A common thread that connects all successful businesses is deep customer relationships. All healthy relationships are built on trust. And people do business with people they trust.
Customer relationship managers are the bridge between your business and your customers. They’re the individuals that your customers put their trust in to solve their problems and grow their business.
A customer relations manager must manage client expectations, track feedback, understand sales pipelines and marketing automation, manage communication and data, and ensure customer satisfaction. Not to mention setting the right expectations and knowing how to manage difficult people and situations.
Such high expectations require consistent training and upskilling to meet and grow as a customer relationship manager.
Signing up for CRM certification is an excellent way to develop expertise and knowledge of CRM best practices. Fortunately, many CRM certifications help you develop the skills and knowledge required to become a specialized CRM professional.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is a CRM Certification?
A customer relationship management (CRM) certification validates an individual’s knowledge in managing client relationships and developing CRM reports, platforms, sales, marketing automation, and data management.Â
This certification covers customer data analytics, customer service, sales, and marketing automation. CRM certification programs help you acquire an extensive understanding of the various CRM strategies, CRM platforms, use cases, techniques, and best practices.Â
Summarize this article for me pleaseBenefits of Obtaining a CRM Certification
Organizations greatly value a CRM certification—especially one accredited by a reputed organization. Having one makes you a highly valued team member, especially for developing new customer engagement strategies. And, there are more benefits:
- Enhanced productivity: A CRM certification course provides the tools and techniques to use available resources and improve productivity. Apart from boosting your ability to deliver, it enhances the company’s sales, marketing, and rate of customer satisfaction
- Competitive edge and adaptability: A certification helps you stay ahead of your peers. It also positions you as highly adaptable to the latest industry trends and technologies as well as a potential leader in the CRM field
- Global recognition: Some CRM certifications are recognized internationally, which will help you explore opportunities abroad
- Networking opportunities: Once you are a CRM-certified professional, you become part of an exclusive community of industry experts. Network with other CRM experts whose knowledge and connections to tap into at a later stage in your career
- Business growth: As an expert CRM, change the way your organization manages client relationships, drive sales, and implement marketing automation. This results in higher customer retention and improved revenues
- Boost in career: Organizations are keen on having CRM-certified employees able to provide long-term CRM solutions, establish smoother workflow, and maximize customer satisfaction
Now you know how valuable a CRM certification is. The next task is to find the right CRM certification program. There are many options, and it’s all about picking the right one.Â
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow to Find the Best CRM Certification for Your Career
We’ve curated a list of the ten best CRM certifications. Pick the right one based on the following aspects. Â
- Career objective: Start by identifying the specific skills you want to sharpen. CRM certification programs cater to professionals across fields, such as marketing, customer services, sales, and data management. So, choose a program that will address the gaps in your career trajectory.
- Specialization: Choose a CRM certification program focusing on an area you want expertise in. If it is marketing automation you want to master, choose a program that specializes in that
- Market reputation: Look for a CRM certification program that comes with high recommendations, has good reviews, and is well-reputed within the industry
- Application in business: Review the program curriculum to ensure the tools and techniques taught apply to your business and industry. For instance, some certifications focus only on building sales expertise, and other programs focus on data management. Instead of doing two separate courses, consider one that focuses on both if that’s what your business needs
- Program contents and format: Review the contents of the program to see if the curriculum design teaches skills in high demand. A good program must have a mix of theoretical and practical lessons taught by experienced industry professionals
- Additional resources: Consider what else the program offers you besides the certification and the study material. Choose certifications with a global community of certified managers, forums, etc.Â
- Pricing and duration: Evaluate the ROI in terms of both time and money you commit to the program and whether such commitment will add meaningful value to your profile
- Certification requirements: Check if you are eligible for the program, as some require you to have certain mandatory skill sets
Summarize this article for me please10 CRM Certifications
Here are 10 CRM certifications for you to check out. We’ve covered pricing, course level, duration, and key topics of each certification to help you select the most suitable program for you.
1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM)
This certification takes you through the fundamentals of Microsoft 365 and its applicability in managing CRM functions such as marketing, customer service, and sales. It is more suitable for individuals with a basic understanding of business functions such as sales, marketing, and customer service.Â
The program helps develop expertise in CRM fundamentals and sharpen your project management skills. This certification is valid for one year and extendable for another year. Renewals are free.
Course Level: Beginner to advanced
Key Topics: Sales, customer service, field service, customer insights
Exam Duration: 65–140 minutes
Price: $99
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant
This program is for professionals who are on the track to becoming Functional Consultants setting up marketing and sales programs. The course curriculum includes functions such as lead conversion, omnichannel communication strategies, and brand building. This program trains you to use the Dynamics 365 platform to automate marketing functions to drive more sales.Â
It is well-regarded among IT services companies to hire candidates with this CRM certification. This certification is valid for one year and extendable for another year. Renewals are free.
Course Level: Intermediate to advanced professionals
Key Topics: Lead management, segmentation, email marketing, customer journey
Exam Duration: 65–140 minutes
Price: $165
3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant
This is the most relevant of the three CRM certifications provided by Microsoft, as it focuses on customer service, quality, reliability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. This CRM certification helps you specialize in customer service-related CRM tools and techniques.Â
Modules of business intelligence, automation, and case management, among others, are crucial for customer service and support. However, applying for this program requires at least one to three years of experience.
Course Level: Intermediate to advanced professionals
Key Topics: Knowledge management, data analysis, and insights, customer serviceÂ
Exam Duration: 65–140 minutes
Price: $165
4. Introduction to CRM with HubSpot
Course Level: Beginner
This CRM certification is the most basic, which will take you through the fundamentals of Customer Relationship Management.Â
Taught by experts from the Coursera project network, this course will show you how to set up a HubSpot account, manage sales pipelines, email communication best practices, and customize a reporting dashboard.
Key Topics: Customer service, CRM, sales operations, marketing, data management
Duration: 2 hours
Price: Free
5. HubSpot CRM Implementation Accreditation
This enterprise-level accreditation validates your organization’s capability to successfully implement the HubSpot CRM platform for large enterprises within the last year. You must complete specific prerequisite certifications at an organizational level before applying for this accreditation.Â
HubSpot will help you connect with the right customers once you establish your organizational credentials via the accreditation. The application process has three rounds and is open to HubSpot’s Platinum, Diamond, and Elite partners.
Course Level: Enterprise-level or advanced
Key Topics: Presentations on real-world business problems solved, submission of video case study, Interview, and Q&AÂ
Duration: 3 months to review the application
Price: Open to Platinum, Diamond, or Elite subscribers
6. Salesforce Certified Administrator
The Salesforce Administrator Certification program is suitable for professionals specializing in CRM-related fields. The course curriculum is advanced, and the study material is extensive.Â
It is a highly reputed CRM certification and offers you a chance to join a community (Trailblazers) of fellow learners. The course curriculum is customizable.
Course Level: Beginner to intermediate
Key Topics: Understanding of Salesforce CRM applications
Duration: Self-paced
Price: Exam registration fee of $200 + taxes; Retake fee of $100 + taxes
7. NetSuite Administrator Certification
The NetSuite Administrator certification validates an individual’s skills and experience managing NetSuite solutions. But first, you must have a NetSuite SuiteFoundation certification, which validates your understanding of NetSuite’s features, functions, and capabilities.Â
Before applying for this certification, you must have proven skills in handling NetSuite accounts for at least a year.
Course Level: Intermediate to advanced
Key Topics: Data security, set up and administration, working with NetSuite
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: $250
8. Freshdesk Product Expert Certification
Take the Freshdesk Product Expert Certification without taking any courses. However, you need hands-on experience managing the Freshdesk platform, setting it up, and resolving workflow problems to pass the exam.
Course Level: Beginner to advanced
Key Topics: Setting up Freshdesk, customer support, workflow, and automation
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: Free
9. Certification: Zendesk Support Administrator Expert Exam
If you have expertise as a Zendesk Support Administrator and worked with it for at least three months, this certification is for you. You must also complete the Foundational Support Learning Path. The course starts with online training, followed by a prep exam and the final exam, on passing which you get certified.
By achieving this certification, you deepen your knowledge about the Zendesk Support system to become a specialized team member and boost your career prospects.Â
Course Level: Intermediate
Key Topics: Complete mastery of Zendesk support
Duration: 105 minutes
Price: $350
10. Marketing Channel Strategy & B2B2C Routes to Market Specialization
This CEM certification hosted on Coursera will teach you how to deliver value by building the right marketing strategy. This course is helpful for CRM professionals with a few years of experience.Â
Learn how to deliver value by partnering with the right channel partners, multi-channel marketing and management, and implementing unique pricing and packaging strategies.
Course Level: Intermediate
Key Topics: Value creation, distribution, B2B, partnering
Duration: 6 hours
Price: $100 for three months
An honorable mention on this list is the Zoho CRM Certified Consultant certification offered through its certified partners. Zoho is a popular CRM software used by millions of small businesses across the globe.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow to Manage CRM Tasks and Projects with ClickUp
Now that you know of some top CRM certifications, the next step is to understand how to set up a CRM software that works best for you.
A good customer relationship manager will be great at CRM hygiene—keeping their contacts updated, updating the correct status of deals, flagging relationship risks, etc.
To enable this, you need agility and adaptability, a platform that caters to your CRM needs, manages client interactions, and nurtures client relationships.
You need an all-in-one tool, while a CRM tool has all the project management software features. But does such a tool exist? Yes, ClickUp does all this and more!
ClickUp as a CRM and Project Management Platform
As a project management software, ClickUp helps track projects end-to-end. ClickUp enhances team communication and collaboration, updates employees on project statuses, streamlines workflows, and automates tasks.
As a CRM platform, ClickUp helps you seamlessly integrate your CRM functions in one place for better customer and task visibility, data management, and workflow.
ClickUp’s CRM software offers solutions to follow up and nurture customers and leads. You get
- 15+ highly flexible views: Seamlessly manage your customer engagement, orders, and sales pipeline by providing your sales and marketing teams multiple views, such as list view, Kanban boards, table view, and more
- Milestones: Track the progress of your tasks. ClickUp helps you break down your tasks into smaller projects, which you will monitor to ensure timely delivery within budget
- ClickUp CRM Templates: Create your CRM setup and use one of the pre-built CRM templates on the ClickUp platform. It has over 12 pre-built templates that cater to specific business goals, such as Google Sheets CRM template, Sales CRM template, Commission Tracking CRM template, and Real Estate CRM Template
- 50+ customer data visualizations: Access high-level views to analyze customer data like their lifetime value and average deal sizes
- Centralized customer outreach: Fast-track your marketing automation, including new deals and customer profiles, all through a centralized email hub
- Streamlined customer database: Store and analyze all your customer data in one place
- Integrations: Say goodbye to the clutter of opening multiple tabs, thanks to ClickUp’s native and third-party integrations
- Access on the go: Empower your team by having them access data whenever and wherever they need it to drive quicker task deliveries
- Portfolios: Record all your client interactions and the processes initiated to onboard them. Since all the information is available on the same platform, other stakeholders access them and plan their strategies
Whether you are a young enterprise wanting to grow your client database or a seasoned business attempting to expand your operations further, our CRM software covers all these fronts.
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ClickUp’s CRM templates
Our CRM templates are pre-designed formats or frameworks within the CRM software to streamline and standardize processes related to customer relationship management. Customize these templates to fit specific business needs.
ClickUp offers you multiple ready-to-use pre-built templates to customize as per your needs.
Below, we give some of the most used ClickUp templates.
- Sales Pipeline CRM Template: This template handles all details and updates concerning your sales pipeline. This CRM template offers a great way to organize and navigate all sales information, from potential leads to client renewals.
Some great features of this template include- Four views, Seven ClickApps, and 30 task statuses like ‘Up for renewal,’ ‘Demo,’ and ‘Onboarding.’
- Integrated automation to take care of task statuses and task assignees
- Drag-and-drop interface that makes managing customer data convenient
- Easy prioritizing of leads based on urgency, value, and potential
- Customer Service Management CRM Template: Providing your clients with a second-to-none customer service experience is the first step toward building a successful customer relationship. And that’s what this template helps you accomplish by juggling every ticket, chat, and issue coming its way.
Some great features of this template include- Six essential task statuses, five custom fields, seven views, and automation capabilities to handle and monitor every deal along the pipeline
- Organizing clients, feedback, and priority tasks with precision
- Sending pre-built customer service request surveys and tracking customer and partner satisfaction ratings
- Enabling easy collaborations between teams while resolving ticket issues
Summarize this article for me pleaseGet Certified and Build Better Client RelationshipsÂ
Your customers are your best advertisers. Investing in their continued delight in your brand is crucial if you want them to advocate for you to other potential customers.
Learning how to keep your clients happy is an art in itself, and it requires a wide variety of skills—and with these certifications, you can learn, develop, and hone these skills.
A good relationship manager will know how to use the right tools to their benefit. Adopt a tool like ClickUp to ease your CRM workflows and enhance your project management capabilities. ClickUp CRM is an excellent addition to your business, especially since it combines two critical functions of CRM and project management.Â
When you have a project management solution that doubles as a CRM platform, you save time, effort, and costs and improve margins and efficiency in the long run.Â
Sign up to start with ClickUp today!
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