CRM Features your Moving Business Needs
If you’re running a moving business, then you almost certainly come into contact with dozens of customers every week. During peak season, that number may even reach triple digits. Keeping track of all of those people, their needs, and the work you’re doing for them is not easy. But with quality CRM software, you can do all that and more. The key is to choose the right software that fulfills the needs of your company. Knowing which CRM features your moving business needs is vital for making that choice.
What is CRM software and why do you need it?
CRM stands for customer relationship management. It refers to systems and strategies that businesses use to manage and improve interactions with customers and prospects. CRM software helps with that by collecting data about customers, keeping track of interactions, and allowing you to measure your success in terms of conversions and customer satisfaction. Even for small businesses, handling this amount of information would be impossible without some automation. But that’s just one of the benefits of using CRM software; quality CRM software will also provide you with more in-depth insights about your customers and their lifecycle, better communication with your team, and more productivity, among other things.
Core CRM features your moving business needs
Choosing the perfect CRM software for your moving business is not always easy. So when you start looking for one, you need to know what to focus on. There are some basic features without which a CRM system is simply not worth it.
A unified view of customers with interaction tracking
Any piece of CRM software must provide you with a detailed overview of all customer information in one place. This includes:
- customers’ and prospects’ contact information
- all previous instances of contact with the customer
- information about the level of engagement the customer has with your brand (whether they’re subscribed to your newsletter, if they open promotional e-mails, etc.)
- transaction history
You should easily find this information about every customer or prospect in your database in one place – your CRM software.
Lead management
CRM software doesn’t just help you with existing customers; in fact, many businesses choose CRM software because it makes it easier to identify, track, manage, and follow up on leads. This feature can be very beneficial for small and new moving businesses looking to grow. If that describes your company, you should look for CRM software that will help you collect data about prospects, turn them into leads, and track them through your sales pipeline.
Common CRM features your moving business needs
Quality CRM software offers more than just the basics. Some of the more common features that you should look for when choosing a system for your moving business include:
Data insights
Reporting capabilities are pretty much a given for CRM software. After all, the vast amount of information you collect is only helpful if you can gain valuable insights. Basic reporting may include demographic information about your customers, profit reports, and an overall number of prospects, leads, customers, and contacts.
If you want more, you should look for CRM software with advanced reporting and insights. You’ll be able to generate informational graphics about your sales pipeline, find out which marketing tactics work best for you, track your average close ratios, and more. You can even use this information to evaluate the success of your CRM efforts. If you’re doing well, your overall statistics will improve. But you’ll also understand if there’s room for improvement when you notice customer dissatisfaction, lower numbers of leads, and a general decline in your statistics.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is a crucial feature for moving businesses that offer storage services or handle goods on behalf of their customers. It involves tracking and managing the inventory of items stored, ensuring accurate records, and optimizing storage space and organization.
E-mail and document integration
One of the most significant advantages of CRM software is having everything you need in one place. Usually, this refers to customer information. But you can take it a step further with CRM software that integrates with your e-mail and your documentation library. Then, you’ll be able to create, edit, and control your mailing lists from the same software, as well as manually upload any documents you need.
Scheduling and Calendar
Scheduling and calendar functionality within a CRM system is vital for a moving business to efficiently manage and coordinate their operations. This feature allows the business to maintain a centralized and well-organized calendar that displays all upcoming moving appointments and job assignments.
Moving teams can easily view their assigned tasks and know their schedules well in advance, reducing the risk of overbooking or missed appointments.
The CRM’s scheduling capability enables the business to optimize the allocation of resources, such as trucks and personnel, ensuring that each job is assigned to the most suitable team available.
Additionally, it helps streamline communication with customers by sending automated reminders and notifications about upcoming moves, ensuring customers are well-informed and prepared.
Other communication and collaboration tools
CRM software that includes communication tools helps you make all the data and insights you’ve collected into something actionable. You’ll be able to send customized messages to your customers, schedule e-mail campaigns, and more. But your customers are not the only ones who can benefit from this feature. Although customers are important, you also need to take your employees into account. Some CRM software includes chats and direct messaging between different teams. So your business can benefit from these features behind the scenes as well.
Automation tools
The larger your business grows, the harder it will become to do everything manually. You’ll want to invest in automation tools instead. This feature is commonly found in CRM software. With it, you can automatically send or respond to e-mails, run marketing campaigns, assess moving leads, and more. You’ll save a lot of time and effort by automating these repetitive tasks.
Additional CRM features your moving business needs
If you want to find the best CRM software for movers, the basics won’t be enough. You’ll want to find a suite that also offers:
- an intuitive and easy-to-use interface: onboarding will be easier and faster if the software doesn’t take a lot of time to learn
- customer segmentation: this feature will allow you to track customers based on different criteria and customize your contact with various groups
- goal and progress tracking: you’ll find it easier to evaluate your efforts and be successful if you can track your progress according to the goals you set
- cross-device support: if you want to be able to access your software from different devices, then this is a must-have
- customization options: no software fits everyone’s needs; the best software allows you to tailor it to your business
If you find all the CRM features your moving business needs in a single piece of software, you should invest in it. CRM can help you grow your business faster, make your employees happier, and free up time for other tasks. So it’s definitely worth the expense.