CRM is a Customer Retention Tool

I was a panelist on a TCA webinar today about customer retention. I didn't get to say everything I wanted to but I have a slide deck about some of the points here.

How to retain clients:

1. Thank you notes; 
2. Give them referrals or bring them a customer!
3. Deliver Value (first and always)
4. Have hooks into the company (what if your one contact leaves?)
5. Have more than a billing relationship (be more than a monthly credit card charge!)

CRM is important in valuing your business. It is vital if your salesperson is not an owner, because what if he leaves? Do you churn salespeople? You need a CRM to capture all of the prospecting and customer information that they are doing.

Of course, this means that the CRM has to be easy to use - so pick one that is it easy to use, not just cheap.  [see Keys to CRM Success]

A short list of CRM systems can be found here.  Open source CRM options here.

If you use Google Apps, look here. 

With CRM, you can hook to email campaigns, newsletter, surveys, notes and set reminders about contract expiration.