Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software offer organisations the ability to maintain and create lasting relationships with contacts, including potential leads. CRM software offers organisations the ability to manage all their contacts, social media and email campaigns in one centralized location. Organisations struggle to find one CRM solution that fits their business as a whole.
The process to decide a CRM solution for your business is a complicated task. A business has to look at different aspects in order to select a solution that meets all their requirements. There are a few general features to look for when one is searching for a CRM solution:
Marketing:
Marketing is a key aspect in using a CRM solution. Searching for a CRM solution that includes the ability to integrate emails and have access to templates is a benefit for any organisations. CRM solutions that include marketing features fast track the sending of email campaigns to potential contacts and leads. Choosing a CRM solution that includes marketing features will aid your business with on time sending of campaigns to gain a competitive advantage above competitors.
Security:
Protecting confidential information, such as contact details, is key in any CRM solution. Select a CRM solution that authenticates each user to enhance the protection of your contact information. Increased security on a CRM solution is a key attribute that any business should look at, as it will offer reassurance to any user that any information added is protected and cannot be accessed by unknown users.
Ease of use:
CRM solutions can be difficult to understand and use for any user. Picking a CRM software solution that offers guided support for any new user is a benefit as it will fast track the learning and understanding process of the entire software solution. Ease of use will aid in the success and simplification of creating marketing campaigns and adding additional leads into the CRM solution.
Reports:
Real time and accurate reports based on leads, contacts, and marketing campaigns offers any business a competitive advantage to stay ahead of trends and competitors. Choosing a CRM solution that has a reports feature offers any business a simplified and accurate option to pull real time information from past and current marketing processes and lead engagement times.
Dashboards:
Dashboards offer a simplified view of all CRM processes and swift access to view the current progress of current marketing strategies that have been implemented. Finding a CRM solution that offers configurable and customizable dashboards simplifies the access for any user to their relevant data and information on the software solution.
Support:
Finding a CRM solution that offers on demand support for any enquiries to the software or to resolve any queries is needed when a business is new to any software. Select a CRM solution that provides support as well as one that has the ability to integrate with your own call centre. Select a CRM solution that offers any business in any industry the ability to integrate their call centre to simplify the extraction of information and the logging of calls and notes based on them into the CRM solution.
Work flows:
CRM solutions aid businesses in simplifying work flows and sharing work flows digitally offer time saving for businesses. Finding CRM solution that offers custom work flows and approval processes offer businesses the ability to manage and maintain work flows and ensure on time completion of projects and marketing campaigns.
Integrations:
Utilizing a CRM solution is a key aspect in any business and choosing one that offers integrations with social media, emails, calendars and unique work flows that each user needs to utilise to complete projects. Integrations is an important aspect as it simplifies the scheduling of posts and marketing campaigns to ensure that target markets are reached before competitors have the chance to do so.
These are a few aspects to look as a business searches for a CRM solution that suites their business needs. Yet, there are also easy mistakes that can be made when choosing a CRM solution:
CRM users:
One key mistake that can take place is when executives make the decision for a CRM solution without consulting the teams that utilize the CRM solution on a daily basis. Without including the sales team and marketing team, businesses have the ability to deploy CRM solutions that do not fulfil their needs and complicates them further.
Business needs:
Purchasing a CRM solution without consulting sales teams to understand the depth and complete needs that is required from a CRM solution. Another big mistake is to choose a CRM solution without understanding the complete business needs that have to be fulfilled. Deciding a plan only based on limited information could lead to mismanagement of contacts and leads, as well as missing opportunities for marketing strategies.
Sales strategy:
Another big mistake that businesses make is implementing CRM solutions without a clear and reliable sales strategy. It is easy to use any software, but using it without a plan and strategy could lead to the mismanagement of information and missed opportunities.
Cost:
The last mistake that is easy to make is that the most expensive CRM solution is the best. CRM solutions that fit your business needs have to be based on features and integration options, not on the price tag that is associated with the CRM solution.
Deciding a CRM software solution is a daunting process for any business. Utilizing these aspects will help simplify the process of choosing a CRM solution that will fulfil all the needs that are required from the sales team, as well as enhance the sales strategy it will be based on.
