How Can ERP Software Transform Your Customer Service?

by Andy Morley UK Blogger

Great customer service is essential to the survival and growth of of the vast majority of businesses. Poor customer service can get in the way of sales and lose you customers, so it is essential that you do all that you can to make sure your customers have the best possible experience with your service.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is designed to streamline and integrate your business systems and processes, improving your overall efficiency and productivity. In relation to this, it can also help improve your customer service in a number of different ways.

Connecting sales to stock

You need to match demand to supply. When a customer wants an order, you want your system to quickly ascertain what they want, if you have it and where it’s located, ready to have it delivered. This involves connecting the CRM to the other systems relevant to orders, making sure that it all works together effectively to complete a customer’s order.

An ERP system will also ensure that if there are multiple customer orders at the same time, they will be ordered in terms of priority and they will all be able to complete them. The integrated stock control system will assign the correct inventory to the customer’s order.

Providing a robust CRM system

High-quality ERP systems also include a fully integrated CRM system to keep track of all of the communications you have with customers and suppliers. Customers and suppliers want you to treat them like people, so your employees need all of the relevant information on hand to deal with orders and queries effectively.

Inbound correspondence with a customer or supplier will be automatically logged with their account, ensuring that any staff member who talks to them can stay up to speed with their issue/order. Additionally, paper correspondence can also be scanned and fed into the system to make sure that nothing is missed. It is essential that you know how customers and suppliers are feeling and what you can do to help. ERP software with an effective CRM is invaluable in making sure you know all these pieces of information.

Streamlining your processes

A streamlined business means less hold ups for customers - any time a customer spends waiting unnecessarily is time where they are going to consider going to a competitor. If you make their shopping/feedback experience as efficient and stress-free as possible with an ERP-backed system then they are more likely to stick with you.

It will link up the relevant systems and departments, so for example, once a customer has expressed an interest in your service, an accurate quote will be sent to them. An ERP system will streamline your shipping operations, while fostering better relations with both suppliers and customers through improved processes.

Creating a better user experience

Your website’s user experience is a crucial factor in how satisfied customers are with your service. An annoying or slow website with out-of-date or inaccurate stock information can drive your current and potential customers to competitors. ERP automates several different aspects of your order system, for example, if you have a discount/voucher system, then this will ensure that the right customers are given them after an order or for special occasions.

Information for effective analysis

One of the most important ways to improve your customer experience is to analyse your customer journey. ERP software allows you to compile the information of the customer journeys on your site into handy reports to see where customers are dropping off or engaging most. This means you can plan improvements with the relevant information at hand.

Additionally, you probably have a customer feedback system, where they tell you what they do and don’t like about the site and your service generally. Again, this information can be recorded in an easy-to-access place and presented clearly in an ERP report, ready for you and the senior staff to use in your planning meetings. ERP suites can present the information in simple, clear terms so even staff with less IT knowledge can understand.

Conclusion

Businesses of all sizes cannot afford to become complacent about the quality of their customer service. Competitors can get ahead with superior user experience or better feedback systems, so it is imperative that you use every method you can to improve yours, including getting a robust ERP suite.