Running and managing your own business involves many moving parts and would sometimes require you to wear many different hats. In this day and age, where there is an overabundance of choices and options of service providers and other businesses to partner with, how can you make sure your clients are happy with your partnership? How can you make your business stand out among the rest?
The bulk of it lies in how you build and nurture your relationship with your clients – past, present, and future. This is where a CRM comes in and makes the selection of a CRM system that's right for your business crucial.
Let's have a closer look at what a CRM is and why you need it in your daily ins and outs to hopefully help you in your methodical selection of CRM software.
Getting to know what is a CRM
CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management. It's a system in place to help you manage your interactions with your clients with the aid of technology.
Most businesses use CRMs to schedule and prioritize tasks per client to ensure none of them falls through the cracks. Others use CRM for sales, while some use systems to get to know their customers better.
As your business grows, you want to make sure not one of your clients feels neglected and their businesses grow alongside yours.
Along with keeping existing clients happy, you also want to be able to regularly acquire new ones and leave the door open for old ones to come back. A streamlined CRM can help you achieve this and more; therefore, you need to be conscientious and thoughtful in your CRM selection.
Types of CRM
There are 3 key types of CRM that you can consider using for your line of business (LOB) depending on your needs – Operational, Analytical, and Collaborative. By learning about each type, you will get a general understanding of the features and purposes of the software.
Operational CRMs
This CRM software helps a business's sales, marketing, and service automation systems be more efficient. An operational CRM also helps generate leads, conversion from leads to actual contracts, and provide service for as long as the contract is in place.
By tracking interactions with potential customers, an operational CRM can provide valuable insights into their behavior and preferences, which can then be used to personalize marketing and sales efforts.
Analytical CRMs
This type of software mainly helps the management, marketing, sales, and support teams find better ways to keep their customers happy by using customer data and information gathered through various avenues.
By collecting and analyzing data from various sources, including customer interactions, purchase histories, and social media activity, analytical CRMs can provide valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences:
-
By analyzing data on customer preferences, an analytical CRM can help your business create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to resonate with your target audience.
-
By tracking customer interactions and feedback, CRM can help identify areas where customer service can be improved, as well as identify common issues that customers are facing.
Collaborative (or Strategic) CRMs
The focus of these CRMs is letting an organization share customer information with others solely with the aim of using whatever customer information is gathered to gain loyalty and acquire new customers to drive sales.
This type may be used by the management team to share customer feedback or questionnaire answers with the sales or marketing teams to help increase sales and revenue.
Collaborative CRMs can help improve customer service and support by providing a unified view of customer interactions and issues.
By sharing information across different teams, businesses can ensure that customer inquiries and complaints are addressed in a timely and effective manner, leading to higher satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Preparing to choose a CRM
Before actually diving into the criteria for a CRM, you need to gather general information about your business. This will help you determine the best option since you'll be more aware of the possible needs of your company.
Here is a list of questions to ask before looking into CRMs' features:
-
How many employees do you have? Which of them are going to use the CRM?
-
How much money can you spend on the CRM yearly?
-
What are the main work processes in your company?
-
What work processes need improvement?
-
Do you need software integrations like Gmail and Google Meet?
-
Do you need lead management?
-
What are your marketing channels?
By answering all these questions, you will be ready to make the best choice based on the actual data and save time on searching.
Take Your Business to The Next Level With Bitrix24
Unlimited Users Free
Try now
Selection Criteria for Choosing a CRM System
Regardless of your LOB, most businesses have pretty much the same grocery list of crucial things to keep the venture afloat. These items make up your selection criteria in choosing the right CRM for your business. They can be (although not restricted to) the following:
1. Grow the business
Being able to attract new leads with customized social media and online marketing campaigns is an important criterion for a CRM system. You also need a system that lets you find out which leads to pursue with tailored web forms.
2. Organization of tools, lead, and data
A CRM system that allows you to sort through leads with a targeted qualification structure while also providing you with a virtual file cabinet and a fail-safe recovery feature.
3. Customer data management
Collect and manage customer profiles and other data easily. Make searching equally stress-free as well.
4. Drive sales
Provide you with automated sales funnels for higher conversion and more revenue. Fully customizable rules and triggers help you make targeted sales pitches as well.
5. Streamline communications with customers and staff
Guaranteed quick access to clients, customers, and team members, whether your preferred channel is social media, emails, calls, or texts.
6. Data analysis
Crunch the numbers and translate them into easy-to-understand reports with the Sales Intelligence module. It also helps you view the full client path and more effectively administrate the marketing budget.
7. Cultivate repeat business
The survival of a business is in its rate of repeat business. This shows trust built over time. You need a CRM that allows you to create customer segments, reuse sales campaigns, and retarget ads, among many others.
8. Sell and get paid in one place
Most businesses have one of each – a place to sell and a place to receive payments. An effective and efficient CRM allows you to do both in one place with ease.
9. Staying up to date with technologies
The world does not stay in one place for too long, and new technologies are invented every day. It is important for your CRM system to stay in touch with them if you want your team to stay productive and efficient.
Implementing technologies like AI could be a game changer for you. For example, Bitrix24 recently introduced its own AI Assistant CoPilot that helps with organizing tasks, creating emails and even marketing strategies.
How to Select the Best CRM System
Finding a CRM that meets all of your selection criteria is a once-in-a-lifetime miracle and might sound too good to be true. However, there is such a thing as the perfect fit, and when you've found it, you'll know.
Bitrix24 provides businesses with all of the 9 criteria mentioned above and more whether your needs may be operational, analytical, collaborative, or all three, even!
Its creators are proud to have developed an intuitive system that is highly customizable to meet every need, readying your business for growth and long-term success.
And what is the other best thing about Bitrix24, you may ask? You can start using it for free without a trial period! If you don't need a particular tool, you won't have to pay for it. Your Bitrix24 plan is fully customizable as well!
You've always dreamt of building your own business from the ground up and running it. That dream has now become a reality, and the reins are in your hands. Don't you think you owe it to yourself and your company to give it the best CRM to ensure victory and longevity? Let Bitrix24 help you steer your company to continued growth and success.
Outline
It's a long list, and meeting all of it sure looks like a daunting task. Thankfully, there are like-minded mavericks that are building and developing a CRM that more than answers all of your needs. There are a lot of choices available to you, and it's important that you select a CRM system that is aligned with your mission and vision for your company.
FAQ
What is a CRM system?
It's a software that helps businesses manage customer interactions and data.
What are the benefits of using a CRM system?
Improved customer satisfaction, increased sales, streamlined processes, and insights into customer behavior.
What factors to consider when choosing a CRM system?
Budget, needed features, customization, ease of use, security, integration capabilities, and vendor support.
What features should be considered when choosing a CRM system?
Contact management, lead management, sales forecasting, marketing automation, customer service and support, and analytics and reporting.
How much does a CRM system cost?
Cost varies widely depending on vendor and features. Some are free, like Bitrix24, while others cost thousands of dollars per year.
Can I integrate a CRM system with other business applications?
Yes, most CRM systems offer integration capabilities with other business applications, such as email, social media, and accounting software. This can help businesses streamline the workflows and improve efficiency.
What kind of customer support should I expect from a CRM vendor?
Comprehensive support, including phone and email support, online documentation, and training resources.
What features should I look for in a CRM system?
The features you should look for in a CRM system include contact management, lead management, sales forecasting, marketing automation, customer service and support, and analytics and reporting.
What is the first step in the CRM selection process?
The first step in the CRM selection process is to define your business requirements. This involves identifying what you need the CRM to do, which features are essential, and which are nice to have.
