As we are all aware, “The customer is always right.” Nevertheless, there are two major issues with this piece of advice in many businesses: They may not have a good sense of what the customer wants or believes because they don’t fully know who their customers are. Solutions for customer relationship management (CRM) provide a means of maintaining contact and engagement with clients in order to sustain revenue growth.
Originally developed as advanced digital rolodexes, these solutions can now be used for marketing management, customer support, and highly advanced sales forecasting. Additionally, they interface with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which could provide a clear picture of the customer to all business members at all times.
Five Points of Integration Between CRM and ERP
Your business processes can be made more efficient and automated with the use of a CRM ERP integration architecture that synchronizes common data points. Typical integration points include the following:
- CRM-stored customer contact details and ERP account data Quotes from the ERP systems that are connected to the CRM that your sales team uses most frequently
- In order to anticipate customer needs, customer sales histories synced with a CRM and stored in an ERP
- Establishing a connection between CRM and ERP to enable sales teams to view account payment status
- Giving the sales staff access to integrated ERP pricing and inventory data
Let’s examine each of these use cases in more detail.
Integrated View of Your Clientele
Your ERP and CRM integration will provide you with a consolidated, 360-degree view of your customers at every stage, based on data gathered from marketing, sales, service, accounting, and other departments. With the use of this data, your business is better equipped to make decisions about how to keep customers and enhance their experience.
Precise Sales Estimates and Order Processing
Integrating ERP and CRM also enables your sales team to provide prospective clients with more precise lead times and sales quotes. This is due to the fact that they will now have instant access to the essential information, including the most recent prices, relevant discounts, and available inventory. When following up with customers, your customer service team will also be more equipped to provide shipping information.
Precise and Instant Data Evaluation
Businesses can take advantage of strong reporting and analytics capabilities through the integration of ERP and CRM. Organizations can obtain a comprehensive understanding of their operations, sales, customer behavior, and market trends by merging data from various systems. By enabling decision-makers to recognize trends, make data-driven choices, and pinpoint opportunities for development, these insights help the business stay one step ahead of the competition.
Furthermore, predictive analytics is made easier by the integration of ERP and CRM systems, enabling businesses to predict trends, anticipate customer behavior, and allocate resources as efficiently as possible. Organizations can ensure sustained growth and competitiveness by leveraging the power of predictive analytics to proactively address challenges, seize opportunities, and quickly adapt to shifting market dynamics.
Simplifying Operations for Businesses
Enhancing business process efficiency is one of the main advantages of integrating ERP and CRM. Data moves between these two integrated systems seamlessly, removing the need for human data entry and minimizing errors. This reduces the amount of time spent on administrative tasks and streamlines workflows between various departments.
Improved data security is another benefit of integrating ERP and CRM systems. Businesses can impose stricter access controls and data protection measures by consolidating data into a centralized system, protecting sensitive information from breaches or unauthorized access. This promotes trust with clients and partners while also guaranteeing adherence to data privacy laws.
Improved Experience and Customer Service
Integration combines information from various touchpoints to provide a comprehensive picture of the customer. With this deep understanding, businesses can provide more individualized and customized customer experiences, which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Teams that interact with customers on a daily basis can respond to questions quickly and provide great service when they have access to the full history and preferences of their clients.
Furthermore, proactive customer service tactics may be made possible by the integration of CRM and ERP systems. Businesses can predict client needs, spot trends, and customize interactions by doing real-time data analysis. This proactive approach builds long-lasting relationships based on mutual respect and understanding in addition to improving the overall customer experience.
Access order and quote data from CRM and ERP systems.
Sales representatives prefer to work with a single system, the CRM, but they still need access to the quotes, which are typically generated by the ERP system. Sales representatives typically enter sales orders into the CRM, but the ERP is in charge of managing the orders, producing invoices, filling orders, and shipping goods. When data from your CRM and ERP systems are integrated, quotes and orders remain accurate, and sales representatives can access all CRM information.
Check the status of account payments from both CRM and ERP.
The sales quote to the cash process ends with payment. Payment information is kept in the ERP. A sales representative can assist in the collection process and be informed when a payment is due if the CRM has access to your payment information.
Provide superior client support
When businesses implement CRM, the customer support module is frequently turned on. By doing this, sales and support can see each other more clearly, which can help to preserve positive client relations. For instance, customer service can see on CRM that a seemingly small problem from a customer is actually a multi-million dollar account, deserving of high priority. Alternatively, a sales representative can use CRM to view open support tickets when contacting an account.
We have extensive experience implementing CRM solutions for numerous businesses, both as stand-alone units and as components of larger ERP systems. Please visit our CRM page to view a demo or learn more about CRM.
Information that is consistent
Systems for ERP and CRM both keep comparable customer data. Therefore, duplicate customer data is common in ERP and CRM platforms.
But when the two systems operate independently of one another, issues arise. In the event that you have two distinct systems, you will most likely update each platform’s record separately. CRM should ideally update when a record in ERP is updated, and vice versa. Teams will receive inaccurate information about a customer and their purchase if it doesn’t.
Duplicate data disappears when your ERP and CRM platforms are integrated. You can now anticipate accurate, current, and real-time information stores. Inaccurate data can also be handled with the aid of your integrated platform.
Lower IT and training costs
According to statistics, companies invest at least $1,208 and 31.5 hours in employee training annually. This can be changed by having a single, unified platform for both ERP and CRM, as it makes it simple to train staff members to operate both platforms simultaneously.
Since comprehensive training is far superior to learning about a single piece of software, your staff will adore it. Additionally, they will learn how to make important decisions. They can immediately see how it impacts other departments and operations. Additionally, the cross-departmental strategy makes them more conscious of your main objectives.
Despite a few obstacles, integrating CRM and ERP yields amazing outcomes. When integrating your systems, your business might encounter a few obstacles. The most important one has to do with standardizing your data throughout all of your operations. As a result, you need to confirm that every system can handle connected and improved data. These kinds of events necessitate format-specific data transformation. One major obstacle is determining the number of touchpoints that require integration.
You might also need to update and clean up old customer information. If your system maintains the data of lost customers as real customers, you are unable to comprehend your current business situation.
Final reflections
Integrating ERP and CRM can increase business productivity and expand your clientele. Nevertheless, your company is distinct and different. Therefore, you may require some customization.
Pay attention to the required details if you want to benefit from the integration of CRM and ERP. Evaluate your systems, purge your data, and plan your integration. Ultimately, you can find the ideal integration to meet your needs both now and down the road.
Are you seeking for a CRM that facilitates high-speed sales and links to a number of helpful systems, including telephony, ERP, and others? Get a free trial with Team Jupical!