PR is an advanced industry, present worldwide. However, there are many hurdles in the process of public relations, and PR agents have to deal with them all the time. One of the most successful recipes for any business is to find effective solutions as quickly as possible. With that in mind, we want to talk about PR challenges CRM software can solve with ease.
The most common PR challenges CRM software can solve
Most people don’t understand what PR really is. On the outside, it looks like a tool for public communication and marketing. However, the entire industry revolves around strategies that affect public perception through managing the release of information between multiple parties.
For PR agents to understand their clients, collecting data is the key. However, data management is never easy. The most common PR challenges regarding data management include:
- the sheer volume of data
- data inconsistency and the lack of a good system
- fragmented ownership of data
- outdated information
To become a better PR practitioner, you need to work on solving these problems quickly and efficiently.
Why CRM is the go-to solution for PR challenges regarding data management
CRM software is built to raise data management on a whole new level. If you look at customer data, you shouldn’t think of it as a tool to do your job better. Instead, you should use data to better understand customers and tailor your services to their needs. Building a level of understanding and trustworthiness is crucial for PR agents. Let’s see how CRM can solve these PR challenges and why you need to start using it today!
Tackle the sheer volume of data with CRM software
CRM software is a large platform built to collect and manage customer data. Building a customer profile requires a lot of time and effort. If you don’t have a system, you will likely miss some important things. With the help of CRM, you already have a system in place.
Managing big chunks of data is not easy, unless you have a professional platform that CRM software offers.
Customer relations management software has built-in features that help you to not only create customer profiles but use standardized templates so that they all have the same data. If you wish to build a killer relationship with your clients, this is imperative. Otherwise, there might be data inconsistency.
CRM helps reduce data inconsistency
Keeping track of data in an unorganized system is every employee’s version of hell. If you try to build profiles manually and keep track in a written form, you will see that it requires too much work. The technique is obsolete, and it consumes a lot of time. Furthermore, you can quickly lose your data or simply don’t have enough space to keep everything stored.
The second option would be to build your own database of customers, using apps like Word, Excel, OneNote, etc. Although it is a better approach than the first one, it is still not the most effective solution. The problem is that you are trying to manually build the structure of the database just so you have something to use to collect customer data. CRM software already has everything you need.
If you have inconsistent information about your clients, speaking to the public is an accident waiting to happen.
Not only that it substantially reduces the time necessary for collecting data, but CRM software also helps to keep track of everything. Say goodbye to data loss, data inconsistency, or even double entries and redundancies in the process. These PR challenges CRM software can solve efficiently and without too much effort.
Fragmented ownership of data
The PR industry already struggles with too many communication platforms. Social media apps are growing in numbers, and it becomes more difficult and time-consuming to keep track of everything. You don’t need the same hassle with customer data management.
Let’s say you have a team in your PR company that collects data about your clients. They are not the only people who will use it. That same data may go to PR agents, customer support, content creators, and anyone else who is directly working with clients. Imagine if all of the teams have their own way of storing data. Using multiple databases to keep track of the same data between teams is a mess just waiting to happen. It is virtually impossible to keep all of the databases updated at the same time. At one point, there will be a hole in the system, and we go back to data inconsistency and even outdated information.
The dangers of outdated information
Using a reliable and user-friendly CRM to simplify your day-to-day operations is simply a must. By having a single platform to manage all of your customer data, you reduce time-wasting in communication between your teams. Above all, you are making sure all of the data is up to date.
To return to the previous example, if you have a single team in charge of collecting data about clients, they are the only ones who will have fresh data. Whatever is passed on to other teams will, at one point, become outdated. All of the teams then need to reach out and ask for an update.
With the help of CRM, all teams can enjoy clean, up-to-date information.
However, if you use CRM software, all teams have access to the same platform. And not only that, all teams can even make changes if that’s how you want to do the setup. With the help of CRM, you will never have to deal with outdated information again.
The impact of CRM software on the PR industry
It is essential to mention that we are not only talking about PR challenges CRM software can solve. We are discovering a way to improve the PR industry and raise it to another level. The future of customer communication lies in advanced CRM solutions. By using this software, you help yourself better understand customers, have a quick response in case of an emergency and build an identity of a trustworthy professional with authority in the PR industry.
