In 2020, the logistics and transportation industry is more crowded than ever. There are plenty of different companies that offer a similar range of services to their customers. This means that clients go through a difficult process while selecting the best possible company for their needs.
Even when it comes to global supply chains, a huge portion of the revenue of any logistics company comes from everyday, regular clients. That’s why customer relationship management is an integral part of every business in this niche. Indeed, staying ahead of the competition and providing the most attractive offers to clients is a process that requires dedication and consistency. Considering, CRM software solutions can be just the thing that may give your business the upper hand. With that in mind, we’ll explore the key benefits CRM systems provide to a business!
Benefits CRM Systems Give
CRM software platforms are designed to provide a business with certain advantages. More specifically, managing your relationships with various customers and clients becomes far more streamlined and easier.
The CRM systems of today are also far more advanced than the simple client cataloguing software of two decades ago. Today, there are CRM systems specifically designed for various niches and industries. Platforms such as MoversTech CRM are made particularly with moving companies in mind, for instance. That kind of software helps business managers and owners utilize their resources more efficiently in the process of planning their business development.
In essence, CRM gives you the tools needed to fully optimize your staff’s interaction with your client base. At the same time, it also automates many mundane and menial tasks that they would usually waste time with. This saves time for both your clients, your staff, and your management.
Request Processing
One of the main aims of any worthwhile CRM platform is to reduce the number of routine tasks that your employees have to deal with while onboarding new clients. For instance, a good CRM will automate the way you receive requests from prospective leads. This increases the speed at which your sales staff replies to consumers — something the latter value greatly. Responsiveness does wonders for customer retention in any niche — transportation and logistics included.
Furthermore, a CRM platform will allow your staff to access the messages received from consumers across all channels in a single place. It doesn’t matter whether a client sends you an email and then follows up with a text. You’ll have a clear overview of the entire conversation from within the CRM.
Easier Data Management
CRM systems provide logistics companies with the ability to be more flexible in terms of adjustments they can make to a variety of processes. This makes all the deal management and sales tasks far easier. With the wealth of client information that logistics companies deal with these days, it’s simply not sustainable to use different Excel spreadsheets.
Instead, most CRM platforms provide the ability to create detailed customer profiles, which contain all the necessary information for any client relations agent. In the logistics industry, these profiles contain information along the lines of previously completed and current transactions, as well as the status of cargo shipments. You can also clearly see time estimates for different orders, documentation for trucking and shipping, clients’ payment information, etc.
Better Cost Efficiency
The fact that CRM systems allow you to automate many of the boring administrative tasks that take up a sizable chunk of your staff’s time also means more cost efficiency. If need be, you can reduce your staff or reroute them to more sensible and profitable tasks.
Plus, one of the benefits of CRM systems often overlooked by spectators is the reduced chance of human error. When employees in logistics companies make mistakes, sometimes these can be quite costly. For example, should a manager make a mistake while entering a specific piece of data within the company’s system — that could hinder the workflow of the entire company. That’s where CRM comes in with its handy automation features. Thus, investing in a proper CRM system definitely pays off.
More Detailed Reporting
If you have a CRM platform integrated into your company’s workflow, you’re basically making your management’s jobs a lot easier. For one, the heads of different departments will have an easier access to detailed reports: from those that provide information on specific clients, to those that describe the work performance of individual employees.
This goes far beyond seeing who’s meeting deadlines and targets among your staff. Most CRM systems allow you to actually listen to prerecorded outgoing and incoming calls, and peruse through the messages exchanged with each client.
This data allows you to analyze the level of service quality provided by all of your employees. In turn, you can use such information to dole out rewards and other incentives for a job well done. Of course, the flip side is also knowing who is constantly underperforming.
Customer Service Improvements
In a fast-paced business environment, it’s incredibly crucial to respond to any consumer query or concern in a timely manner. That’s particularly true for the global logistics industry, where the competition is at an extremely high level. In 2020, customers expect up-to-date information on their shipments and truckloads — anything less means extreme dissatisfaction.
With that in mind, CRM systems provide two key benefits in this regard. For one, they allow for a far more streamlined communication process between your company and your clients. On the other hand, tracking individual packets, pallets and vehicles is made far easier as well. All of this results in increased customer satisfaction and an efficient customer service.
