid CRMs are customizable

5. Paid CRMs integrate with everything

💡Takeaways

CRM systems for real estate teams offer total integration

CRM for real estate agents enables on-the-go productivity

The top real estate CRM for teams allows for ground-up customization

CRM for real estate agents improves time management

The top real estate CRM for teams is easy to use

Real estate CRMs give you a 360-degree view of your leads

How To Track Your Marketing

Marketing Channel & Campaign Tracking

The Methods:

Call Tracking

Dynamic Number Insertion & Form Tracking

Direct Lead Integration

Examples:

Offline Channels

Online Channels

Third-Party Direct Sources

Don’t Forget About Reports

1. Streamlines employee onboarding

• Ease of Use

• Self-Teaching Features

2. Centralizes customer data

3. Automates processes

• Customer Data Entry

• Relationship Strength

• Certain Standard Responses to Customer Inquiries

• Task Assignment

• Appointment Scheduling

4. Can be used anytime, anywhere

• Phone and Email Integration

• Centralized Data

5. Improves employee buy-in

💡Takeaways

Real Estate Texting Best Practices

1. Call first

2. Get permission

3. Text promptly

4. Keep It Simple, Silly

5. Do not spam your leads

6. Strike a balance between professional and friendly

7. Use your texts to create a conversation

8. Know when to avoid using text