What processes can be automated in CRM

The daily responsibilities of the customer service department also include repetitive, tedious tasks. On the one hand, they are necessary to perform, on the other – it is impossible to look at them otherwise, as “time eaters”. To increase the efficiency of the team, it is possible to automate some of the activities already at the CRM level. This will directly result in accelerated sales finalization and translate into increased profits at the company.

Sales in CRM – the foundation of the modern enterprise

Modern technological advances and the digitization of work make CRM one of the basic tools in the enterprise. Wherever it is necessary to effectively manage customer contact, efficient service and maximum focus on the contractor’s needs are required. This applies to B2B as well as B2C companies, and the more numerous the contact structure and customer base, the more the CRM facilitates the work. However, while the CRM system itself is a good solution, automating some of the duties further improves productivity.

What is activity automation in CRM?

Automation of CRM activities is one of the optimization solutions that streamline the work of customer service-related departments. It refers to those tasks that occur repetitively in the daily scope of duties. Why would anyone want to automate these tasks? Because they are a “time sink,” that is, a duty that cannot be bypassed, yet requires the dedication of certain resources of time and energy. Such repetitiveness can be depressing on the grounds that employees’ competencies can be used much more effectively. The end result of automating operations is to optimize tasks so that the automation relieves the employee of tedious, repetitive tasks.

First contact automation

It is customary that the first contact is initiated by the consumer – a person interested in the services or products offered by the company. How fast the response will be is no less important than what kind of feedback the customer will receive. Therefore, messages sent on Friday evenings – when the workweek ends – may be out of date on Monday morning, that is, 72 hours later. To ensure that your hot lead doesn’t leave for the competition, you’ll need an automated first-contact response system. This is where chatbots with a pre-programmed dialogue path will work perfectly. The mere fact that the case has been accepted and a response can be expected on the next business day increases the chances that a potential customer will wait for a response.

Automating correspondence

The first contact is not the only place where customer-enterprise interaction takes place. This means that it is also not the only niche where automation can be implemented. Another element is the automation of the overall correspondence processes. Here we are mainly referring to all kinds of notifications, reminders, confirmations and monitoring. For example – an employee doesn’t have to remember to remind a customer in two days that his due date is approaching. Such a message – based on a previously created scheme – will be automatically supplemented with personalized customer data.

Automation of document generation

Another aspect to automate, which involves auto-complete text, is document generation. Theoretically, it is possible to create a universal template for a document, such as a summons for payment of financial arrears. In practice, however, we still waste time copying and pasting text and then adding personal information, such as the outstanding amount or the debtor’s data. However, this is not the only example of the use of automatic document generation. This mechanism will be perfect for the online quoting process, i.e. the entire construction of contracts and transfer of documents to the customer.

Automatic circulation of documentation

Receipt of transferred documents can also be subject to automation, or more precisely, to giving the appropriate execution path. Using the SalesWizard CRM system, the Autenti customer signature certification tool is available. When a customer sends back a document, the automation of the documentation workflow will allow the contract to be forwarded not only to fulfillment, but also to the archiving department. So we will save the time associated with asynchronous communication and its drawbacks. So we’re talking about downtime resulting from reading an email, taking an interaction, and forwarding a certain amount of action to competent people.

Automatic report generation

The next thing worth automating in a company is the generation of reports. Imagine that a full spectrum of insights about your team comes to you as a manager. You know who needs to work on a particular aspect, who has not realized the standard, and who stands out among the teams. And that’s without analyzing individual performance or talking to each employee in private. That’s what an automated report-generating tool will do for you, presenting all the statistics. This is full-fledged knowledge that can be used to catch irregularities in a particular organizational unit.

When is it a good idea to implement automation in CRM?

The automation of tasks in CRM is important from the point of view of any company that interacts with customers. However, in certain situations, automation is not so much advisable as obligatory. If you have noticed the following symptoms in your company:

• Employees have a backlog of current contacts;
• There is an emerging need to hire additional people to act as assistants, such as another employee to handle correspondence;
• Employees are frustrated with duties below their competence;
• There are problems in communication between the marketing department – the sales department – the after-sales department – the archiving department;
• Presence on too many channels generates rapid cooling of leads;

This tells you that you should consider automating some of your tasks.

Advantages associated with sales automation in a CRM system

Certainly, any company that has implemented automation in a CRM system will note its individual benefits. The most important of these are:

• Increase customer service efficiency – an employee can “process” more customers in a given time;
• Increase in turnover – the more customers a company can serve, the more turnover (and therefore profits) it makes;
• Accuracy of actions – when we decide to automate, we choose the precision of following a well-defined path of actions;
• Repeatability of effects – by standardizing the communication path, there is less risk of unplanned incidents;
• Reduce the risk of human factor error – automation works on simple, repeatable messages;
• Increased employee satisfaction – automation is a tool to make daily duties easier and more efficient.