UMSL Offers CRM and You Need to Take it!

By Taylor Rinehart,

As marketing is growing, UMSL is trying to accommodate its students by improving and adding courses. A customer relationship management (CRM) course has recently been introduced and it gives you the ability to take a step ahead, think about your future career, and utilize software you will be exposed to in the workforce. Customers are voicing their opinions more and more and with these software you will be able to increase the user experience.

Marketing 3733- Customer Relationship Management is taught by Sarah Dalton. Within this course you are exposed directly to HubSpot thanks to their Education Partnership Program and you are using the tools offered first hand. There are unlimited amounts of resources available from HubSpot for students who plan on working with marketing, sales, customer service or technology. After speaking with Dalton I was sold on taking this course and furthering my knowledge with CRM.

I wasn’t too familiar with CRM tools until I needed to use them at my internship. When I did, I was amazed at how much easier it made conversations with employees within the company and all of the tools offered which I didn’t know existed. This course is vital for anyone going into the workforce because 91 percent of companies are utilizing CRM tools; such as HubSpot and Salesforce– both of which are covered in this class. These CRM tools help you maintain and improve relationships with customers, follow up with leads and create better work efficiency and organization within a company.

This class is focused on the theory behind CRM. You must understand what it is before purchasing and going into to use these systems. “What is it? What is the point?” both of these questions are probably asked when you first hear about CRM. Software offered by HubSpot and Salesforce are essential when keeping track of customers, the organizational tools offered are vital for growth within a company. Growth is one of the most important aspects within a company and the utilization of these tools is extremely important. Professor Dalton compares this aspect to social media; “at first, people did not think it was important for companies, but look at how it has evolved. Customer Relationship Management follows the same concept.”

Students are given exercises within websites and are expected to complete them by using what is presented by Dalton, or by clicking through the website and using trial and error. With MKTG 3733, you are given the ability to use training programs and to figure things out using the software provided by both HubSpot and Salesforce.

Within the course you are taught and introduced to many things including:

•   How marketing and technology can work together to drive revenue, increase campaign results and create efficiencies across all lines of business and sales.
•   The cost of implementing marketing technologies and how to successfully approach leadership for resources.
•   The top marketing technology case studies and what all professionals can learn from previous projects.
•   How to immediately apply the marketing technology roadmap and choose the right digital marketing tools to execute successful campaigns.

Along with using HubSpot and Salesforce systems, you will be able to receive three HubSpot certifications; the Inbound Certification, Marketing Software Certification, and Sales Software Certification.

HubSpot’s Educational Partnership Program is something truly unique and extremely valuable. Students are given access to their “own company,” and the full Sales and Marketing Software that are available to HubSpot users. To learn more about the Education Partner Program read my HubSpot blog!

With the usage of these software and obtaining the three HubSpot certifications, companies will see your experience and be more inclined to hire you based on your familiarity of the tools offered. At my current internship, I utilize Salesforce everyday. Taking this course prior to my internship would have given me the opportunity to gain a better understanding of what is offered in CRM software opposed to teaching myself without resources.

Dalton’s motto for this course is, “You cannot just sit and talk about stuff, you actually have to go do it”. Taking this course and using these CRM tools will give you the opportunity to learn everything you need to know about CRM.

For more information about the class, check out the course syllabus. Then, call your advisor today to get signed up!