What are the 7 stages of customer relationship management?

When people need to tackle customer management they usually see it as a complex, delicate process. On the one hand, you need to know how to manage customer needs and requests. And on the other, you need to know how to do so effectively so you don’t waste time and recourses. Well, we will outline seven specific stages of customer relationship management. Hopefully, this will give you a deeper understanding of how to do so with relative ease.

Seven stages of customer relationship management

The crux of customer management is to show your customers that you care. In the modern era of non-stop marketing, it is hardly surprising that customers tend to ignore businesses that treat them as replaceable or unimportant. To manage a fully modern business, you need to approach your customers on a personal level, and actually cater to their needs. This is why having customer relationship management software for movers is so important, as it allows you to learn what your customers are like.

1: Outlining your target audience

The first of the stages of customer relationship management is to outline who your target audience is. As a moving company, you may feel that you can cater to every customer. And while this can be true, you really need to avoid trying to market yourself as a moving company that caters to everyone. Trying to market yourself to everyone will draw in no one as your content will be too generic. Therefore, it is important to outline who your target audience is and orient your marketing efforts accordingly.

2: Customer acquisition

Once you’ve outlined your target audience, you can start acquiring customers. The actual process of acquiring customers is automatic. The only trouble is setting it up. Not only do you need to have your marketing in order, but you also need to organize your online presence so that your audience can easily reach the conversion stage. Apart from standard marketing, moving companies tend to use emails for potential customers. To make this automatic, you need to employ CRM email integration for movers and understand the basics of email marketing. Your goal at this stage is to guide the audience’s attention to specific CTAs (Call To Action). By doing so, you will convert them from audience members to customers.

3: Conversion

The conversion stage is one of the most important steps in getting new customers. Here you need to understand both how to phrase the conversion step, and when to time it. A visiting customer should gain the impression that you are a competent company, and that you know what the moving process entails. And once they have that impression, you need to offer your services to them. Time your CTA too soon, and your services will feel forced. Time it too late, and your customer might consider other companies. But, if you manage to time it right, you will successfully convert an audience member into a customer.

4: Customer management

The next step is actual customer management. Here you look to provide customers will all the help that they’ll need. As you already know if you’ve dealt with customers before, most of the questions they have to as are fairly redundant. Unfortunately, just because they are redundant doesn’t mean that they won’t require an answer, or that the customer won’t expect it asap. So, it is usually wise that you employ a chatbot, or at least a FAQ page. Having either of those will tremendously help your customer management team as it will free them up to actually tackle difficult situations.

5: Aid with customer needs

At the end of the day, a satisfied customer is one that is properly taken care of. This is another reason why it is advisable that you outline a specific target audience. By studying their behavior during a relocation you can look to predict their needs. And being able to aid with even one of their needs before they ask is bound to set you apart from the competition. Know that the more you work with a specific demographic, the more you will learn how they approach the process moving, and which aspects they are most likely to forget.

6: Customer retention

Helping a decent person have a satisfactory relocation is always a great thing. But, it is not the end of customer management. Customer retention is an important aspect of customer management that companies tend to forget about. Certain demographic is quite likely to need moving services in the near future. And there is no reason why you should cement yourself as the go-to company in their minds. Even a single email saying thank you, and asking whether they’ve relocated well will be enough to build an emotional bond. And that bond is bound to bring your customers back to you once they need moving services. This is another reason why CRM email tracking for movers is so important.

7: Loyalty rewards

The last stages of customer relationship management are essentially about making sure that your customers stay loyal to your company. Therefore, it only makes sense that you include certain loyalty rewards. A small discount here and there will be all you need to ensure that your customers come back to you when the time comes. You can also give discounts if they recommend you to their friends and family. By doing so you will grow your audience and have a far easier time converting them to customers.

Conclusion

What we’ve outlined so far are the basic stages of customer relationship management for a moving company. Depending on what services you provide, and what your customers are like, you may need to adapt these stages. After all, a B2B moving company will manage its customers much differently from a B2C one. What is important is that you grow to understand your customer base and cater to them on a personal level.