CRM is a great tool for customer management!
However, unfortunately, many small businesses have still not started using it. Reason – A myth that CRM software is designed only for the large businesses.
And this is what is keeping most of the SMBs away from using CRM and improving their customer service.
Why is this a frightful situation?
Experts have predicted that by the year 2020, customer service will beat price and product quality and become the first brand differentiator.
That means only those businesses will survive who will be able to understand the Voice of the Customer through the CRM and provide exceptional customer service, along with good product quality and low price.
If now the SMBs do not take up the CRM then, nothing will be able to save them them from meeting the doom after a few years.
What do the small businesses need to understand?
CRM is not just a tool only for the BIG BOYS.
Although earlier CRM was designed to just meet the enterprise needs, today most CRM vendors have involved small business’s growing needs to shape up their solution. In fact this is exactly what Brent Leary, popular CRM thought leader has also commented in Software Advice –
“There are a lot more CRM choices for small businesses today than there were a few years ago. These products are more affordable, easier to use and the subscription pricing terms are in line with what small businesses are looking for.”
In fact the few small businesses that have taken the CRM have admitted of a hundred percent satisfaction.
According to Software Advice online survey (conducted over 304 large, medium and small businesses who use CRM software) – small businesses (those with 100 employees or fewer) are “very satisfied” (37 percent) or “somewhat satisfied” (33 percent) with their current CRM system.
This clearly proves how well is the CRM performing for the small businesses.
What kind of benefits do the small businesses get from CRM?
- Customer Data Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Customer Interaction Tracking
- Lead Management
- Sales Forecasting
- Sales & Marketing Automation
- Project Management
- Workflow Standardization
- Internal & External Team Collaboration
- Social Media Management.
It is interesting to see that CRMs are delivering on so many more areas (such as project management, team collaboration, sales and marketing activities) other than customer relationships.
The reason behind this is the objective to expand the scope of CRM from just a Customer Management Tool to a full-fledged Business Management Application.
That is why, sales, marketing and project management features have been integrated to the system. This has made CRM a more significant tool for every business as it has more features and benefits that result into revenue generation and growth.
The right choice of CRM
In order to get the benefit from CRM, it is important to select the right technology. However, due to so many different types of CRM solutions available – it can get confusing for small businesses to make the right selection.
Some of the factors to take note while choosing a CRM are:
1. Ease of Use
2. Mobile functionality
3. Customization
4. Training
5. Frequency of CRM upgradation
6. Open APIs
7. Cloud or On-premise
8. Security Measures
9. Support Service.
In addition to these elements, small businesses should also consider their own goals that they wish to fulfill through the CRM.
Example: if they are looking for CRM to automate most of their routine data entry work, then they should look for a CRM that has a robust automation module.
Michael Kristian, CEO of Asuret (business consulting firm) also has the same point of view –
“You need to get a package that’s tailored to your company’s size. At the most basic level you have simple contact management. Then you have contact management with a shared database. You can have sales tracking or opportunity tracking or customer service functionality. Match the capabilities of the software with what your business goals are.“
Final Thoughts
Once small businesses have CRM by their side, they will automatically develop a tight grip over their business process. Customer relations will improve which will result into a better and continuous flow of ROI.
It’s just that small businesses need to opt for the CRM that is correct for their business. Right? Or do you think that there is some other factor also that plays a key role in ensuring the success of a CRM?
Nice thought! Continuous growing competition, high customer attrition rate and frequent change in customers’ buying trends are most common challenges for an organization to sustain and grow further. CRM is the only solution for an organization to nurture existing contacts properly and capture new customers. But it’s really tough to choose the best CRM software for business. Recent survey shows that maximum organizations failed to meet their goal just for choosing the wrong CRM application.
Read more: http://www.techonestop.com/2015/04/choose-best-right-crm-software-for-business.html
http://www.techonestop.com/2015/04/best-cloud-based-free-crm-software-small-business.html
Whilst I agree that in most cases a CRM system is key to business success, i think it is fair to point out that it might not be right for every SMB. We have written a blog titled “Do I need a CRM system?” that identifies the scenarios where a CRM is appropriate and those where it probably is not. http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/blog/do-i-need-a-crm-system/.
Hello TechOneStop. Thanks for reading the blog and providing your valuable insight. What you have mentioned is indeed true. It is no secret that a company’s CRM success depends on selecting the right technology. As a result, companies need to consider factors, such as – cost, features and functionality, customization, ease of use, and more.
Here is a blog that discusses in detail, the nine critical elements that need to be taken into consideration while choosing a CRM – http://www.mycustomer.com/blogs-post/investing-crm-solution-waitand-first-read-these-9-pointers/170078
Small businesses have limited resources and hence must stretch their marketing dollar to the maximum possible level. With CRM, they can improve efficiency at several levels and also improve conversion rate. Marketing automation software like Fyoosion has been specially designed for small and medium businesses. It comes with a number of features that can create business opportunities for these companies.
Hello Fyoosion. Thanks for reading the blog and providing your insight. I agree with what you have said. With limited resources in hand, small businesses need to opt for new-age CRMs that not just take care of customer relationships, but function as complete Business Management Tools and improve the efficiency at different levels.
In my opinion, CRM enables small business owners to monitor operational challenges, including sales decline, high client attrition, and the misalignment between corporate revenue targets and salespeople’s commission policies.
Correctly said, Munish. New-Age CRM platforms incorporate management of several areas of operations such as marketing, sales and project management. So whether it is running marketing campaigns across any channel, defining the sales process or monitoring the project progress – CRMs are equipped to do all. And this is what makes them an essential tool for the SMBs who are looking for one broad business management platform rather than multiple standalone systems.