7 Things a Small Business Must Know About CRM
If you’re a small business owner, in today’s ever changing business climate, there are new challenges everyday. But one thing remains a constant over time: keeping customers happy.
According to study after study, customers say they want you to care about them; they want to feel like they’re a priority. But it’s not easy. A customer relationship may require care, but as your business grows, so does the difficulty in keeping up with those relationships.
That’s why CRMs can be so invaluable; having a system that helps manage those relationships efficiently and effectively can save countless hours and even more dollars.
If you’re considering a customer relationship management system, you’ll want to put these seven items on your checklist before taking the step of to contact CRM companies for proposals. Just don’t jump into the first CRM or the cheapest solution. Finding the right CRM requires discipline.
Software or Cloud?
Or in other words, on-premise or off-premise? Perhaps the most important thing to contemplate is exactly how much you want to manage. Hardware has its own sets of hurdles, so does software. Cloud computing eliminates having to deal with even more software to concern yourself with. The shared infrastructure means it works much like a utility—pay for what you need, get automatic upgrades and more without having to install and test run everything.
Compare Features
You’ll want to compare the specific features of different CRMs. The CRM should come with essential features for a small businesses and some “nice to haves”—from lead management, analytics, and marketing automation to sales data and mobile access. Determine and prioritize your most-wanted needs, then compare your prioritized list to the vendors’ offerings and see what comes out on top.
Price/Budget
This is perhaps the most important consideration of any business decision: what’s the CRM going to cost me? There are free CRMs, but if your business needs more features, there are multitudes of effective CRM plans that start as low as $10.00 per user a month.
Once your needs are determined, you’ll be able to get a realistic picture and corresponding price points that meet your company’s budget. As with anything, the “you get what you pay for” rule applies here, so if you want more support and options, then you should be ready to pay for it. Your business is worth it.
Customization/Partnerships
Customization for CRM is modifying or expanding the behavior of out-of-the-box functionality. It can be minor, like changing the location of a text screen; it can also be extensive, like creating brand new applications unrelated to sales. When defining the right CRM for your business, make sure to find out how rich the customization is to meet your needs today and down the road.
Customer Service/Support
CRM is an investment, perhaps one of the most important investments your company will make. Therefore it’s vital to have consistent information and support at your back and at your disposal at all times. From online tools and training, to app development and 24/7 support, the right customer service simply must be part of your CRM purchase.
Before jumping in, make sure the company has training and agents to support you, from implementation to integration to customization and everything in-between.
Scalability
Scalability is an important item on your checklist. As your business grows, the relationships you build with your customers need to grow right along with it. A CRM needs to have the capacity to scale to the largest of teams, and the architecture behind the service should have the ability to handle millions of users. You want something to scale as rapidly as you need it to because you don’t want to grow larger than what your CRM can handle.
Look at Reviews
Today, there are tons of choices for everything. So naturally, there’s more than one option for a CRM. After discussing what makes the most sense with your team, dig into the online reviews, keeping in mind not every CRM is equal.
Read feedback and check ratings on CRM review sites such as Capterra and G2 Crowd. Browse through real CRM reviews from customers, businesses, administrators, and experts with experience using the different vendors you’re considering. Make sure all your important questions and concerns are addressed by the most reputable sources available.
OK, Now What?
Congratulations. Now that you know what you need from a CRM and have satisfied the criteria on your checklist, you can begin a dialogue with CRM providers that are going to fulfill all of your needs. With a CRM that is within your budget, scales with your business, is customizable, and has the support and features you need, you can align yourself with the right CRM for your company. It may be the most important business decision you’ll ever make.
