Customer relationship management

What exactly is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? 🧐)

If you came looking for a nice definition of Customer Relationship Management, we may not be meeting your expectations!
Even among SEIF experts, this concept has a multitude of chapters and each has its own definition. Far be it from us to make it a guide, but we thought that some information deserved to be shared.

Of course, the world is changing, and you will not have missed it, your own relationships with your favorite brands are also changing. Moreover, for some, you no longer see them with the same eye. There are new communication and exchange channels in addition to the famous telephone: chat, social networks, messaging and even video… and all this leads to stronger competition between brands.
Well, for brands and companies, this is what customer relationship management means: knowing how to stand out and obtain your preference by seeking to better understand you, know you, make yourself indispensable and build your loyalty.
This is a crucial issue for companies.
Come on, we tell you more: what is it? Why is it important not to neglect your customer relationship? What are the best practices ?

A little definition is in order!

Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), well already, it's the same thing as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for the most English-speaking among you!
It is the set of tools and techniques used to collect, analyze and use information from prospects or customers. This obviously concerns basic information such as surnames, first names and emails, but also data concerning their purchasing behavior: type of items ordered, frequency, quantity, average basket, or even their levels of satisfaction: y-a-t -he had feedback, exchanges with customer service or consumer service, specific requests

Why do we do this and what is it for? Here are 3 good reasons:

• Optimize and improve the relationship with customers.
  If we know what the customer buys, what he likes, then the brand can develop its offer, improve its product, and offer the best to its customer who will therefore be seduced.

• Retain it over the long term.
  By knowing your profile, your shopping times and your interests, the brand can send you an offer, to get you to buy or even to make you try another item.

• Develop and sustain the business.
  By making your customer experience pleasant and fluid, the brand becomes more attractive and desirable. So, if she asks you for your date of birth, it's also to give you a sign on D-Day and create a bond with you.

Are you there?

Many customer service and CRM tools exist today. In fact, it is a technical receptacle that will accommodate all this data.

For example, Zendesk offers a customer relationship management tool. Zendesk makes it possible to centralize prospect or customer information gleaned throughout their journey, and regardless of the channel used. It's a bit like the customer's identity card, but one that is enriched through their contacts and interactions with the brand.

The more information there is about the customer, the more the interactions with him are personalized, have meaning, and the relationship with him then becomes more lasting.


In the same way, based on the data collected on the CRM, relationship marketing techniques, such as automated emailing campaigns, will make it possible to engage customers and prospects at the right time, and with the right message.


This complementarity between tools and techniques therefore makes it possible to increase customer loyalty, and to create long-term relationships with them, which are more profitable for a company.

Then everything becomes clear and the importance of not neglecting your customer relationship management takes on its full meaning.

Moreover, we can remember an old adage: without customers, no business! This may seem obvious, but it is important to remember: without customers, there are no sales. And without sales, it is difficult (not to say impossible) to make a business live... The process is therefore now quite clear: you have to go find customers and for that, there is no doubt that you have to go through the strategy box.


Therefore, a careful CRM strategy is an essential element to future-proof your business.


This reflection encompasses 8 key customer objectives:

1. Know your contacts (customers or prospects) and follow interactions with them.
2. Identify business opportunities
3. Prospect the right contacts with effective follow-up
4. Sell by contextualizing the commercial offer and build loyalty
5. Improve the quality of its support and customer service
6. Manage your business activity
7. Analyze your performance with a concrete dashboard
8. Centralize and share information in real time.

Offering a quality customer experience based on effective CRM can therefore be a real asset in setting yourself apart from your competitors.
A 2017 Salesforce study tells us that “73% of customers say they would change brands if the quality of service became unsatisfactory”


Last tip, remember to identify indicators capable of guiding you in the performance of your customer relationship.

And last point to remember: CRM is a virtuous circle to sustain your business

As you have understood, a careful and efficient Customer Relationship Management will allow you to better know your prospects and customers, and to create lasting relationships with them.


By making yourself available to them in a more personalized way, it is your turnover and the health of your business that you will sustain.