A surge in online engagement once the pandemic is controlled is expected to push various organisations to adopt customer relationship management (CRM) apps with an emphasis on hyper-personalisation, says Zoho Corporation, an India-based software development firm.
"The shift from physical to online modes of doing business has forced businesses to rethink sales in the post-pandemic world," said Gibu Mathew, vice-president and general manager for Asia-Pacific of Zoho, whose expertise ranges from CRM systems to office solutions.
The pandemic has been the catalyst for organisations globally, accelerating their digital transformation with a unique opportunity for sales teams to be more accessible and focus on what the customer needs in their buying journey, he said.
Online and remote tools enable organisations to track prospects and realise opportunities remotely.
"Many organisations realised that CRM solutions unlock the ability to better connect and collaborate internally to meet customer expectations and experience," Mr Mathew said.
The pandemic has not only accelerated the adoption of CRM but hastened the widespread utilisation within organisations, converting many more users at a more rapid pace than before the pandemic, he said.
"Post-pandemic, we expect organisations to continue the rapid adoption and utilisation of CRM applications as the online and hybrid 'new normal' environment calls for hyper-personalisation in customer management."
As customers are now present in both online and offline options, there is a need to build strong customer relationships and experiences, he said.
"As firms push for hyper-personalised customer engagement, a data-first approach to CRM will become critical to success," Mr Mathew said.
According to a study by tech industry research firm SMB Group, 42% of small businesses indicated that keeping up with customer demand is a major push for investment in a new digital solution.
Mr Mathew pointed out that businesses should now be ready to support the omnichannel source of conversation with customers.
With many organisations adopting remote and hybrid working models, collaboration tools have become critically important, he said.
Integrated collaboration and communication tools combined with other applications including CRM, analytics, artificial intelligence chatbots and document management will enable the post-pandemic work environment to be more effective, productive and responsive keeping in mind the customer experience, Mr Mathew said.