More Manufacturers Invest in Customer Relationship Management Systems

ERP systems should include capabilities for business insights, supply chain management, and customer relationship management (CRM). Research conducted by IDG and published by Sage indicates that an investment into your company’s CRM system may yield positive impacts on your business later.

More Manufacturers Investing in CRM

Included in the IDG survey was a question about manufacturers’ investments into customer relationship management tools. Among those surveyed, 63 percent invested in technology to help them leverage customer relationship management to increase new sales.

Did it work? Fully 76 percent of those who said they invested in their CRM saw an improvement in their business, thanks to their investment.

Client Relationship Manager as Part of ERP Systems

A good ERP system offers useful, real-time data for decision making. One important part of decision making is customer data provided by a CRM system.

A good CRM system integrates sales and marketing dashboards with financial analysis so that the profitability of each account can be measured.  Data collected from a customer relationship management system can then be used to inform decision making.

You can offer your best customers a discount knowing you’ll make up the discount in volume, or you can offer other perks to customers who account for the majority of your sales. It’s up to you, but you can’t make this decision in a vacuum. You need accurate data.

As part of an ERP system implementation, CRM should be taken into account. Use cases, user interviews, and other data gathering before implementation is critical to ensure that a company’s investment into their CRM system will yield positive benefits.

Optimizing for Growth a Major Concern

The IDG study also asked an interesting question that ties indirectly into the question of CRM investment. Respondents were asked, “When making technology investment decisions to address key business challenges, which of the following outcomes is most critical for your company?”

Optimizing for growth was cited as important by 26 percent of the respondents. With a robust customer relationship management system such as the Sage CRM, you can optimize your data for growth. Reports by sales rep, territory, customer type, and more provide insights into where to invest or divest interests.

Customer Service Is Here to Stay

“The more things change, the more they stay the same”, as the old saying goes. The more manufacturers use technology to improve profits and grow their business, the more personal service customers demand.

A CRM system can help you go that extra mile and provide the service your customers have grown to expect. With a Sage CRM system, customer relationship management becomes easier. You’ll have access to order information, past orders, shipping data, and more.

According to Gartner research, cloud-based CRM accounted for 49 percent of all CRM revenues reported by service providers.  Cloud-based CRM offers a cost-effective, scalable, and secure method of providing the best CRM solution to your company at the best possible cost.

Now is the time to investigate CRM solutions for your company. With so much emphasis on service from among all manufacturing sectors, and more cost-effective CRM solutions at your fingertips, investing in CRM solutions can help you grow your business.

Sage CRM Solutions from IWI

Sage CRM solutions integrated with your Sage ERP can help you grow your business.  From enterprise software to business systems and more, when it’s time to improve your customer service, contact us. Call IWI at 1-866-916-3851 today.