# Basic CRM

## Contents

* 1 [**What is CRM**](#what-is-crm)\*\*\*\*
* 2 [**What is a CRM system**](#what-is-a-crm-system)\*\*\*\*
  * 2.1 [**Advantages and benefits of a CRM system**](#advantages-and-benefits-of-a-crm-system)\*\*\*\*
* 3 [**Gebra Suite Low-Code-Plattform: Basic CRM-Template**](#Gebra-Suite-low-code-plattform-basic-crm-template)\*\*\*\*
  * 3.1 [**Extract of the functions**](#extract-of-the-functions)\*\*\*\*

### **What is CRM**

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for companies and their employees to systematically create relationships and interactions with contact persons of existing and potential customers. By generating sales, these customers play a decisive role in the long-term success of the company. If customers adjust their buying behavior and switch to products from other companies, this can have serious consequences for their own company. That's why companies invest a lot of time and effort in CRM activities to analyze customer preferences. Target groups, markets and the respective needs are analyzed in the CRM and coordinated with the own portfolio. If deviations are found, the employees of the sales and marketing department, in coordination with the management, have the task of optimizing the customer relationship within the framework of CRM or adjusting the concrete CRM strategies in order to better reach the customers again. Other departments also contribute to customer satisfaction and provide valuable information for CRM. This includes, for example, the entire service department. Within the scope of service, customer inquiries and discrepancies are recorded and processed. This is also part of CRM.

CRM generates a wide range of detailed information that must be bundled, categorized and evaluated in order to derive statements. Without the appropriate technology, with increasing numbers of customers and prospects and the respective contacts, it doesn't take long before CRM can no longer be managed with manual work. Targeted contact with the customer is made more difficult. Without a suitable technology, employees lose too much time for CRM if the CRM strategy is to be pursued with the same quality and intensity even with increasing numbers of customers and prospects.

### **What is a CRM system**

A CRM system is a software with functions for the management and automation of all information that is generated month by month when addressing customers or prospects and binding them. In the CRM software, all data of customers and prospects, including all transactions and related communication, are collected and stored in databases. The following information can be taken as an example:

* Documentation of a prospective customer telephone call for later evaluation
* Storage of a customer offer for later allocation
* Appointment reminder for an offer meeting with an interested party on site
* Birthday management of A and B customers to increase attention

CRM systems are mainly based on standard software products. Depending on the size of the company and the required level of information, different solutions with different functionalities are possible. If a company grows over time, the requirements and thus the necessary functions of the CRM system also grow. It can therefore happen that the previous functions of the CRM software are no longer sufficient over time and a change must be considered in order to take into account the increasing degree of information for the company.

#### **Advantages and benefits of a CRM system**

The advantages and benefits of CRM software for companies are obvious. In practice, a large number of contacts and their relationship to your own company must be managed in one system. Well-designed CRM systems create more transparency. They can be used wherever direct or indirect customer or prospect contact is required. With the right CRM software, the entire sales force can also be supported. This applies both to:

* the sales field service with the objective of "increasing sales",
* as well as for the service-oriented field service with the objective "service and maintenance".

All on-site activities can be recorded directly in the CRM software. In addition, a good CRM system can also be an aid for certain activities, in which information is available at the right place in the right form. This not only saves time, but also regularly delivers better results in all areas.

In summary, a CRM system helps to support sales, marketing, service and last but not least, management. With the help of a CRM system, activities can be optimized and automated (e.g. monthly reports). In addition, a good CRM provides a variety of decision bases.

### **Gebra Suite Low-Code-Plattform: Basic CRM-Template**

With the "Gebra Suite" cloud software, companies can digitize processes quickly and easily. Thanks to the underlying modular principle, necessary adjustments and extensions can be made in the software at any time at the request of management or other employees in order to process additional data in the system. Adjustments in the system do not affect the productive operation of the software in the respective company in any way.

The provided templates serve as configuration examples. Different approaches shall be illustrated. The templates can be supplemented after the import as desired, or used as templates for own applications or entire systems.

In practice, this CRM application could be used for example by:

* freelancers
* and small enterprises

to create customers and prospects and manage their contacts and CRM-relevant data. In addition to master data management, advanced functions are also included to visualize the possible use and linking of master data and to derive a realistic practical reference to support management, sales and marketing.

### **Extract of the functions**

* Company data: Name and address of the companies
* contact details: Contact data and contact persons of the companies and employees
* Phone book: based on contact data
* Archiving: storage and digitalization of documents and files from customers and prospects
* CRM data: Scheduling (e.g. per month, week), deadline monitoring and appointment documentation as well as assignment of relevant contacts
* CRM Workflows: Creation of reminders and follow-ups (e.g. in two months) for certain contacts
* Templates: Text templates can be created
* Mobile: Access to all data anywhere and with any device (cloud)

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