2023 Strategies for Customer Relationship Management

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a crucial aspect of any business aiming to build and maintain strong customer relationships. The success of a CRM strategy depends on how effective and relevant marketing communications are through several channels, such as email, push notifications, and in-app messages.

Here I will share some of the best practices for any company that wants to achieve a successful CRM strategy.

The first thing is to find the purpose of each channel for your CRM communications, analyze how your audience interacts with them, and define the metrics you want to achieve. Here you will find some of the best practices for each marketing channel, explicitly focusing on email, push, and in-app messaging.

1. Email Marketing

It is well known as one of the most effective channels for CRM communication, with an average ROI of $44 for every $1 spent. However, email marketing can be ineffective if not executed correctly. Here are some best practices for email marketing communications:

Segmenting your audience is a must and should be based on customer behavior, demographics, and interests that can help you send targeted and relevant emails to your customers. This can lead to higher open and click-through rates, resulting in increased engagement and conversions (such as purchases, transactions, sales, or subscriptions).
Personalization is key to effective email marketing. Emails that address the recipient by name and include personalized content based on their interests and behaviors are more likely to be opened and engaged with.
Optimizing your email content involves ensuring your emails are visually appealing, mobile-responsive, and have a clear CTA (call to action). The subject line should be attention-grabbing and concise, with a clear value proposition.
Testing your emails is critical to optimizing your email campaigns. A/B testing involves sending two versions of an email to a small subset of your email list and analyzing the performance of each version. This can help you identify which email elements most effectively drive engagement and conversions.

2. Push Notifications

Push notifications are a powerful CRM communication tool, with an average opt-in rate of 71%. Push notifications effectively engage customers and drive conversions, but they must be used carefully to avoid becoming spammy. Here are some best practices for push notification marketing communications:

Segmentation, like email marketing, is essential to segment your push notification list to send targeted notifications. This will help you send relevant and personalized notifications, leading to higher engagement and conversions.
Timing is critical when it comes to push notifications. Sending notifications at the wrong time can result in high opt-out rates and poor engagement. Analyze your customer behavior to determine the best time to send notifications. Some customer relationship management tools give the option of scheduling them at “Intelligent delivering time.”
Personalization, as mentioned above, is necessary 80% of users expect a personalized experience.

A/B Testing

Once you have the basics mentioned above next need is to learn about your customer base and behavior, and for that, you need data. You need to A/B testing. This part is a critical component of any CRM marketing strategy.

It involves creating two versions of a marketing communication (such as an email or a push notification) and sending them to randomly selected subsets of your audience. The goal is to determine which version performs better based on specific metrics. Here are some best practices for A/B testing in marketing CRM:

Define your goals and metrics: before creating an A/B test, it is essential to define your goals and metrics. What specific outcome do you want to achieve with your marketing communication? Some common metrics for A/B testing include open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Defining your goals and metrics will help you determine which version of your marketing communication performs better.
Test one variable at a time: testing only one variable at a time in your A/B tests is essential. This could be the subject line of an email, the creativities, the timing to be sent, the content of a push notification, or the copy of a CTA button. Testing multiple variables at once can make it difficult to determine which variable is responsible for any changes in performance.
Use a large sample size: to ensure that your A/B test results are statistically significant, it is essential to use a large sample size. This will help you minimize the impact of random variations and ensure that any differences in performance between the two versions of your marketing communication are meaningful. Find a collaborative way of working within your data team.
Analyze your results: once you have completed your A/B test, it is necessary to analyze your results carefully. Look at the specific metrics you defined at the beginning of the test and determine which version of your marketing communication performed better. If the difference in performance is statistically significant, you can use this information to inform future marketing communications.
Iterate and test again: A/B testing is an iterative process, and it is essential to continue testing and refining your marketing communications over time. That will drive you to optimization of your strategy. Use the insights obtained from your A/B tests to inform future tests and gradually improve your CRM marketing strategy.

Ways to Analyze Your A/B Test Results

In terms of ways to analyze the results of your A/B tests, there are several key metrics to consider:

Open Rate (O.R %): this metric measures the percentage of recipients who opened your email or push notification. A higher open rate indicates that your marketing communication was more engaging and effective.
Click-Through Rate (CTR %): the click-through rate measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in your marketing communication. A higher click-through rate indicates that your marketing communication was more persuasive and effective at driving action.
Conversion Rate (C.R %): the conversion rate measures the success of your campaign and strategy. Is the key action you asked your customers to make in a specific period of time or, in other words, the “conversion window.”

Trends and Strategies for Customer Relationship Management

As we move into 2023, there are several CRM trends that businesses should be aware of when developing their CRM marketing strategies. Here are some of the key trends to take into account once you plan your strategy iteration.

1. Hyper-Personalization

Customers are increasingly expecting personalized experiences from the brands they interact with. In 2023, businesses should focus on hyper-personalization, which involves using advanced data analytics and AI to create highly customized experiences for our customers.

This could include personalized product recommendations, tailored marketing communications, and customized pricing and promotions based on their LTV lifetime value and behavior.

2. Multi-Channel Engagement Communications

Customers interact with brands across various channels, including social media, email, push, in-app messaging, and WhatsApp. In 2023, businesses should focus on creating seamless omnichannel experiences where customers can interact with a brand across multiple channels without experiencing disruption.

3. Data Privacy and Security

Users are becoming increasingly concerned about data privacy and security. In 2023, businesses should focus on implementing robust data privacy and security measures, including data encryption and two-factor authentication.

Specifically in the Fintech industry, but also in any type of business, it is necessary to work closely with Legal and Compliance teams to ensure you are following GDPR requirements and all regulations needing to be complied with.

4. Real-Time Data

Real-time analytics can provide businesses with valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. In 2023, businesses should focus on leveraging real-time analytics to understand their customers better and make data-driven decisions that improve customer engagement and loyalty.

5. Voice-Activated Assistants

Voice-activated assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. In 2023, the product team should focus on developing voice-activated CRM solutions that allow customers to interact with a brand using voice commands.

This could include voice-activated customer service, personalized recommendations, and voice-activated purchasing.

6. AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and businesses can leverage these technologies to create more personalized and effective CRM experiences. In 2023, companies should focus on using AI and machine learning to predict customer behavior and personalize marketing communications.

7. Sustainability

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers, especially in the Gen-Z, and companies that prioritize sustainability are likely to be more attractive to customers. In 2023, businesses should focus on developing sustainable CRM strategies.

Conclusion on Strategies for Customer Relationship Management

In summary, companies should focus on knowing their customers, how they behave, and their preferences and interests. So that will drive your strategies on hyper-personalization and multi-channel engagement communications, which are data privacy and security compliance.

Develop and enrich real-time analytics and be sure voice-activated assistants, AI, and machine learning are in your roadmap company. Don’t forget about sustainability when you plan your content strategy. Be relevant and consistent. Analyze, test, and repeat.