Read this article and evaluate how well you understand database marketing and CRM by answering the questions at the end of the article.
CRM systems for marketing help an organization identify and target potential clients and generate leads. A key marketing capability is tracking and measuring the effectiveness of multichannel campaigns, including email, search, social media, telephone, direct mail, and other channels. The CRM system can monitor which individuals click, respond, and participate in any call to action. It also reports overall campaign metrics such as clicks, responses, leads generated, deals closed, and revenue. Many CRM systems are capable of tracking customer interactions and nurturing relationships from first contact through the closed sale and beyond, providing a 360-degree view of the customer relationship.
Marketing automation uses data from a CRM system to help marketers coordinate and manage marketing interaction across multiple digital-marketing channels - email, Web sites, social media, etc. Marketers use marketing automation systems to design and execute marketing campaigns targeted to specific segments based on various criteria. Campaigns might target individuals in the CRM system by job title, industry, or geography, for example, or some combination of individual traits. Campaigns may also be designed around the stage of the sales process, so that everyone at a certain stage receives a weekly email or other touch point to provide further information and help nudge the contact toward the buying decision.
Marketing automation is particularly good for automating repetitive tasks, so that marketers can maintain interaction and build relationships with a large number of contacts simultaneously. But because CRM data tracks what each prospective customer is looking for and where they are in the decision process, marketers can orchestrate an appropriate set of automated interactions to keep the relationship "warm" and eventually move them toward a sale.
Based on the characteristics and behavior of the prospective customers captured in the CRM system, marketers can also direct the system to conduct "lead scoring". Lead scoring involves assigning points to marketing or sales leads to help marketers prioritize who is most ready to buy and move them toward a buying decision. For instance, B2B marketers could define lead scoring as follows:
The system calculates the total score for each lead, indicating which contacts are the best-prepared targets for making a sale. Marketing and sales team members then target appropriate marketing campaigns and outreach opportunities designed to help leads continue progressing through the sales process.