Why you should integrate your CRM system with your website

Most businesses, large or small, will be familiar with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ERP (Enterprise resource planning) system. They manage contacts and keep track of interactions which support sales pipelines and marketing initiatives. There are now so many CRMs available and the majority of them can be easily integrated with other web/digital platforms.

Your website acts as a brilliant source of customer data, and so if your website is integrated with a CRM system then the whole process of converting enquiries to leads and following up on them can be easily tracked and automated.

There are lots of great CRM and ERP systems that integrate with websites without much hassle, for example Hubspot and Salesforce. These systems can be integrated with just a few clicks. You can also integrate your website and CRM if you have something more bespoke or are using something a little more complex. We have lots of experience with this sort of thing and are more than happy to help with integrations and offer advice.

Here are four important reasons why you should integrate your CRM system with your website:

In 2018 Hubspot reported that 27% of salespeople spend over an hour a day on data entry. If your CRM and website are not integrated then you’re probably wasting time either exporting data from the website and importing into the CRM, or manually copying and pasting, or you’re just not capturing any of the website data in your CRM at all. The data in the CRM can also be synced with invoicing systems to further reduce admin time. Integrating the systems will reduce administration time, increasing productivity and time to focus on other important things.

It all boils down to the most important thing: SALES. More accurate data leads to better profiles, better quality leads and therefore higher conversion rates. Companies spend lots of money on fantastic websites that have multiple forms and ways for customers to interact but potentially lose out on all that valuable data and sales. Integrating your website with your CRM system will streamline the sales funnel. As soon as someone makes an initial contact it will be captured in the system and your sales team will work with real time data, leading to increased sales.

Automated integration between your CRM and website happens in real time. This is highly beneficial when it comes to talking to a customer with self-assurance, all the information of their latest purchase or other interaction is available to you. This will contribute to improved customer satisfaction and again increased sales. Having integrated systems removes the risk of human error ensuring data is reliable and of a high quality.

You’ll be able to gain a complete view of customers. Some CRMs have the ability to profile customers or leads to determine what they might purchase, their lifetime value and much more so the more data you have the easier it is to create a more complete profile. You’ll become better informed about your customers, and you’ll have better visibility of their behaviour and buying habits. Whether you’re targeting businesses or consumers, the better you understand who they are, the more effectively you can communicate with them.