What is a CRM Process? A Guide for Small Businesses

Creating a CRM process is easier than you think (when you have the right information in front of you).

Below are the six steps I utilized when implementing processes into my CRM system.

It’s critical to note that CRM processes are a company-wide effort, demanding input from your sales, customer service, and marketing team. 

Your entire team has to be on board for your CRM process to work as you design it!

1. Generate Brand Awareness

The first step in your CRM process is generating brand awareness.

Basically, this means you need to make a potential customer aware of what your company offers.

This step aims to attract new customers and catch their attention through effective marketing campaigns. 

Marketing teams use various channels like social media and advertisements to generate brand awareness.

However, understanding your target customers is the first step to creating targeted marketing campaigns.

Understand Your Target Audience

You must understand your target audience to turn potential customers into repeat buyers. 

Think of this stage as getting into the heads of your potential customers.

What products do they usually purchase? Where do they buy things from? What types of ads prove most effective?

The goal is to understand as much information as possible about the people who will buy your products or services.

Therefore, your marketing team must research customer aspects like:

• Demographics
• Purchasing behavior
• Interests
• Preferences

After obtaining this information, it’s time for customer segmentation.

Segment Your Target Audience

The next stage is segmenting your target audience based on the customer data you collect.

Separating target customers into groups allows you to categorize what each division prefers. 

For example, you may have one segment of your audience who primarily purchases products after seeing advertisements on Instagram.

On the other hand, a different segment prefers reading first-hand customer experiences before buying something.

These two groups demand different marketing strategies!

One big mistake I made early in my career was assuming my target audience had the same buying habits and preferences.

Create Marketing Campaigns Around Your Target Audience

Once your target audience is segmented, you can create marketing campaigns around each division.

Utilize your customer data and previous marketing strategies to cater to your target customers. 

Also, feel free to switch up your marketing campaign if it’s not working.

After finding the right strategies, your team can use marketing automation to save time and be more productive.

2. Nurture Your Leads

The second step in creating your CRM process is nurturing your leads.

Utilize your CRM tool to analyze customer information and see what encourages certain customer segments to purchase products or services. 

Some segments are motivated to buy products if they have a first-time buyer discount. Others are encouraged if they see other people talking about the brand on social media.

Use historical customer information when you manage marketing campaigns to convert leads into customers.

3. Acquire Leads & Manage Them In Your CRM

Now it’s time to acquire leads and gain information about these potential customers for your CRM tool.

One popular strategy I used to acquire leads was implementing a sign-up form on our company website.

The form stated that customers would receive a 10% off coupon when they entered their information.

Other strategies include sales reps using a live chat to connect with leads one-on-one.

Additionally, some CRM tools have lead generation and enrichment tools that gather essential customer information like addresses or buying preferences. 

4. Convert Leads Into Customers

Capturing the attention and interest of leads is critical. However, converting these leads into sales is equally as essential.

Combining content marketing and marketing automation is an effective way to convert leads.

At this stage, use your CRM system to analyze the data it captured about your website visitors’ data and activity.

After that, sales teams should determine customer interest and build customer trust until they decide to purchase your products or services.

Remember, lead conversion varies based on your industry and product offerings. 

While promotional marketing emails may work for one business, multiple in-person conversations may be the most effective strategy for the next.

5. Build Strong Customer Relationships

The customer journey continues after they purchase your products or services.

Turning current customers into repeat customers is incredibly valuable. Therefore, when you provide superior customer service, it builds strong connections. 

Business growth is built on building customer relations.

Ensure your customer service processes are pristine and continually developing to ensure each customer interaction is better than the last.

Multiple communication channels (live chat, email, phone, SMS, etc.) improve customer service relationships because your business is more accessible.

Further, if your company has customer complaints or issues, handle and address them immediately. 

Nothing is worse than a customer having a poor experience and receiving no response or accountability from the company.

Even if a customer doesn’t enjoy your product or service, you can still provide quality customer support by offering a resolution or refund.

6. Drive Upsells & Cross-Sells

The final step in the CRM process is driving upsells and cross-sells.

These techniques encourage repeat buyers, helping boost sales and customer retention rates.

What are these sales strategies?

Upselling is a sales tactic where you convince current customers to purchase additional products or upgrades connected to their initial purchase. 

For example, an upsell would be a warranty on the lights if your company sells tech gear like special outdoor lights.

Another example of an upsell is letting customers know about a more expensive product your company offers, explaining that it has more features than the item the customer is about to buy.

In comparison, cross-selling is a tactic that obtains more value from a customer purchase.

Basically, cross-selling suggests customers purchase additional products or services that complement their existing purchases. 

As a result, your sales team generates more revenue from one customer already in the purchasing mindset.

An example of cross-selling is encouraging customers to purchase a water bottle sleeve when they buy a water bottle. You can entice customers to purchase add-on products by addressing the benefits of doing so.

In the water bottle example, explaining that the sleeve will keep their drink colder for longer encourages customers to purchase two products instead of one.

Create sales strategies for upsells and cross-sells by accessing customer data from your CRM platform.

Also, ensure you utilize your CRM solution to organize customers based on their purchase history—both the customer and your business benefit from this. 

Customers are made aware of products they might like while your sales team generates more revenue!