One of the main ideas to understand is how CRM software for local government differs from Gmail and Excel files? CRM, Constituent Relationship Management, is a system to help you communicate more effectively with your constituents. It does that by solving the following problems:
One of the essential functions of government includes outreach to citizens. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in media consumption among citizens, traditional outreach is ineffective. CRM can help address this issue by creating a new channel using SMS communications. SMS is very effective because it has a 93% read rate within the first 5 minutes of receipt and can be targeted precisely. SMS can also be used for two-way communication, with citizens responding directly to the sender. However, using a conventional text program would quickly overwhelm staff trying to address each recipient.
iConstituent’s Smart Text allows incoming and outgoing SMS messages to enhance communication with verified interactions of actual constituents, customize response databases, and high-speed engagement. For examples of how this might work, see iConstituent’s 2021 Vaccine Rollout Toolkit for more details on how to use SMS messaging to enhance your constituents’ vaccine uptake.
Another primary function of government includes responding to citizen concerns. However, with the rise of digital campaigns, it is easy for citizens to overwhelm mailboxes with form letters, burying critical requests for hello. Gmail, and other commercial programs, cannot quickly sort form letters for auto-response, requiring individuals to identify and sort them out. This can take an excessive amount of time, reducing the ability to respond to more critical letters while simultaneously angering citizens who believe their communications are ignored.
iConstituent’s CRM Segregates form/campaign emails for an automatic reply, saving staff time. It can personalize responses with duplication detection so that constituents never receive the same answer twice. This saves staff significant time so that they can give critical letters the attention that they deserve.
Knowledge transfer among staff members is critical. In many processes, internal or external experts are drawn in to help solve complex constituent issues. Essential information can be lost during these hand-offs, meaning constituents must repeat themselves or even repeat process steps. iConstituent’s CRM software for local government collects communications between staff and citizens in one location for seamless hand-off and historical tracking. Staff can pull inside or outside resources into communications with citizens without losing the communication thread or flip between systems and channels. In-app and email notifications for actions taken by team members to ensure that critical interventions are not missed. In the end, each constituent has a historical record of all interactions with your organization.
In today’s day and age, critical data breaches are common. Government liability in the case of a data breach due to insufficient security can be extremely high. Rather than using commercial in-the-cloud systems with unknown security vulnerabilities, CRM that the federal government already uses has had all potential issues mapped and understood. iConsitituent’s CRM software for local government provides the same certified secured infrastructure and encryption that Congress uses. Also, iConstituent provides onboarding, training, and unlimited live support to ensure staffers are successful and productive in uses the software.
CRM software for local government can help you solve many issues among your constituents that consumer software can not. It is optimized for constituent engagement and reduces staff burden in addressing citizens’ needs while providing the highest security level to ensure that privacy is assured. Given its capabilities, Local Government CRM manages critical communications (such as procurement or EDD), case management, and essential broadcasts of information for many agencies.
If your local government office struggles with responding to constituents, knowledge transfer, outreach, or security CRM software is a recommended buy. CRM software for the public sector can help you solve those issues in a way that no other consumer or enterprise-level software can. Optimized for working with citizens, not selling products, or acting as a help desk, CRM software for Local Government can generate insights that strengthen your ability to meet your citizens’ needs.
Talk to iConstituent to learn more about the benefits of CRM software for Local Government today!
by Samuel Santeliz