Manufacturing Today Issue - 227 August 2024 | Page 24

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A new era

How businesses can harness the power of AI to nurture customer relationships . By Guy Armstrong

Disruption over these last few years has forced many UK businesses to rethink every aspect of their organization . Customers have also had to adapt to the uncertainty , leading to rising expectations for new products , better prices , and more personalized customer service .

To meet these expectations , businesses are turning to enterprise systems and cloud services that can provide flexibility , resilience and security . Modern cloud-based Softwareas-a-Service ( SaaS ) applications , such as customer relationship management ( CRM ) solutions , are designed to enable continuous change and ensure customers are supported in order to enable future growth .
With the advent of artificial intelligence ( AI ), managing customer relationships and supporting employees has become a more straightforward and data-driven process . AI-powered cloud CRM solutions can help businesses generate sales faster by automating time-consuming tasks that help front-office professionals target , engage , and serve buyers more precisely .
Embracing technology for a solid foundation
Many businesses now rely on virtual interactions instead of meeting face-to-face . A modern , integrated cloud CRM solution supports teamwork and collaboration in this largely virtual space . It replicates the cohesion that sales , customer service , field service , and marketing teams experienced when they were physically together , providing a onestop-shop for the latest information .
By connecting data in a cloud CRM system , employees have access to vital customer information remotely and at the click of a button . They have what they need to make informed decisions around sales , service , delivery dates , pricing , marketing expansion , new products , sales territory alignment , and more . But most importantly , having access to this information helps build accurate , customer profiles , to fully understand who their customers are .
A good CRM solution goes beyond providing a centralized place for customer information . It can also help improve profitability .
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