First of all, what is it? CRM is a tool which comes in various sizes and complexities. The purpose of such systems is to organize customer data such as their interactions. With that, you can understand your customers better and enables you to improve their experience with your company.
The CRM gets all this data by tracking the behavior of your consumers and visitors through your website, social media channels like Facebook and Linkedin, or e-mail marketing campaigns. The user will then be guided through a sales or buying funnel with the help of triggered actions like emails, but also informing the sales representative to take specific actions according to the behaviour and interest of the user.
Behind the CRM-Scene
CRMs manage all of your contacts and collect information like demographics, industry, through which channel they came to your site, etcetera. The customer information you want to have displayed in the CRM, is often completely customizable. With this set of information you can also segment your customers, which is important when you want to prioritise the analysis of certain main target audiences. Having this database will provide you the benefits of understanding who the customer really is and what they are looking for.
Many CRM have mechanisms in place to allow you to draw a sales process of your desire with specific actions (usually called “workflows”). You can, for instance, tell the workflow that you want to send an personalized follow-up email automatically to a potential customer if they did not answer within three days.
One can also insert certain scenarios; if x happens, then do y, but if x does not happen, then do z. Within those workflows one can set reminders to sales representatives when a lead has reached a certain stage in the buying funnel, but also change the lead status of lead which fulfil certain requirements, and much more.
The Workflow
Having processes streamlined, sales pipelines created, key tasks automated, and also having report sections on your performance, are important factors in scaling up your business.
Having a workflow like this does not only automate previously completed manual tasks, but also increases the efficiency of the sales process and ultimately increases sales. Your sales team can spend more time on the potential customer rather than working on writing the same emails all over again, setting reminders, or creating quotes manually.
Moreover, having processes streamlined, sales pipelines created, key tasks automated, and also having report sections on your performance, are important factors in scaling up your business. Additionally, it is also possible to add products you are selling to the CRM system, which comes in handy when creating quotes. Within a few clicks you can create a quote for a potential customer and send it out right away.
However, acquiring new customers is not the end of the story. Companies need to make sure that customers stay happy and feel valued by you, especially in the B2B industry. A CRM can help keep an eye on your customers and remind your sales team when to engage with them again in order to nurture the relationship.
Finding the Right CRM System
As mentioned before, there are many tools on the market. We believe that it is crucial to match the right CRM to your needs. These tools are obviously not all the same. Each and every tool has their own strengths and weaknesses. It is vital to understand what you want to do with the tool. Once you have defined this, there are great comparison platforms like G2 and GetApp, with which you can simply compare various tools with one another. Even though these platforms provide you with facts about the tools and some reviews, they cannot tell you what you personally will like in the usability for instance.
For this we recommend you sign up for test accounts of your shortlisted CRM tools, and just start playing around with them to discover whether the user experience fits with your way of working and business objective.
You Will Benefit from Using a CRM Tool
No matter how big or small your company is, you can definitely benefit from using a CRM solution.
To summarize, no matter how big or small your company is, you can definitely benefit from using a CRM solution. If you are worried about the price, there is no need to be. There are solutions like HubSpot which also provide free solutions. The free options might not meet all your expectations, but it is definitely a place to start.
However, just going for one CRM without understanding your need is not recommended. Take your time to understand your goal and focus on it when comparing the different tools. Then go with the one you feel the most comfortable using.
