Why you need a CRM for customer service and support

It's a fast-paced world out there, and now more than ever, customers expect that communications, especially from businesses, will be addressed quickly and efficiently. This heightened demand for prompt responses has made it more critical than ever to implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system specifically designed for customer service and support, or what is commonly referred to as “case management.”

In recent years, we've observed a significant shift in organizational strategies, with a move from managing individual branches to adopting a centralized operations model. This change highlights a growing recognition of the efficiencies gained through implementing CRM systems for customer service and support. Organizations are tapping into this approach, recognizing efficiency and maximizing the streamlining of processes.

What is Case Management?

“Case management is essentially the intake of info from your constituents, which can include members, donors, volunteers, program participants or anyone else engaged with your organization,” says Dillon Higa, a Business Solutions Consultant at Traction Rec. “The primary way to ‘talk’ to them is through Salesforce, the platform that powers our solution.”

As Dillon explains, a good constituent experience begins with ensuring their query ends up in the inbox of the right person.

Delight your members, instantly

Is there anything more satisfying than getting a timely response to a question? Maybe. But this goes a long way in the realm of member satisfaction. Organizations that rely on manually distributing incoming communications— like forwarding emails — are prone to human error. Staff members away on vacation, overloaded inboxes, and the sheer volume of queries can lead to missed messages. There are many ways for queries to get lost. Then there's managing phone calls, online forms, and in-person inquiries that also need to be received and followed up on.

There are many avenues for an organization to receive queries but without a CRM there is no real organization of those communications.

Enter Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. A CRM automates the tracking and routing of incoming queries to the most suitable person, to address that message — saving time and headaches and reducing the chances of oversight. With features like automated response reminders and escalation alerts mean there’s virtually no way for a case to fall by the wayside.

Enable your team with tools for anywhere and anytime collaboration

“Imagine if all the emails that came to you were problems you could actually solve,” says Dillon. “Then you could set up a system to remind yourself to deal with them as you see fit.” Something as simple as making sure queries are routed to the right person frees up valuable time for staff members to focus on more important activities, such as programming.

Having a single source of truth—all your constituent data in one place—is the key to streamlining your organizational processes. In an instant, you can see all the relevant info pertaining to each customer query, including when it came in, who it was routed to and whether it was addressed.

Additionally, referring to your data can help make smarter staffing decisions. At a glance, the leadership team or customer service managers can see the average resolution time per team member, which team member has too many cases to deal with, and other variables that could be holding your staff back from doing their best work.

Empower your stakeholders

If knowledge is power, then data is the cherry on top. Organizations are increasingly leveraging their data to inform business decisions, with CRMs at the forefront. These systems allow for the creation of customizable reports, that makes the most sense to you, your team, and your organization's operations - whether that's daily, weekly, or monthly summaries, or detailed analyses based on specific programs or activities. With the option to build custom reports means there's no limit to addressing your unique inquiries.

It’s one thing to collect data but it’s quite another to be able to visualize and share it with the decision makers in your organization. The real magic happens when your data is visualized, when numbers and graphs become easy-to-read dashboards complete with relevant information that can be actioned on. This shift not only enhances the strategic decision-making process but also ensures that every piece of data collected serves a purpose, driving your organization towards its goals.

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For customer service managers, leveraging historical data is key to optimizing customer support resources. By analyzing past trends, you can anticipate peak times such as just before camp registration, ensuring adequate staffing levels.

A history of data can also help you deflect future inquiries. For example, if you’re getting many of the same questions on a particular topic, you can address the issue by sending out a newsletter or creating a self-serve solution, like referring the customer to an FAQ page on your website. Either way, you’ll quickly learn all the ways you can use data to improve customer satisfaction.

“If it’s not broke” but there’s something better

Knowing all this, why would any organization continue to keep data in disparate systems? According to Dillon, “Often it’s a case of ‘good enough.’ An organization may be settled and have a system they’re not so immediately unhappy with.” But we couldn't imagine living life like this and neither should you.

Learn more about all the ways you can support your customers and other community members.