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What is CRM, why do we need a CRM system, and how do you choose which provider is right for your business?
In today's world it can often feel like we are overrun with acronyms, abbreviations and technical jargon; we all hear CRM, KPI, GDPR and so forth on a daily basis. But it’s often easy to lose sight of what CRM really means and its value for your business.
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. But how do those three words become the basis for the enormously diverse online systems which we see today? Customer Relationship Management isn’t new, since the world began, there has been known value in taking an interest in your customers and building rapport to gain repeat business. Fast-forward to victorian times and shopkeepers kept customer details on cards and filed them so as to ensure customers receive a personal touch and any member of staff could assist them without having to ask questions a customer had previously answered on previous visits. With the birth of computers came the opportunity to store this information digitally so as to eliminate the need for large filing cabinets and speed up the process of finding information while a customer is waiting. In the late 90’s, the first CRM online solution was born, today CRM systems can offer a world of opportunity for businesses big and small. With the era of online shopping and the change in the high street.
Knowing every customer as businesses did a hundred years ago is today impossible. In fact, there may be times where you have no human interaction at all with a customer on their journey through your sales process. Yet customers today still expect when they contact your company for assistance that the customer service representative they are talking to is able to access the relevant information about their account to assist them. Similarly, for sales your boss or board will expect you to be able to give them progress reports on sales, new leads, etc or updates on the status of a particular account or deal. CRM enables you to have all that information and much, much more at your fingertips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s easy therefore to see that (providing your system is well set up) CRM can be a real game changer, streamlining and automating the day to day running of your business.
So now you know you need CRM, how do you choose a CRM system that works for your business?
CRM systems vary greatly in terms of capability and thus, in price. Most bill per user per month and within that may offer different packages on capability at different costs also. Here you should take a ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ approach; do some research, some solutions may be too big or too small for your business and it pays to find one which is just right. Start by listing features that are important to you and ordering them in terms of how important they are to you and your team. For larger businesses, you can do this by sending out a survey to staff and getting their views on what they want.
What’s next?
Want to know more about potential CRM solutions for your business?
Drop us a message and our team will be happy to walk you through some potential options.
