CRM & Data Security

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a system by which businesses can manage interactions with existing and potential customers.

 

By digitising processes and automating tasks, it fulfils its purpose of focusing on and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of customer relationship management. That’s important because it enables businesses to deepen relationships with customers, service users, colleagues, partners and suppliers.

 

CRM software works by collating recorded customer contact details – email addresses, website, phone numbers, social media information and so on. From this information it can automatically draw in other data about a particular customer’s activity – news items for instance – and track and record conversations across different channels. Collating this information onto one platform makes customer interaction and communication far more effective and responsive.

 

The system is also used to record and analyse any interactions between an organisation and its users, including sales management, productivity and contact management – previous history, order status, any customer service issues etc.

 

Having this comprehensive record of companies and individuals on a CRM system makes it easier to keep track of prospects and customers and monitor how your relationship with each of them is developing – elements which are vital for maintaining and growing your customer base.

 

And it’s not just the sales team which benefits:

 

• CRM can be used by your marketing department to make forecasting simpler and more accurate.
• CRM can help procurement and supply-chain teams to manage relationships.
• CRM can be used by HR teams in both recruitment and employee performance.

 

If you’d like to learn more about streamlining processes to build good customer relationships, increase sales and profitability, and improve customer service, call myCloud Media to discuss our CRM support and integrations.

 

Benefits include:

• Better client relationships      
• Increased revenue and profitability  
• Improved ability to cross-sell 
• Cost savings   
• Increased team collaboration
• Improved efficiency in serving clients
• Greater staff satisfaction       
• Discover new insights from business data     
• GDPR Compliance      
• Future-proofing your business

 

 

Why is Data Security so important?

 

Data Security – the process by which a company protects its digital data from unauthorised access, corruption or destruction – for example by cyber-attack or data breach.

It may be applied using a range of techniques and technologies that limit access to unauthorised or malicious users or processes.

These include physical security, administrative controls and organisational standards, logical controls, as well as other safeguarding techniques.

We all handle data in some degree, whether it’s the contact list on our mobile phone and the email addresses on our laptops or the huge amounts of personal and financial data that organisations such as banks collect and hold.

To prevent the information we collect, store, create, receive or transmit falling into the hands of those who would use it for the ‘wrong’ reasons, the data must be protected – from both external and internal threats.

There are also legal requirements for data protection and failing to comply can lead to litigation and fines – as well as damage to a company’s reputation. The GDPR compliance regulations that apply to your business may depend on a number of different factors according to the data you store, the industry you operate in and the markets you supply.

 

How can we secure data?

 

Data security technology comes in many shapes and forms and protects data from a growing number of threats. Ways of securing your data include:

• Data encryption: by applying a code to each piece of data you can limit access to the data by only granting it through an authorised key.
• Data masking: for example masking the first twelve digits on a credit card protects it from being disclosed for use by anyone other than the card holder.
• Data resilience: create backup copies of data so that if data is accidentally erased or corrupted or stolen during a data breach, it can be recovered.
• Data erasure: complete removal of data that is inactive – for example customers who request their details be removed from a mailing list must have their data erased completely and permanently.

 

Using myCloud Media’s Data Security programme will help to ensure:

• Protection of valuable information
• Implementation of disaster recovery plans
• Improved customer assurance
• Improved information security and business continuity management
• Meeting current standards and legislation, such as GDPR compliance
• Protect networks and data from unauthorised access
• Stay ahead of your competitors
• Improved stakeholder confidence in your information security arrangements
• Improved company credentials with the correct security controls in place