Put Your Customers First with CRM [#Infographic]

Customer relationship management apps are key in the social enterprise age.

Anuli is a writer and new-media enthusiast who dreams about becoming the sixth Spice Girl. Until then follow her on Google+ or Twitter: @akaanuli.

Businesses rely on customer relationship management (CRM) applications to organize and tame unwieldy amounts of customer data. Determining the needs and characteristics of each customer has never been easier with CRM tools in place.

But customer service has got a new attitude thanks to social media.

Using Facebook or Twitter, customers now have more avenues to praise a business or highlight its flaws in real time. CRM apps allow businesses to monitor social channels, develop closer relationships with customers and quickly address issues.

Salesforce.com, which outlines the benefits of using CRM applications in a new infographic, found that CRM applications have been proven to increase sales by up to 29 percent. When merged with data accounting software, CRM applications can increase sales forecast accuracy by 42 percent.

View the full infographic below to learn more about how CRM transforms businesses into “customer companies.

CRM apps for small business