Is business automation and CRM the same thing? What should you know?

Bringing your business into the digital world means being aware of a lot of different terms, technologies, and possible options for your company. Business automation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software are often spoken about together, but are they actually the same thing, or separate technologies that you need to know about. Today we are going to look at what CRM and Business Automation (also known as Business Process Automation or BPA) actually are, how they compare if you were to look at having one or the other, and the key benefits that come from utilising both.

What is meant by CRM and BPA?

Customer Relationship Managementis essentially a process that sees companies managing their interactions with clients, and CRM software is a powerful tool which helps make this happen.

CRMs come in many different shapes and sizes with a number of different formats, and it is important that you know what you need for your business before deciding on which option is a good fit.

In general, there are four main types of CRM:

• Operational CRM – This is seen as the most common type and is one that helps businesses to handle daily tasks in sales, marketing, and customer services.
• Analytical CRM – Software which helps to make strategic decisions utilising customer data. This may include data mining, statistical analysis, identifying trends and patterns in customer data, or predictive forecasting.
• Strategic CRM – This tool looks at using customer insights and driving growth, it is often used for long-term applications rather than short-term result generation.
• Collaborative CRM – CRM software which connects different teams (sales, marketing, etc.) to generate better customer journeys.

However, there are also powerful CRM tools available which combine some or all of these CRM models and provide businesses with operational tools, analytical access, strategic development, and collaborative operations.

TEB Apps makes full use of a wide array of features and functions to help our customers get the results they want with an easy-to-use CRM software.

Business Process Automation (BPA) utilises technology to automate tasks, streamline processes, and connect business functions with minimal or no human intervention.

As you may have already realised, many CRM tools make strategic use of business automation in order to ensure faster activities, more reliable outcomes, and more available operations.

How do Business Automation and CRM compare?

Ideally, CRM and BPA can be used together to ensure smooth operations, faster results, and more efficient use of all of your resources. However, if you were to look at just one technology between CRM and business automation, then how would they compare?

There are multiple different types of business automation, and how they match up to a CRM would depend on which one you are looking at.

For example, marketing automation would be focused on functionality and ensuring different areas of the customer journey are targeted to make it as simple and effective as possible, where as the CRM, which is generally focused on the sales outcome, would be looking at making data available for analysing and enriching different marketing tasks.

If you were needing to make the decision between CRM and business automation, you would need to be thinking about what you want to achieve.

If you were looking for a tool to track online efforts, streamline internal processes, and ensure data is exactly where it needs to be without interacting with it before hand, then business process automation would be suitable.

If you were looking to track your business relationships, focus on your customers, and ensure your team have the most up-to-date information to work from, then a CRM solution would be better.

In order to be as effective as possible, it is recommended that you look for tools such as TEB Apps, which blend CRM and BPA together seamlessly, giving you the best of both tools, and a platform that works with your business needs.

What are the key benefits of adopting CRM and Business Automation?

There are a huge range of benefits when it comes to bringing the right CRM and automation into your business, but the ones that stand out as being the key benefits would be:

• Increased sales and profits
• Better customer service results
• Improved team morale
• Increase sales productivity
• Lower overhead costs
• Less resource wastage and errors
• Increased data security
• Shorter sales cycles
• Faster reaction to industry / seasonal changes

Being able to use all of your data to its fullest, give your team more time to focus on profitable performance, and focus your activities in areas that are going to get the most attention is an incredibly important factor when it comes to making your CRM and automation decisions – it is essential that you choose the right service.

When looking for CRM and business automation consider:

• Does it meet your needs?
• Will it integrate with your systems?
• Is support offered?
• How long will it take to install?
• Does it fit your budget?

TEB Apps gives you both CRM and Business Automation in one!

With an easy-to-use and intuitively designed interface, TEB Apps brings you a sophisticated CRM service supported by strategic business automation, so you can bring both technologies into your business without stress, hassle, or strain on your budget!

When you make use of TEB Apps for your CRM and business automation needs, you can expect to benefit from:

• Centralised database with real-time updating allowing your team/s to update and review client data at any time, and with mobile / app support, they can even do it on the go!
  
• Opportunity management with automated task assignment allowing you to ensure the right team members are given the tasks that fit their skills, to make the most of your leads and sales opportunities.
  
  
• Highly effective data-driven analytics to let you make full use of your client information, customer habits, and other relevant activities, allowing for improved forecasting, marketing, and increased sales.

Take the time to book a demo today, and discover for yourself how TEB Apps can bring you the perfect blend of automation and CRM software, so you can move forward on the path to success.