While Amazon is planning to introduce smart wristlets to control staff productiveness and efficiency, somebody is still thinking whether it is worth introducing CRM... 
In a constant pursuit for new customers, large companies are always ready to introduce progressive top-notch inventions. They would do anything just to turn purchase into a thrilling and highly positive experience. Among the most recent inventions are self-service shops with no shop assistants or cash registers, where all you need to do is just grab the items you want to buy, make an automatic payment at the exit and check it in your smartphone application. Another cutting edge innovation is smart fitting rooms with interactive mirrors allowing customers to try on clothes and even change their look just by applying items to body. 

CRM can also be a part of general customer recruitment strategy, also providing for their maintenance and loyalty. In addition, it can serve to organize the internal workflow in your company.

management transparency

CRM makes the life of businessmen and managers easier by providing for faster decision-making, workflow transparency, and better control.
  • You stay informed at all times: you can see the tasks of your staff and monitor their performance, alongside with helping new employees to integrate ensuring their training and support. 
  • Your data is kept strictly confidential. There are several access layers in the CRM: administrators (with the most advanced functions), managers, supervisors and users (with partially limited functions).
  • You can monitor your business, having up-to-date analytics, actual figures, and accurate forecasts always at hand.

information security

CRM allows you to create:
  • detailed customer profiles, that include personal details, purchase history and communication log;
  • database of products or services;
  • documents and files attached to tasks and store them in a cloud with shared access to them. 
  • tasks for yourself and your colleagues and set reminder notifications with comments about them in the organizer.
Take notes in order not to forget. Although it might seem quite a primitive life hack, taking notes actually contributes a lot to better self-organization, concentration and focusing on urgent tasks. Any time you are haunted by a bright idea or a nice suggestion — do not hesitate to put it down in notes just because: 
                      1) not putting it down will result in forgetting about it in less that 5 minutes; 
                      2) you won't have to keep it in mind all day long just not to forget. 

analytics

You can always choose to ask Nancy, Adam, or Mrs. Smith to compile a report, build a graph or collect statistics, that will only be available in a couple of days. Or, alternatively, you can set the report parameters in your CRM (for example, deals closed/lost for the last 3 months) — and enjoy the actual and up-to-date statistics in a comprehensible table or graph right on your dashboard
CRM can accumulate data, analyze it and compile timely reports to help you:
  • segment your customers and create personal offers for them; 
  • analyze the payability of your service and reveal the most profitable products and clients;
  • monitor the activity of each client — what they buy and how often — in order to offer them client loyalty program; 
  • analyze sales reps efficiency and sales as a whole. 

planning

CRM organizer has many advantages over a standard list of errands. It supports reminder notifications and deadlines. Besides, a list of errands would normally include only general tasks, without specifying the minor ones, such as "read 10 pages of the manual", "learn 10 words in Spanish", "call a friend", or "visit relatives". CRM organizer allows registering events of any sort and prioritize them using markers. Managing your tasks in the CRM organizer and using reminder notifications for them increases the probability of their timely accomplishment — at least, you will get an automatic system notification about each one. 

CRM organizer is a perfect tool for planning your day. It keeps you off from distractions: anything that is not urgent can be queued. Each task or reminder in the organizer is set for a certain date/time, which eliminates the temptation to postpone the most difficult tasks being overwhelmed by minor ones. In addition, deadlines always help focus and work more efficiently. 

In 1980-s Francesco Cirillo invented the "Pomodoro" technique in order to increase personal efficiency. The method consists in dividing workflow into intervals of 25 minutes alternating them with 5 minute breaks for rest. The crucial point is to keep off from distractions during the 25 minutes of work! These 25 minutes are only between you and your task — no calls, no discussions with colleagues, no messages of all kinds, etc. — nothing! The interval of 25 minutes is considered to be the maximum of human focus efficiency. The technique is most potent proving you make pauses of 30 minutes every 2 hours of working in the "Pomodoro" rhythm. You can easily practice the "Pomodoro" technique using the CRM organizer, that will remind you of breaks and pauses. 

Planning is indispensable for efficiency increase. It polishes your time management skills, helping you differentiate between the important and the urgent and define what is ''urgent but not important'', ''important but not urgent'', ''unimportant and not urgent'' and what you can delegate to others. Register all the tasks, even the tiniest ones — as it is them that usually take the most of your time and effort. 

you are strongly advised to

  • introduce CRM solutions — if you haven't yet done so;
  • make the most of your CRM — if you already have one;
  • store all data in the CRM, analyze it, and manage your tasks and time to increase your efficiency. 



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APRO CRM is a SaaS cloud solution and is hosted by our servers. The CRM is flexible and can adjust to your business needs. You will be getting all the necessary assistance from your personal adviser while using the system