Muhammad JahanzaibCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are transforming the way universities go about their day-to-day business.
From optimising recruitment and streamlining enrolment to nurturing relationships with students and staff, CRM has brought about a level of change not seen since the advent of the internet.
What Is A CRM System?
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system helps manage customer data. It supports sales management, delivers actionable insights, integrates with social media and facilitates team communication. Cloud-based CRM systems offer complete mobility and access to an ecosystem of bespoke apps.
Why Do You Need A CRM For Universities?
Streamlined Communications
Your CRM system will keep track of previous communications and build a full picture of your customer landscape. Use this information to provide a better service over time.
Better Business Intelligence
Your CRM system will collect business intelligence, revealing your university’s most successful campaigns, marketing efforts, and sales initiatives so you can make better decisions about which ones work better than others.
Improved Sales
You’ll have access your CRM system anywhere, anytime, so you have a detailed understanding of how your organisation achieves their sales targets.
Improved Productivity
All your keys team members will have a mobile forum. Team collaboration is simplified and your team can perform more easily, increase productivity, and complete tasks faster.
Greater Efficiency
You won’t spend unnecessary time collecting information from other channels or making extra reports. Get a complete picture of your organization in one system
Decreased Costs
Cloud CRM has a total cost of ownership (TCO) that is significantly lower than on- premise systems.
Total Security
Your CRM system is hosted in the cloud. Therefore, your company remains compliant with the latest data protection requirements, all at the lowest cost.
Redundancy
Have a redundant system in case your current one fails.
Use Multi-Channel Messaging
You can implement two-way SMS two-way messaging, automating the maintenance of your relationship with your clients across multiple channels.
Mobile Ready
Your CRM system will break down barriers and connect you with your clients on their terms.
Improved Social Media
Your CRM system will enable you to integrate with your social channels. This holistic approach will help you yield real-time business intelligence and transform how your organization engages its key stakeholders.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Get a 360-degree view of your customers’ journeys and optimum effectiveness. Your CRM system will be integrated with an embedded marketing platform to help you optimise the success of your marketing campaigns at the right time.
Increased ustomer Satisfaction
CRM systems will provide your employees with a friendly and easy-to-access portal with multi-channel support so your customers are always happy.
Improved Customer Service
CRM systems provide you with information on your customers’ service requirements and preferences, which mean you can improve the quality of your service.
Easily Create New Opportunities
Your CRM system will help you keep your candidates informed about your university’s latest news, job opportunities and events, making it easy to recruit perfect talent.
Boost Enrolment
Get a 360-degree view of your prospective students’ journeys and improve the enrollment process.
Gain Customer Insight
Your CRM system will present you with insights on your customers’ preferences and behaviours, allowing you to deliver the right type of service and support.
Measurable Campaigns
Take full control of measuring, calculating and maintaining your customer’s experience. Use it to guide your marketing strategy and inform your organization where improvements need to be made.
Improved Training
CRM systems will improve your employee’s efficiency by providing them with the information they need when they need it.
Better Decision-Making
Analyse data from different sources to get your business running at its best.
Real-Time Management
Your CRM system will provide you with real-time information on what is going on in your organization.
Increase Sales
Customers are more likely to buy your products and services when you show how much a university is focused on their needs.
Organize Better
Keep your clients’ information organized, so you can have a clear view of how they are performing and why. This will support better decision making.
Faster Data Security
Your data is protected by a sophisticated system in the cloud, and is accessed only by a small number of dedicated employees with encrypted login credentials.
Integrated PSA And LMS
Connect with your customers at every point of their journey with a seamless enrolment process.
Better Customer Care
Create stronger relationships with your customers so you can monitor their experience and provide them with a complete service.
Manage International Sales
Your CRM system will help you manage international sales, improving sales and communication policies and processes.
More Repurchase
Provide your customers with a better experience, superior service, and more benefits to increase their likelihood of repurchasing from your university.
Easy Employee Recruitment
CRM will be integrated with your LMS (Learning Management System) to provide easy, real-time contact with prospective students.
Less Marketing Costs
You will have easy access to a set of data that will allow you to create targeted and interesting marketing campaigns and save advertising costs.
Improved Relationships
Your CRM system will help you nurture and enhance relationships with your customers.
A Trusted Advisor
Your CRM system will collect data on your customer’s preferences, which means you can anticipate their needs and help them find the right product or service.
Save £214 Per Student Per Year
Lifecycle-based CRM systems help you discover and nurture top prospects at a much earlier stage in their journey, meaning you’ll only recruit students that stay on longer. This saves £214 per student per year.
Improved Customer Churn
You have instant feedback from your customers about their experience and their needs. Use this feedback to make your organisation more effective and deliver a better customer experience.
Personalised Service
CRM will help you collect information on your customer’s preferences and analyse it to create personalised experiences. This helps them to understand your organisation better and the products and services you offer.
Quarterly Sales Reports
Your CRM system will provide you with the data you need to capture data and convert it into visual, easy-to- understand charts, revealing the KPIs you need to see to make effective decisions.
Leads
Find your prospects at the right time. Increase enrolment by getting the right candidates to enrol.
Improved CRM Strategy
Your CRM system will provide you with a more accurate and up-to-date view of your university’s client base and where you can expand.
Power Of Personalisation
Your CRM system will ensure you present your potential and existing clients with improved service and experiences, as well as information that they find relevant.
Financial Data
Get full control of your financial information so you can make better decisions about what’s important to your organisation.
Key Features Of A CRM For Universities
Personal
A personal CRM system will help you to get to know your customers and their individual needs and requirements.
Professional
Another important characteristic of a well-featured CRM solution is that it’s easy to install and administer.
Secure
Choose your own provider who is trusted, and provide your customers with an improved data security through one of the best cloud-based CRM systems available.
Expandable
A system that is flexible will be able to grow and adapt as your organisation grows. It will also ensure your CRM will be a valuable asset to your organisation and a strategic driver of success.
Optimised User Experience
A highly effective CRM system will have a user interface that is simple and easy to understand. Your login should be secure and able to provide a strong process of security.
Great Support
A good CRM system should include phone, email or chat support so you can connect with a support team in case of any questions or improvement suggestions.
Compatible With Content Management System (CMS).
Your CRM system should be integrated with your content management system.
Key Features Of An LMS For Universities
SEO Friendly
Make your content easily found by Google and other search engines by optimizing your lessons.
Easy Content Management
Your LMS should be easy to use so you can easily maintain your website with high-quality audio, video, and images.
Flexibility
With a flexible LMS, you will be able to create content and track your performance to make sure that your output delivers results.
Mobile Friendly.
Your mobile platform should be easy to use and optimize your lessons for great viewing on mobile devices.
Accurate Data Collection
Track your performance and access data about your lessons. This will allow you to evaluate your efforts and better understand your audience.
Easy Integration
You should be able to choose between your preferred cloud-based LMS.
Customer Support
Your LMS should have a strong team of customer support professionals that you can reach through chat, email, or phone.
To Sum Up:
CRM software options can offer your organisation an opportunity like no other. All it takes is a proper understanding of your customer’s needs and how you can best serve them. We always recommend that you choose a CRM solution that comes with a mass of integrations and is easy to manage, secure, and expandable, with great customer support available 24/7.
Considerations Before Getting A CRM For Universities
Will The System Fit Into Your Budget?
Get an idea of how much CRM will cost in total before you begin looking for a solution. It’s also important that you consider what you’re trying to achieve with your CRM before you decide on the features you need.
Will The Type Of CRM You Choose Fit With Your Organisation’s Goals And Strategic Direction?
You need to make sure that a CRM that fulfils your needs will also meet your organisation’s strategic goals. The services you receive from a CRM should be tailored to the needs of your organisation.
Can You Access Data Easily?
When choosing a CRM solution, you should pay special attention to how easy it is to access and use the data for decision-making.
Can You Easily Customize The Software To Meet Your Needs?
This is a key aspect of CRM software. You want to pick a CRM solution that is adaptable and can evolve to suit your organisation’s structure and changing strategies.
What Are The Delivery Terms?
You need to make sure that you will get the CRM system you’re looking for in a reasonable time frame and budget.
How Do You See Your Future Growth?
If your organization will grow quickly, then your CRM system should be flexible enough to grow with you. It should also be easy to scale up and avoid any problems.
The follow-up is an important part of your CRM strategy. If you don’t have a sales team that is skilled in sales techniques, you need to think about outsourcing your sales efforts. CRM system can help you with that as well.
If you want your university to switch to CRM software
If you think you can use CRM software to improve your sales results, get a demo and see for yourself if this is the right decision. You can use the demo to test the software’s usability. Get to know how users will use this software and whether it will improve your sales and your results.
If you already know what function a CRM system can have for you, you should make your choice among top CRM software systems.
Once you have made that choice, you need to train your team. It’s always important to have your team ready with the software before you start using it. If you pick a CRM that you don’t have experience with, you should take your time and grow into it. Otherwise, you risk losing leads and important client information.
Be patient, comprehensive, and dedicated to CRM on your university. You will see an improvement in your results.
Lastly, it goes without saying that you should always take your time to properly research a CRM. There is no need to hurry into something. Instead, you should make a decision that improves your way of doing business. Here, we have a great article on what’s the best CRM software for your company.
Got any comments, feedback or questions? Feel free to leave them below!
