Depending on your business working environment, the discussion of connecting your telephone equipment to your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software could be a discussion you’ve had before. I know I’ve worked in an environment designed with this connectivity at the forefront of the customer service team.
So, we’re going to discuss some of the PROs behind connecting your telephone equipment to your CRM software. But I’m also going to introduce you to how those PROs can quickly turn into CONs in the wrong work environment.
With cell phones in everyone’s hands, knowing who’s calling or texting you is quickly viewable. The same situation can be accomplished in your office, which leads us to the first PRO.
PRO #1 — Enhanced Customer Insights
Enhanced Customer Insights are attainable by connecting your business telephone system to your CRM software. This connectivity allows for the systems to automatically show you which current customer is calling, and in some systems even pull up their account for you. All before you’ve even answered the phone call. Since an automated call log normally only shows a log of the caller, date, time, and internal employee who answered, this information is not extremely valuable. To make it valuable, the internal employee will need to have provided notes and details about the past conversations they’ve had with said customers. This can quickly turn into a CON in a busy call center if time is not available to take detailed notes on each incoming customer call.
PRO #2 — More Personalized and Efficient Service
Just like your cell phone, knowing who’s calling as soon as the phone rings makes the thought process of whether you will answer a quicker and more delightful decision. This can lead to more personalized and efficient service call in a business setting. But hold on for a second! What if as the employee you see that Susan T. is calling, and Susan likes to complain. Complain a lot. Now as the employee staring at her incoming call, my hesitation level is going to kick in because I have no desire to listen to her complain. Now I’m looking busy and waiting for one of the other CSRs to answer her call. What this also could lead to is an unproductive and gossipy staff that allows for Susan’s drama that she brings to the business to actually break apart the team culture you’ve worked so hard to establish.
PRO #3 — Customer Service Enhancements
As we’ve established above, knowing who’s calling can make answering the phone a pleasant experience for most of your existing customers. The integration between telephone equipment and CRM provides the possibility of quick customer assistance and reduced wait times.
But what about those prospects who are calling to find out about your product or service? They’re not an existing customer, so their information will not be in your CRM software. Will this new and unknown inbound caller get the professional courtesy you desire to provide as a company?
Just a few great questions to ask yourself to determine if you should connect your telephone equipment to your CRM.
