How accounting systems increase sales and customer satisfaction

"I order white pallets for my restaurant all the time! Why are you offering me grey pallets, and in a different size?"

"Thank you, I'm not interested in your offer. I have a cat, not a dog. And I always buy super premium food from you, not economy."

"Stop sending me emails with promotional items for books I've already bought from you and read a long time ago!"

Salespeople often hear these and other remarks in response to offers that are not relevant to customers. Moreover, outraged customers openly express their dissatisfaction in reviews on all available resources. And this harms not only sales but also the reputation of the business.

Needless to say, communications and customer relations are important. However, not all entrepreneurs understand what tools can be used to build sustainable and harmonious relationships with their target audience. In particular, how this can be achieved with the program of accounting and CRM systems.

Why it is important to use everything in a complex: CRM system and accounting software?

The decision to use or not to use automation tools is made only by the owner, and it can be justified by the business goals and objectives that he or she sets.

If you have a large online business where you need to communicate with hundreds of customers every day, you cannot do without a full-fledged CRM system. After all, its main function is to record and process all user contacts and orders, and store customer data.

In general, a CRM system not only systemises customer information and guides them through the sales funnel, but also improves communication with customers, promotes customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

However, the cost of such systems is often high, and not all businesses need their functions. For example, a retail store with a small customer base does not need to purchase a full-fledged CRM system.

At the same time, CRM alone will not help the owner, even of a small store, achieve the desired trading results. In addition to working with customers, you need to keep records of goods, settle accounts with partners, analyse user actions and sales to plan future purchases, understand customer trends and preferences, etc.

That is why it is extremely important that the CRM system works in conjunction with the accounting system.

Main CRM functions in Torgsoft

Accounting programs such as Torgsoft can combine the functions of store management, assortment accounting, sales, customers, and separately the functions of a CRM system in terms of communication with users.

The accounting programme has all the necessary options for working with clients:

• maintaining a customer base, collecting information: contacts, marital status, address, preferences, social networks, birthdays, etc,
• recording any contacts with customers through various channels,
• tracking the dynamics of work with the customer base,
• automation of "touches" with users through automatic reminders via SMS and calls,
• classification of customers by interests,
• recording of sales and transaction stages and their analysis,
• pre-sale and post-sale customer surveys to improve the quality of service,
• accounting of calls via Binotel IP telephony.

In general, in the Torgsoft programme, you can carry out other important work on managing the commodity business:

• receive goods, create incoming invoices, convenient product catalogues,
• manage the warehouse: control the movement of goods to and from the warehouse by points,
• maintain financial records: accept payments in various forms, create invoices and issue invoices, record sales and store payment information for customers,
• conduct settlements with suppliers, dealers, and wholesalers,
• automatically generate fiscal receipts using a software cash register and submit them to the tax authorities,
• generate reports on cash registers, sales plans,
• analyse sales, plan marketing events for customers by: interests, demographics, age, activity, etc.

In particular, the default marketing options in the program are enough to work with customers in a comprehensive manner, increasing their loyalty and the likelihood of repeat purchases. You can also:

• plan promotions and link discounts to specific products or customers, for example, birthday, anniversary, VIP customers,
• create a bonus system of cumulative discounts,
• generate barcodes for discount cards and assign them to customers, etc.

Additional modules of the programme for working with clients

The Torgsoft accounting programme provides additional paid options that will allow you to work with customer bases in the most efficient way. Such options are aimed at increasing customer satisfaction and business profitability. The most popular among entrepreneurs are:

• Bulk SMS, e-mail, and Viber campaigns: the program allows you to create and segment your customer base for marketing campaigns, link the campaign to a specific promotion, and analyse the results of the campaigns.
• Gift certificates that you can issue, sell, reissue, and your customers can use to pay for goods and services.
• Synchronisation with an online store: you can work with orders and customers directly in the accounting program, without switching between systems. This is useful when you have a lot of customers and sales and need to process orders quickly.  
• Synchronisation with Nova Poshta and Ukrposhta: after processing an order, in the accounting program, it can be linked to the services of postal operators, create invoices and transfer goods for shipment. At the same time, it is possible to send automatic SMS reminders to customers about the dispatch of the parcel from the accounting program.

So, in order to work with customers competently and efficiently, a CRM system or its individual options are often not enough. However, you can start with the smallest, install an accounting program and immediately accumulate information about your customers: their actions, purchases, preferences, and other data that is important for marketing planning and business development.