A Comprehensive Guide To CRM And CEP For User Engagement

Customer experience is the primary deciding factor influencing the success of any business. You may offer the best products and top-notch services and spend a considerable amount on shipping, but your customers can find all these from your competitors in the industry. So, what are you doing differently?

Customer service is the single thing that can help you stand out in the market.

According to Microsoft's State of Global Customer Service Report, 96% of consumers rely on customer service to decide their brand loyalty.

While businesses spend time and effort building an excellent customer service strategy, what they need is the adoption of advanced technology and automation. Customer Relationship Management(CRM) platforms and Customer Engagement Platforms (CEP) are two solutions that aim to help businesses serve their customers efficiently.

Our team at GrowthJockey has developed this foolproof guide to CRM and CEP to help your business adopt the best solution to improve user engagement.

How CRM and CEP Boost Customer Satisfaction?

Companies need to rethink their customer service strategy and make it a priority to survive in the digital age. Technology has made it easier for customers to get what they want. Companies that fail to meet their demands or stay updated with the changes in the market face consequences.

Currently, there is a gap between the service provided by the companies and the customers' expectations. Almost 54% of consumers in the United States believe that customer experience at most companies needs improvement.

So, what makes for a genuinely enriching customer experience?

Speed. Quality. Personalisation. Convenience. Human-touch. Consistency. These are what consumers are looking for today. They look for a meaningful experience when they purchase a new brand.

For instance, if a new consumer purchases coffee beans from your brand today, you can reward them by sending cookies or a frother with their order. Or if a consumer has not purchased for a long time, send them an email with exciting discounts. Try to collect their feedback and adopt them in the strategy. This shows that you appreciate your customers.

Since performing all these manually is impossible, an effective CRM and CEP can be beneficial. These platforms can help businesses manage customer relationships and interactions.

Imagine having access to a repository of all customer interactions. Every purchase history, social media message, feedback, live chat, and every possible interaction. By using this data, you can show targeted advertisements, tailor your products and services, and improve the overall experience for users.

This is precisely how a CRM and CEP can bridge the gap between customer demands and the customer engagement strategy of a brand. Leveraging these platforms, you can scale your business to new heights and boost profits.

Must-Have Features to Look for in a CRM

CRM is not a lead management software anymore. There has been tremendous growth in the functions of CRM that is helping marketers develop a solid strategy.

CRM software systems store and manage all detailed information of customers, including contact details, their interaction with the brand, and purchase history. It creates a centrally accessible database that supports companies by organising all data and managing client relationships.

Almost all CRM tools today support automation, which is particularly helpful in boosting productivity at work and saving time.

GrowthJockey specialises in automation and can customise CRM tools to help your business. While choosing CRM software, you must be mindful of specific features that boost user engagement. Let's look at our expert guide to CRM.

1. Allows Streamlining Customer Interactions

If you already have a coherent customer-centric strategy, CRM software can change the customer experience by providing a more engaging experience.

They can track the behaviour and actions of customers, from brand awareness to loyalty, across every platform. It streamlines the experience and reduces repetitive tasks like showing a pop-up message, sending feedback after a purchase, or simply sending a thank-you note.

2. Personalise Interactions

Personalising the experience, like adding the customer's first name or showing them products of their choice, can change how they perceive your brand. This can also build a connection with your clients.

Using your CRM system's data, each user can get a hyper-personalised experience. Showing customers products, they are likely to buy based on their behaviour and interest, purchase history, and sending them content they are likely to enjoy is possible with a CRM system.

3.Effective Marketing Initiatives

The gathered data can help the marketing team to launch targeted marketing campaigns. It can show advertisements to prospective customers and guide them through the sales funnel.

Also, CRM can result in integration between the marketing and sales departments.

4. Provide Consistent Customer Experience

Customers look for consistent service across all channels. This is crucial to create a positive user engagement experience.

For instance, if a user had purchased their first product with your company on a mobile, you cannot expect to have their next engagement on the same device. CRM systems allow for maintaining consistency across devices and channels.

Must-Have Features to Look for in a CEP

How customers interact with brands has changed. Consumers are flooded with hundreds of marketing messages and advertisements claiming to provide premium service in the digital world.

So, businesses need to keep in mind the preferences and needs of the customers at every stage of interaction. From the brand awareness stage to making a purchase, providing a unique experience is crucial at every stage.

CEP software helps businesses provide customers with seamless, consistent, and rewarding user experience. Individuals are increasing their loyalty to brands that provide them with a consistent and personalised experience. In fact, consistency has proven to increase revenue by 33%.

While choosing a CEP software, choose one that allows flexibility. Here is a guide for you:

1. Functionality

Being able to understand the functionality you want to provide across the different channels is crucial to selecting a CEP.

Avoid choosing a CEP that centralises all channels of communication into one. Identify which area you want to improve. It can be either sending out personalised emails, giving them an engaging onboarding experience or assisting them during their visit to your website.

2. Allows Segmentation

According to a 2021 report, an estimated 2.14 billion individuals worldwide purchased online goods. Different types of individuals have different needs, and their purchase history varies accordingly.

So, the need of the hour is CEPs that support advanced segmentation capabilities to group individuals based on different factors. This allows supporting consumers in different phases of their journey. Instead of broadcasting one message to everyone, it can be customised.

3. Advanced Analytics

Without analytics, you are bound to hit a dead end with your user engagement strategy. Data must be used to back up your actions or base your strategy. It helps build the right experience for your users.

When CEPs provide advanced analytics, you know which strategy is driving results, which segment of customers needs more focus, or if you are retaining customers in the long run.

4. Integration with Other Platforms

It would help if you had a CEP that integrates seamlessly with third-party apps for proper data utilisation.

This is particularly helpful if you have a multi-channel marketing strategy. Different channels will generate different data sets, and you want them together in one place. A customer data platform system can be merged with the CEP software. CEPs that do not allow convenient integration often results in a frustrating experience for your consumers.

CRM Vs. CEP

CRM serves as a model that helps you manage customer interactions with all existing and future clients. It automates customer engagement efforts, collects accurate data, and streamlines the overall process.

While CEP designs experiences for customers to retain them in the long run and improve customer satisfaction, CEP serves as a foundation of your customer's experience with your organisation.

Since both CEM and CEP are designed to improve the customer experience, there are some factors where that overlap. The key is to choose the tools carefully.

We recommend choosing a customised software system for both platforms to reduce cost and increase effectiveness. Whether you want a new CRM system or work with the existing one, our team can drive results for your business.

GrowthJockey has been helping businesses scale new heights by boosting ROI, providing automation services, driving customers down the sales funnel and retaining them in the long run.

Whether you want to design a successful consumer experience, need assistance choosing the right software for your business, or assess your competition in the market, GrowthJockey can help with all that and more! We can help your business turn every customer interaction into an engaging one and build a long-term relationship.

At GrowthJockey, we are committed to delivering tailored solutions that effectively address the critical challenges faced by our clients across various industries, ultimately enhancing the user experience. Regardless of your company's size, whether it's a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now leverage advanced technologies to optimize your user experience. Take a proactive step towards unlocking the next level of growth for your brand by reaching out to us today!