In today’s business environment, everything is about analytics; but, companies may not be capitalizing on this valuable asset. The first step is to find a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that allows your business to capture and utilize this data. CRM systems are increasingly useful tools that can help businesses maintain and manage customer accounts, keep track of new sales leads, run marketing campaigns and measure their success, and ensure that all relevant information is generated into reports that can help the entire team—from marketing to sales—capitalize on their success and continue to grow. One such option is Salesforce, a popular CRM sales application, which saves time by allowing businesses to track all their customer interaction in one place and access it from anywhere. It also automatically routes and prioritizes important events. This makes it easy to weigh information and make quick decisions on the most up-to-date information.

Many customers in the insulation industry—including distributors, manufacturers, and contractors—already use a CRM system. Salesforce is an open-platform software, meaning that it can work with a company’s existing software—including any enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, estimating or quoting software, or even email marketing platforms such as Constant Contact or MailChimp. Salesforce can be customized to individual customer needs, and any process can be replicated and automated to save time and ensure everyone is on the same page. Depending on customer preference, Salesforce can either replace or be used to work with existing software.

One of the issues companies currently face is the disconnect between various departments—sales may not be talking to marketing, and the managing staff may not be fully up-to-date on what is occurring in either department. Salesforce puts all relevant information in one place—and the use of cloud technology means it can be accessed anywhere—from branch to branch or when travelling out of the office.

Salesforce says it increases productivity and sales revenue and pays for itself. This is accomplished by freeing up administrative burdens by generating reports related to delivery status, pricing, and other sales information. This accessible data helps businesses communicate and collaborate more effectively on deals to increase the chance of success. It can also help manage marketing campaigns and measure their effectiveness by allowing businesses to capture customer data—from reading an email through to new sales. Historically, using separate systems may have meant that teams were losing out on useful data from product and customer analytics, and thus on sales opportunities. Salesforce also offers users access to data.com, which houses an online business directory of companies and business professionals and has more than a million subscribers. This large database allows members to share information and increase their contacts and potential sales leads. CRM applications and resources help your team focus on sales and customer support that can help streamline sales, save time, and generate information and analytics to increase business.

NIA’s Distributors/Fabricators Committee is hosting a speaker from Salesforce at the National Insulation Association’s (NIA’s) Fall Summit 2016 meeting, which is being held in Arlington, Virginia, November 2–3, 2016. To learn more, register for this annual NIA members-only meeting at www.insulation.org/fallsummit/2016.

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