The CRM Strategy: A Distributor’s Guide to Higher Profits and Happier Customers A White Paper for Promotional Product Distributors
Good customer service is no longer optional. Consumers have too many options at their fingertips to be willing to tolerate subpar experiences with brands that don’t prioritize them. From online reviews to outright boycotts, people are holding companies to account by putting their money where their mouths are. As a result, customer relationship management has never been more important.
Lots of companies talk about their customer service being a differentiating factor among competitors. Few live up to the hype, despite the fact that it is less expensive to keep a current customer than it is to acquire a new one (ClearlyRated). Not only do many businesses not live up to the hype, but customers continue to raise the bar on the quality of service they believe they should receive. According to Salesforce, 88% of service pros say customer expectations are higher than they used to be. Yet in 2024, Forrester’s reported that 39% of brands and 10 industry averages declined in customer experience quality. And only 3% of companies could be defined as customer-obsessed (putting customer needs, desires, and satisfaction at the forefront of all business decisions) even though customer-obsessed organizations report 41% faster revenue growth, 49% faster profit growth, and 51% better customer retention than non-customer-obsessed organizations. Businesses can no longer rely on “great” products or “affordable” prices alone to attract consumers and gain loyalty. Exceptional customer service is the key to survival and success in a competitive market. (Nextiva) We live in the age of the consumer. Consumers know more, expect more, and are not afraid to walk away from a business that doesn’t meet their needs. In fact, most consumers are willing to pay a premium for products and services, provided they receive exceptional customer service throughout the entire buying experience. The new era of customer service: how customer retention impacts the bottom line In the past, the promotional products industry relied on the abundance and quality of products offered. The digitization of the industry in the past couple of decades has made the market more competitive for distributors. Modern consumers have access to technology that enables them to scout various options (you as well as your competitors) before making an informed decision on their business needs. Unfortunately, unique products at great prices are no longer the primary differentiator in today’s competitive environment. Customer service, revealed in online reviews (for better or worse), play a key role in decision making. In fact, 93% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase and almost 53% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (Demandsage) What does this mean for the promotional products industry? Increasing customer retention rates (lower customer churn) by 5% increases profits by 25-95% “ ” (Harvard Business School) 77% of consumers will switch to a competitor after multiple bad experiences 50% of consumers will switch after only one bad experience (Zendesk) Companies within the promotional products industry face the unique challenge of serving both businesses and consumers. This tricky juggling act requires more intentional coordination than what’s necessary for companies that serve one or the other. B2B service consists of longer-term, relationship-driven interactions requiring in-depth knowledge of a client’s complex needs and involving multiple stakeholders. B2C service is individual and focuses more on quick turnaround and efficient resolution. (lform.com) As if those two contrasting audiences weren’t complicated enough, the sociology of customer service is also shifting. According to Foresight, by 2025, the role of customer success will grow to include partnership and co-creation as well as onboarding and support. This is one area where promotional products distributors are ahead of the curve since cocreation is central to the customization-centric industry. However, that doesn’t necessarily account for the partnership element. The challenge of providing both B2B and B2C customer service
With ubiquitous access to technology, customers have no patience for delayed response times. Convin indicates 90% of consumers expect an immediate response. Customer satisfaction statistics show that speed is more critical than personalization in specific industries. Whenever and wherever customers reach out, they expect a quick response. What does it take to improve customer service in a way that leads to increased revenue? 1 Responsiveness Secondly, it’s imperative to keep track of and strategically use customer data like preferences, challenges, obstacles, strengths, needs, etc. In other words, get to know your customers. Companies leveraging customer data effectively can improve every step of the customer journey and will thrive in 2025 and beyond. “ ” (Nextiva) The aforementioned strategies hinge upon centralized communication within a company. In other words, anyone on your customer service team should be able to find specifics about any given account in just a couple of minutes. Those specifics include order information, previous communication, accommodations/preferences, and anything else of relevance to meeting a customer’s unique needs. Without this knowledge and insight, a well-meaning team member may face an uphill battle while trying to provide quality service to a frustrated customer. 2 Data 3 Centralized communication 6 in 10 customer service agents say a lack of consumer data often causes negative experiences. 3 in 10 agents cannot reliably access customer information, leading to irritated customers. 3 in 4 consumers will spend more with businesses that provide a good CX. 70%of customers expect anyone they interact with to have the full context of their situation. (Zendesk Benchmark data)
CRM is a platform that helps companies manage interactions with current and prospective clients. It allows business owners to organize, store, and analyze vast quantities of customer data in a central location, providing greater agility when it comes to customer service and sales. Ask yourself these questions to clarify your need for a CRM: What is CRM and how can it help your business? Do you use spreadsheets to keep track of customer data? Do you ever have trouble locating important client information? Do you ever forget to follow up with customers? Do you have visibility into your sales department performance? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you would benefit from Customer Relationship Management. 1. Ease of use. Is this program intuitive in operation? A new business solution should make your life easier. Look for a CRM with an intuitive interface and easy-to-learn operations. 2. Integration. Does this program integrate with your other business management solutions? Ideally your new solution will be able to push or pull information from your other management platforms. 3. Scalability. Can this program grow with your business or will you be forced to find a new option in 5-10 years? A scalable CRM is built to grow as your business grows without the hassle of “upgrading” to something bigger down the road. 4. Industry. Does this program understand the demands of your industry? Your CRM solution should recognize the difference between B2B and B2C client relationships and offer you the tools to succeed in your unique environment. 5. Customer support. Will you receive the necessary customer support before, during, and after implementation? How your potential provider responds to your concerns should speak volumes about the platform itself. Consider these 5 areas when selecting the best CRM for your business SAGE’s enhanced CRM module lets you center your business on what’s important – your customers. With all the details in one place, you can stay one step ahead of your customer’s needs. SAGE subscribers quickly learn that the CRM is essential for the effective use of almost every other module in SAGE Workplace™. When the information in the CRM is complete and up to date, it’s easier to perform tasks like creating an invoice, scheduling a follow-up call, or sending a marketing email out of other business management modules within SAGE because those modules pull information directly from the CRM. That means SAGE CRM functions as command central within SAGE Workplace. The CRM solution by SAGE Here is what you can do with SAGE’s CRM module Keep record of interactions with clients and prospects Streamline client and team communication Manage sales leads and opportunities Collect client preference information Share status updates Schedule reminder tasks and follow-ups View insights on monthly and yearly goals Send targeted email campaigns to specific customer groups
Follow these simple steps to set up your CRM: 1. Accessing CRM Log in to your SAGE Workplace account and click on “Clients” in the left menu 2. Importing contacts from Outlook or an Excel/CSV File For detailed instructions on how to import large client lists from Outlook or an Excel/CSV file, you can view how-to videos for each by clicking on the links within those words. 3. Adding clients to CRM manually Click “New Client,” directly under the “Home” tab on the top left-hand side. In the right pane, you can add your client’s company information, such as the company name, contact information, special pricing, target groups, etc. Click “Save” at the bottom when you’re done. 4. Adding contacts to your client company Click on the company you want to add contacts to in the left pane. At the top of the right pane, click on the “Contacts” tab and then “New Contact.” Add your contact’s information, such as their first and last name, job role, office location, email address, photo, etc. Click “Save” at the bottom when you’re done. 5. Scheduling tasks and follow-ups in CRM For detailed instructions on how to schedule tasks and follow-ups for your contacts, you can view our how-to video on YouTube. Setting up CRM with SAGE Local Phone: 214.631.6000 Toll Free Phone: 800.925.7243 (SAGE) Office Hours: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm CT Quick Technologies, Inc. 6275 West Plano Parkway, Ste. 175 Plano, TX 75093 SAGE, based in Plano, Texas, is the leading provider of information, marketing, and business management solutions to the promotional products industry. In addition to SAGE Workplace™ product research and business management services, SAGE also provides the industry with other research services, order management, website and email services, e-commerce solutions, end-user catalogs, payment processing, trade show management services, and lead retrieval software. SAGE is the exclusive technology provider for members of the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), the industry’s non-profit association. For more information, please visit www.sageworld. com or call 800.925.7243 Because customer service has never been more important, both as a differentiator and a business growth tactic, the use of a CRM tool has become necessary for success. When that CRM works seamlessly with other business management tools, the chances of customer and employee satisfaction increase dramatically. Sign up for a free live demo Try SAGE Workplace for free Conclusion
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