Custom CRM Software

What is a CRM? The essential guide to customer engagement

What a CRM is, the jobs it does for a company, and where it makes the biggest difference, from the first enquiry to the customer who keeps coming back.

Published

A business owner at her desk working through customer records and sales figures on a CRM dashboard

CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, sits at the core of every company's operations. It captures the data a company needs to run an efficient and profitable business.

A CRM Software system tracks and manages your interactions with customers, team members and suppliers: finding new prospects, closing deals and supporting customers for as long as the relationship lasts. Think of it as the company's shared memory, so nobody has to ask who spoke to the customer last.

Who this is written for
  • Business owners whose customer details sit in spreadsheets and inboxes.
  • Sales managers who set targets and track the team's progress.
  • Customer service teams answering enquiries and resolving issues.
  • Managers weighing up their first CRM or replacing one that no longer fits.

Key takeaways at a glance

Key takeaways on what a CRM is and how it helps a business
Key takeaway What it means for you
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management A system at the core of your operations, tracking every interaction and holding the data you need to run the business efficiently.
It puts customer information in one place Every department works from the same record: past interactions, sales targets and financial transactions included.
The aim is a better customer experience and more sales Leads are identified and categorised properly, and existing customers get faster, better support.
Existing customers are a source of new leads Regular contact opens up chances to cross-sell and upsell, and happy customers reward you with new business.
The best CRM fits the way you work Episcript customises each CRM to the unique operations of the business, rather than asking the business to fit the software.
Good CRM design starts with questions Understanding your challenges comes first; the modules and features are designed to suit them.

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How a CRM gives every team the same real-time customer data

Many modern CRM Systems connect to external sources, which means the customer information in front of you is current while you handle an enquiry or a request. The bigger gain is who else gets to use it.

Customer data in one person's inbox helps one person. In a CRM it helps the whole company.

  • Handling customer enquiries and requests

    Real-time customer information on screen while you answer, drawn from the CRM and the sources connected to it.

  • Planning sales and marketing

    From the back office marketing team to the front line sales staff, everyone plans from the same customer data.

  • Serving existing customers

    Every conversation starts from the full picture, which over time builds a strong and loyal customer base.

Four-part wheel of the key functions of a CRM: customer information consolidation, tracking customer interactions, sales team performance tracking and financial transaction management

Why do companies use a CRM? The key functions

The aim is usually to improve the customer experience and boost sales. These are the functions that do the work.

  1. Consolidating customer information

    All your customer information in one place: a single point of reference for every department, instead of passing it to each one separately.

  2. Tracking every past interaction

    The whole history stays with the customer, even when they regularly deal with different members of your company.

  3. Tracking sales team performance

    Set targets, monitor progress and reward your sales team with commissions based on pre-set rules.

  4. Managing financial transactions

    Sales orders, contracts, invoices, payment receipts and account statements, all held against the customer.

How a CRM can help your business

A CRM has proven effective in these areas, from the revenue line to the standard of your service.

A team climbing a stack of coins towards a large dollar coin as revenue grows

Improving your company's revenue

A CRM can be crucial in lifting lead conversion and sales, staff productivity, customer satisfaction and the quality of your decisions. Together, these add up to major revenue improvements.

A salesperson with a laptop at the centre of a ring of leads sorted by category

Clearly identifying and assessing leads

New leads are easy to add and categorise correctly. Sales spots the opportunities most likely to convert, while marketing nurtures the rest until they become qualified leads, both working from complete and accurate information.

A customer connected to a network of new contacts, each one a possible new lead

Obtaining new leads from existing customers

Regular contact with your customers opens up chances to cross-sell and upsell. Good service pays: a customer who is well looked after is far more likely to buy again and recommend you.

A customer support agent with a headset answering enquiries on a laptop

Providing better customer support

Customers expect far better and faster service than they did a few years ago. In Episcript's CRM, every customer activity, purchase and interaction sits on a single page, so your team answers questions and resolves issues quickly.

A manager surrounded by customer feedback, reports and service measures from many sources

Improving your business standards

A good CRM collects information from a wide range of sources, showing what customers say about your business and how they value your service. You can then improve your offerings, and spot and resolve problems early.

The Custom CRM Software page shows how each of these areas works in a CRM built around your own sales process.

How Episcript designs a CRM around your business

No two businesses are alike, so every customer deserves a CRM designed around the way they run their company.

  1. 1

    Understand your challenges

    Before we design your CRM, we ask questions to understand your challenges and how you operate.

  2. 2

    Recommend the right modules

    We recommend the modules that would benefit you, based on our extensive experience of building systems.

  3. 3

    Review your current processes

    We look objectively at how well your current processes serve you, and where they hold you back.

  4. 4

    Decide modules and features

    Then we decide which modules and features a complete, effective CRM needs for your business.

Customer enquiries, sales and support history gathered into a single CRM customer record

Choosing a CRM for your business: where to start

Start with the key functions above and ask where each one lives in your company today: a spreadsheet, an inbox or somebody's memory. The gaps you find are the parts of a CRM to see working first.

Episcript designs custom CRM Software around the way your company runs, and our solutions are eligible for government grants. Two related guides cover choosing CRM Software for a small business in Singapore and turning leads into lifelong customers.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) FAQs

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is the system at the core of a company's operations that tracks every interaction with customers, team members and suppliers, and holds the data needed to run the business efficiently.

A CRM is used to improve the customer experience and boost sales. It consolidates customer information, tracks every past interaction, measures sales team performance against targets and manages orders, contracts, invoices and payments.

A CRM lifts revenue by improving lead conversion, staff productivity, customer satisfaction and the quality of decisions. Regular contact with existing customers also creates chances to cross-sell and upsell, which brings in new business.

A CRM gives sales and marketing the same complete, accurate lead records. Sales picks out the opportunities most likely to convert, while marketing nurtures the rest until they become qualified leads.

A CRM puts every customer's activities, purchases and interactions on one page, so your team can answer questions and resolve issues quickly. That matters because customers now expect far better and faster service than a few years ago.

A CRM works best when it fits the way your business runs, because no two businesses are alike. Episcript asks how you operate before designing the modules and features, and our solutions are eligible for government grants.

Related solution

Custom CRM Software

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