CRM Software for Financial Institutions

The prime goals of retail banking and financial services include serving many clients and allowing customers to manage their transactions and services quickly through web-based services. Modern financial institutions need to focus on customer support and relationship management because of the rise of online banking. Now the real competition among the big players is who will provide the best personalized services to the customers. The retail banks are now trying to practice the elements of the CRM approach. These institutions want to structure their technology in a way that it becomes easier for them to maximize their lifetime value. This is where CRM software for financial services comes into play.

The idealistic goals of CRM software

• Retaining high valued customers by providing excellent personalized services beyond their expectations.
• Segment clients and make use of their specific demographics for creating strategic marketing efforts.

 How CRM software can help financial services industry

• The customer relationship management software for financial services can introduce smart ways through which financial service companies can deal with their client relationships.
• CRM software can prove to be quite useful in streamlining redundant tasks, which frees up personnel to interact with customers.
• Usually CRM software can have an impact on banking businesses at three different levels. First the companies can do their bit in improving the efficiencies and quality of client interactions. The client base will also experience a positive impact because they will get seamless interaction due to the improvement in the quality of services. The companies will engage in better decision making because they would gain a deeper understanding of their clients’ needs.

The first step towards implementing CRM system in a financial institution

Adapting to change is hard, but not impossible for sure. Every employees needs to show commitment towards adopting the shiny new CRM system. Top management is going to be critical in driving organization wide adoption of the software. This is because organizations are generally resistant to change, particularly change that requires them to unlearn old habits and learn new skills. This is understandable, it’s just human nature. However, we can’t let human nature get in the way of progress. Upper management should lead the charge in adopting the new system, and effectively make the case to the rest of the organization on why it should be adopted.

The initial step is that the management of the financial institutions need to sit together and decipher the potential needs of the institution. The requirement analysis is a vital step if the institution wants to invest in the right customer relationship management software for their financial services institution.

Once the potential requirements have been deciphered the next step is to choose the system. It is better to invest in reliable software (see our reviews) and the vendor should offer the best support as well. This way employees (who will be using the system) will get the support whenever they feel the need. Budget is always an important aspect. However, financial sectors like the banks need to understand the fact that investing in a quality CRM software is more of an investment. The budget should include overheads as well like training the employees to acquire maximum benefit from the software.

Features to Look for in CRM for Financial Services

 Smart marketing

Intelligent marketing is mandatory if a financial institution wants to get loads of clients. Now CRM can play a significant role in marketing as well. Most CRM systems out there have integrated marketing functionality. This way the CRM systems can help to sell the right services to the right clients. This smart marketing will help to position the banker as a reliable advisor and the customer will be able to get a higher level of service, which improves the relationship for all parties involved.

Identifying your most profitable customers

Customer segmentation is a vital aspect of the financial service industry. It generally happens that about 10 percent of the customer accounts are responsible for the maximum earnings. This means that a financial services professional needs to identify those potential customers to maximize the organizations return on resources spent. An effective CRM tool can easily put the information in the hands of the banker. This way an organization can identify the profitable customers and focus their efforts on them.

Management of relationships

The customer relationship management software for financial services can provide great assistance in building up relationships. The CRM software can empower the organization to resolve the service and sales issues at the point of contact. Thus when the customers get satisfactory service they will not be hesitant to keep coming to the financial institution to service all their needs.

How to select your CRM software?

As we discussed in a previous post, you should be aware of the pros and cons of CRM software. Once you have a basic understanding, you need to start searching for software that meets the specific needs of your business. This will take some homework, but we have already done the basics for you. Below we’ve outlined some of the best CRM software to help you get started.

Another thing to consider is that if you are looking in for a cost effective CRM software system then the best option will be to opt for hosted CRM service or web-based CRM system. This will cut down on the required infrastructure, while getting the most benefit.

Here is a list of some of the CRM software you can consider in your search:

 Salesforce.com

This CRM software leads the race when it comes to the best on-demand customer relationship management. This system provides a variety of CRM applications that work well for mid-market, small and enterprise organizations. Vertical solutions are offered by Salesforce for financial service segments and wealth management. The partner network of Salesforce provides a variety of industry specific solutions as well. This CRM software for financial services is built using the Force.com platform. This platform has a sophisticated and modern architecture that helps to improve the scalability and flexibility as well regardless of the organization size. Force.com provides a comprehensive technology stack that can cover the security and the database.

TeamSupport

TeamSupport can help build a successful client support team. Obviously if the team can perform well then it can result in a better client experience. This CRM software for financial services can play a crucial role because it helps to eliminate the element of miscommunication. TeamSupport helps to address the issues of the clients in a better way. This CRM software offers many features that help to provide efficient customer support. For example, the customer requests coming through various channels are assigned a ticket. The automation of the tickets facilitates the support staff to flag the messages by word or type. This way the customer requests that need more attention can be prioritized with ease.

Infusionsoft

Infusionsoft provides online marketing and sales solution. This customer relationship management software for financial services provides tools for the generation of leads. It also has the social media tools for engaging and converting leads.  This software also offers E-commerce tools that prove to be quite helpful in automating fulfilment and helping in getting repeat business. The best aspect of this CRM software is that it provides complete training to get going quickly and effectively.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is one of the pioneers of the best CRM systems. It first came on the forefront back in 2003. However, many different versions were released later. This customer relationship management software for financial services addresses various industries that include the financial services as well. The best part about Microsoft Dynamics is that it helps to automate the sales force. This CRM software can play a very significant role for marketing planning and customer service. Microsoft Dynamics has got quite a flexible architecture and makes use of the Windows Workflow Foundation for facilitating the automation of business processes.

Samanage

Samanage works perfectly well for those financial services that require a user friendly and advanced help desk solution. The best part about this CRM system is that it makes life incredibly easy for the end user and the support team as well. Samanage is more of a SaaS service. You will have to opt for an annual subscription and thus this up to date solution is available for your assistance at all times. This is a great choice for all those users who do not want to go through the hassle of software download.

Conclusion

In order to stay competitive with inexpensive online banking services, and low cost startup insurance companies, financial institutions need to recognize the significance of CRM software for financial services. The operational efficiencies enabled by the software will allow the front line employees to focus on customer relationship management as well as customer service, which will help them to justify the premium for their services over their lower cost competitors. There are a number of well-established players in the CRM industry that can provide the level of support required for large financial institutions.

The most challenging aspect of all of this will be selling change to a large company. Institutional inertia is a real phenomenon, and can be quite difficult to overcome. Management of all levels will have to be involved in explaining the benefits to employees, so that everyone is on board with the change. Employees that are not in alignment can cause problems down the road, so this step really can’t be skipped.

We covered a number of features to look for in your CRM software, as well as some thoughts on getting started in implementing adoption in your organization.

We hope the information was helpful!

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