{"id":118275,"date":"2017-10-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genesys.com\/?post_type=blog&p=118275"},"modified":"2019-01-03T13:26:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T21:26:49","slug":"if-youre-using-crm-without-omnichannel-youre-doing-it-wrong","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.genesys.com\/en-gb\/blog\/post\/if-youre-using-crm-without-omnichannel-youre-doing-it-wrong","title":{"rendered":"If You’re Using CRM Without Omnichannel, You’re Doing It Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]CRM software has established itself in the marketplace as the best option to manage customer information. It makes data more accessible across teams and eliminates the disparate systems of the past. But when it comes to customer journey, a CRM alone can\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n

Without a solution to enable omnichannel customer engagement, CRM is like a reference library full of uncatalogued books. The information is all there, but it\u2019s hard to find the exact data you need, and it\u2019s difficult to use it to your advantage. To truly optimize your customer journey, CRM needs to work with your contact center solution.<\/p>\n

A Brief History of Customer Relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n

CRM Gave You Content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CRM systems enabled you to transfer the rolodexes and black books of the past to a digital database. This provided a system of record for basic customer information across the company and fostered the first database marketing initiatives.<\/p>\n

Real-Time Data Gave You Context.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As technology advanced, the internet took hold and CRM systems moved to the cloud, customer information became more plentiful. It became even more important to store, manage and leverage your customer data. Access to real-time data allowed for tailored, individual customer marketing; this raised expectations and created a shift in the relationship between businesses and consumers.<\/p>\n

Omnichannel Gives You Control.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Integrating your CRM with an omnichannel customer engagement solution enables you to achieve true customer engagement. With no requirement for an additional interface, agents have all the tools they need (including voice) in a single, known system. They can initiate and receive customer calls from within the CRM, leveraging customer data to maintain context throughout the entire conversation.<\/p>\n

Advanced routing options further facilitate this. By integrating with a customer engagement solution, your CRM gains robust ACD capabilities. Integrating CRM data into the contact center enables the ACD to factor the current state of your business\u2014contact center agent availability, skill proficiency\u2014as well as the state of your customer\u2014warranty status, membership level, ticket status.<\/p>\n

This means agents can route customers based on skills, language, availability and priority\u2014or using a mix of applicable criteria to ensure your customers are matched with the best resource at any given time. Additionally, agents can transfer customers to other agents when needed\u2014all without loss of context. This empowers agents to anticipate customer needs, meet expectations and control the outcome, which gets your customer to the right person\u2014every single time.<\/p>\n

The Future of Customer Journeys<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen CRM is integrated with all other enterprise systems, this provides organizations the data needed to tailor customer conversations\u2014and ensure their consistency,\u201d according to the Aberdeen Group report Next Generation CRM: Moving From A System Of Record To A System Of Engagement<\/a>. The right contact center system can log interaction details, including recording and timeline, right back into your CRM\u2014improving upon its purpose as a system of record.<\/p>\n