The Importance of Integrated CMS & CRM Systems

In today’s world customer relationship management systems are used by millions of businesses, have many applications and can provide extremely valuable information to companies. A good CRM information system will cover a number of areas within an enterprise, ranging from tracking and analytics to streamlining all areas of the sales process and marketing. This in turn allows business leaders to focus and fine-tune all aspects of commerce, leading to a reduction in unnecessary overheads and an increase in profitability.

A website should always be integrated with the business it serves, providing the consumer with a greater insight to the firm. With CRM software effectively merging the various areas of business, the incorporation of a content management system will provide the customer with a more personalised experience and a longer, more profitable relationship for the vendor.

With both systems being able to organise, sort and store large volumes of data, one may wonder how CRM differs from CMS. Whilst CMS is fantastic for information distribution, CRM systems allow for more personal content segmentation and analysis. When used in tandem, an integrated network delivers a targeted and effective distribution of information. This concept may come into play for example with an online clothing and fashion company. The CRM system will collect and hold information regarding the various aspects of the customers past purchases such as styles, sizes, brands and costs. These details can then be used for personalised email campaigns, focusing on the client’s shopping habits based on history. Synchronising the two platforms will also enable easy inventory management, using the CRM application to log item sales whilst the CSM software will track what is in stock.

Content management systems have allowed the separation of the technical and practical aspects of maintaining a website. Applying changes and making adjustments is now a lot simpler. This is highly useful in a world where quick decisions regarding areas such as marketing need to be made. There are many new CRM solutions that are now easy to manage yourself or companies that can help. With CRM solutions able to follow the spread of information, tracking “clicks”, “shares”, “likes” and responses, one is able to monitor and tweak on site campaigns and offers in real time. Synchronization between the two platforms also negates the necessity to manually transfer data, leading to a faster, cheaper and more accurate shift of information.

If your system is not yet merged or you are in the process of rethinking in house software solutions, it is well worth thinking ahead and bringing the two applications together. With greater competition, reducing profit margins and increased customer awareness, there may not be a more important time to take action.