A reactive approach to running a business is just not enough. Instead, you need to actively find new ways to provide value to customers. This is why a proactive approach must be adopted. One of the ways you can be more proactive is by combining your knowledge management system and CRM. 

Integrating knowledge management (KM) with CRM has become a necessity. It allows organizations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. When it comes to managing customer relationships, every bit of information is important. The worst mistake that you can make is overlooking issues.

A robust KM and CRM integration will support your business in ways that you cannot even imagine. Besides, around 89% of customers expect businesses to provide the best experience. Read our guide to find out how integrating knowledge management and CRM can prove beneficial.

What is a Knowledge Management System?

Before we cover what a KM and CRM integration can do for you, you must understand the purpose of a knowledge management system. It is an IT system that stores and retrieves knowledge for improving collaboration, understanding, and alignment.

Not only can a KM system be used by teams within the organization, but it can also be used to center the knowledge base for customers.

What Is A CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It is a tool that helps businesses establish long-term relationships with customers. It assists with developing, acquiring, and retaining customers.

The software ensures smooth and efficient interaction with consumers to increase overall profit. It gathers customer data from various channels to provide detailed information about customers to make the right decisions.

A popular CRM that you might have come across is the Real Estate CRM. It is a powerful tool that can be integrated with your KM system to provide outstanding results.

How Can Knowledge Management and CRM Can Support Your Business In 2021?
1. Increases Productivity

One of the ways KM and CRM integration can support your business is by increasing productivity.

The integration will enable your employees to access company information and commonly asked answers directly from the KM system when responding to customer requests in CRM.

It would help eliminate research time and the need to conference with other employees, which would significantly increase productivity. Besides, switching between applications would only require customers to wait longer, which would frustrate them.

2. Reduces Redundant Tasks

Another way a KM and CRM integration can provide support to businesses is by reducing redundant tasks. The CRM system will update the information learned during every resolution, whereas solutions for repetitive issues can be converted into an article on the knowledge base.

As the world of business evolves, you must eliminate redundant tasks to stay ahead. Otherwise, your company would become redundant altogether. Keeping up with the latest innovations is the only way you can compete with major players.

3. Improves Customer Satisfaction

By integrating KM and CRM, you get to provide your customers with self-service capabilities which they can use when they visit your website. They can easily browse through the FAQs online and find a solution for the problem that they might be facing.

Moreover, if there is no answer or resolution for the issue, your customers would be instantly routed to a live agent who can take over things from there. New cases would be automatically generated by the system, which would alert agents. Thus, you will benefit from improved customer satisfaction.

4. Increases Effectiveness

Keep a complete track of the questions, emails, and calls with the help of the integration. It will ensure that you benefit from a clear measurement of Effectiveness. Find out how well your team is doing to ensure accountability and improve Effectiveness.

Besides, you also get to find out which issues are the most repetitive and active for making sure that you can resolve the issue for good. Only when you monitor each issue extensively will you be able to provide real value to customers.

As you respond to customer needs, you will be able to build knowledge where appropriate and track Effectiveness. This would allow you to monitor the productivity of customer-facing employees and motivate them to work harder.

How to Integrate Knowledge Management and CRM?

Integrating KM and CRM is not easy. However, it is possible by following the steps mentioned below.

1. Source the Information for the Integration

The first thing that you need to do to integrate the two systems is to know what knowledge to document. Find out which problems, questions, and issues customers face the most and how you can document their answers.

Make sure to involve the CRM team to determine which issues customers frequently face. There are different pieces to the puzzle. Hence, you must ensure that every piece is integrated to cover the entire customer experience.

2. Organize the Integration

The next step that you need to take is to organize the integration. Here is how you can do this.

• Chunk articles into topic categories.
• Determine the most frequently asked questions.
• Create a separate page for knowledge management on your website and integrate it with supplementary resources like live chat.
• Measure the Effectiveness of the integration by including a feedback mechanism.
• Use different types of media such as text, images, and videos since people learn differently.
• You should also consider leveraging Google Analytics for developing advanced customer education training.

3. Continuously Optimize the Integration

Finally, you have to continuously optimize the integration to keep customers satisfied. Analyze customer success and track metrics such as conversion rate and bounce rate to make necessary improvements. Make sure to evaluate customer feedback to keep track of every minute detail. Then, you can proceed with the changes to provide greater value to customers.          

Takeaway

KM and CRM provide extensive support to businesses. By integrating the two, you can take your business to the next level. Our guide aims to provide you with a foundation on the topic. Always remember that a proactive approach is the best way forward.

By implementing the integration, you can expect to increase productivity, reduce redundant tasks, and increase Effectiveness. Hence, it is about time that you started planning the integration.

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Author Bio:
Dur-e-Sabih provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. Her educational background in  Accountancy helps her in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development, finance, and digital marketing.  She writes blog articles for Real Estate CRM.