Maximize the potential of your customer data with CRM

Leveraging digital data to better understand their customers, better interact with them and generate business is the wish of many companies. But how to achieve it?

"Among our typical clients are many SMEs that still lack digital maturity or resources - particularly in terms of teams, skills and time," explains Valery Desil, co-founder of the Advenci consulting firm with Laurent Bruwier (an EPHEC graduate in accounting). "Our mission," adds his partner, "is to help them increase their revenue by aligning marketing, sales and digital aspects, both in terms of strategy and tools and training."

"The starting point is the data," Valery reminds us. "The company must already have a methodology to collect the data and analyze it." What may seem obvious is not always so: what data is available and where is it located? Is it centralized or scattered? "Traditionally, accounting has some data, marketing has other data, and sales, who are in contact with customers, also have information, hence the need for unified data. But we know that companies often still tend to work in silos and that it can be complicated to reconcile all these resources."

Very quickly, the need for a CRM will be felt. " The reflex we try to instill in our customers is not to jump on the first technological solution," Valery continues. "First of all, you have to analyze your needs: who is going to use the CRM, for what purposes? What are the top 3 use cases that absolutely must be answered? What is less necessary? The CRM must be able to grow with you, without losing sight of the objective: it is a customer relationship management tool."

"How will technology allow us to offer the customer something more qualitative?"

With the right data, an adapted CRM and teams capable of using it, how far can we go? "First of all, we will be able to better understand our customers in order to interact with them in a personalized way and provide each one with exactly what they need, when they need it," answers Laurent. This goes from the sushi shop that sends you a targeted promotion, to the telecom operator that contacts you to adapt your subscription to your actual consumption.

Used properly, this data offers a powerful development tool. Valery cites the example of a startup: "The CRM has an enormous added value, because it allows him to follow the work of the sales people, to know the most requested products, the most frequent questions... and to feed his sales people with this information. But it also allows him to collect concrete figures for the attention of investors for an upcoming fundraising!"

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You will find this article in the specialized magazine Ambitions & Perspectives of the Haute Ecole EPHEC.