The adoption of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems has grown significantly over the years. Their popularity stems from their ability to help businesses improve customer relationships, develop customer loyalty, increase efficiency, and drive growth, making them an essential tool for modern businesses.
CRM systems provide businesses with valuable insights and analytics derived from customer data, enabling informed decision-making, identifying trends, and forecasting future sales opportunities. They can also scale to accommodate growing data volumes and support evolving business needs, making them suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries.
With the multitude of CRM systems available in the market, identifying the optimal one for your expanding business, customer service, sales team, customer support department and marketing team can prove to be a challenge.
Here are 11 tips for choosing the right one for you:
- Before choosing CRM software, thoroughly outline the requirements and anticipated outcomes for both your business and sales team. Evaluate the management tools and programs you are currently using and focus on the areas you would like to change or improve, estimate your customization needs.
- Make sure that the system you choose is scalable enough to grow alongside your business.
- Check on the system’s accessibility. A cloud-based system allows you to access information from any device wherever you are.
- Ensure that the system you choose will be easily integrated into your current infrastructure and workflow. Considering your hardware and your existing processes will ensure a seamless transition.
- Keep it simple! Choosing a simple-to-use CRM system ensures smooth user experience and seamless integration into workflow processes, minimizing disruptions and maximizing productivity.
- Look out for a widely recognizable vendor, one with five-star reviews and high-ranking customers.
- Make sure support is included in the contract. A support team of experts will provide:
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- Technical assistance during the implementation and setup process.
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- Training sessions and provide resources to help users learn how to use the CRM system effectively, maximizing its potential benefits.
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- Troubleshooting assistance to resolve problems quickly and minimize downtime.
- Ensure that the system you choose offers maximum data protection and GDPR compliance. No one can argue that customer data is an asset for any business, a system with robust data protection safeguards sensitive information from unauthorized access, breaches, or cyberattacks.
- Be cost-sensitive. Carefully consider the upfront costs, such as software licenses or subscriptions, as well as ongoing expenses like customization, integration, training, and support. Evaluate the long-term return on investment (ROI) assessing whether the benefits gained from the chosen solution justify the expenditure.
- Try before you buy. A personalized demo will give a clear view of the system’s user interface and navigation, customization options, reporting and analytics capability, the ease at which you can import and export data etc.
- Make sure your system includes:
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- Contact management
- Sales pipeline visualization
- Marketing capabilities
- Social CRM capabilities
- Visual dashboards & reporting
- Sales automation
- Email marketing automation .
- Integrations with other tools in your tech stack
EXIS with Studio Creatio CRM toolkit delivers the freedom to own your automation by providing Marketing and Workflow with no-code. Creatio is an easy to use and expandable enterprise-ready platform suitable for businesses of all sizes.
For over 22 years, EXIS provides technology consulting services to large organizations and SMEs. Contact us to find out what we can do for your business!
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