CRM
If you’re into the business world for quite some time, you might have
come across the term “CRM” several times or there’s a probability
that you have already heard about it from somewhere or someone.
Trust me CRM is so much more than its definition or just software, it
may be safe to say it’s nothing short of an IT marvel for Businesses no
matter what scale large or small. Let’s take a deep dive into it and
understand it furthermore so that you shouldn’t be the last one to
get onboard and doesn’t get left behind to take advantage of the
technology lying at your disposal.
What is a CRM Software?
CRM is an acronym which stands for Client Relationship Management Software and is generally referred to software platforms which as per the name helps organisations to generate and approach leads and develop long-lasting relationships with their customers in the most efficient way possible in order to get the most value out of it.
CRM are platforms that bundle all organisational data like sales, marketing, and customer support in one place for easy access and management by the employees. CRM software has tools and strategies which helps record and analyse all your organisational data like the customer’s name, email, phone number, communication preferences, as well as interaction and purchase history, can be made available to help the employees reach out to customers for the right reasons and through the right channels.CRM software helps Businesses track, segment, and analyse the data to make their sales and marketing smarter which directly improves customer service, helps drive sales exponentially, and emphasises on increasing revenue.
How does CRM help Businesses?
The best part of CRM systems is that they are not industry-specific,
they are suited almost for all types of organisations regardless of
their size, field, operations. CRM software allows businesses to
emphasise on their company’s relationships with customers,
colleagues, employees, suppliers, etc. With professional CRM in
place, it becomes much easier to find new customers, win their trust,
provide satisfactory support, and provide additional services throughout the relationship.
For every kind of business, it is very essential to manage to get the most out of their time and money spent, as they may have a limited workforce who needs to keep track of all the activities like sales, marketing, lead generation and conversion, managing customer data and above all this providing excellent customer support.
CRM comes and saves the day here as it helps in storing all customer
information in one place, recording service-related issue, identifying
sales opportunities, managing marketing campaigns, all of which is
accessible by all the teams/groups working on-premise or remotely
from anywhere— these are just a few capabilities that CRM features.
Also, features like activity reminders that prompt employees to
follow up leads later make it an undisputed business companion.
What are the Benefits of CRM systems?
Having a Professional CRM System in place opens up a whole lot of opportunities for companies looking for expansion. More than 47% of businesses in a poll stated that using a CRM had a significant impact on customer retention and an equal number of users stated that it had an impact on customer satisfaction as well, this statement is strong enough to make you realise how impactful CRM is for businesses nowdays.
These are the Various Features of Implementing a CRM in a Business:
- Simplified and transparent work processes from the very first day.
- Advanced reporting tools for generating more sales
- Detailed analytics and reports on the team’s performance.
- Easy information sharing across the company.
- Scalability, security, and mobile CRM access.
- Advanced tools for better collaboration among departments and with consumers.
Boosting Sales
A CRM can help identify, foster, and follow up on
quality leads. This means that employees don’t waste time and
resources on a prospect that probably won’t become a customer.
CRM streamlines the entire sales cycle, which results in closing deals
in your sales pipeline and everyone in the team reaching the target
faster. Since most of the process is automated in CRM which results
in a reduced sales cycle, you can guide more leads more efficiently
and convert them to happy customers in a considerably shorter time.
Efficient Business Process
The advanced analytics strategies and
automation in CRM helps your team stay productive by defining and
building efficient processes for your business. It makes sure your
sales team’s time is spent on closing deals and not wasted on
mundane tasks by automating routine activities.
Data Security and Compliance
Businesses are rested assured that your customer data is safe in your vendor’s data centres,safeguarded by top of the line physical and digital security
mechanisms. Systems use top of the line security measures to
protect user data.
What are the types of CRM Systems?
Talking about the Deployable CRM systems for any business, they generally come in two types. The two types of CRM systems are Onpremise CRM systems and Cloud-Based CRM systems. It is imperative that any business must select the perfect kind of CRM system for their use after examining the requirements and future prospects of the company.
Let’s Discuss both the CRM systems and their Pros and Cons, which will help you choose suitable CRM for your business needs.
Cloud-Based CRM Systems
A decade ago companies preferred OnPremise CRM systems but they come equipped with their significant limitations. As the technology advanced further new age of CRM
Models were developed known as Cloud-based CRM’s. Cloud-Based Customer relationship management software is a kind of software
that is hosted in the CRM provider’s servers and accessed by its
customers through the internet. This kind of software is also called
software as a service (SaaS).
Pro's
- Cheaper than On-premise CRM, as no additional hardware infrastructure is required.
- CRM data is accessible all the time, anywhere, across all the devices.
- Easily integrated into other business applications through APIs and are ready to deploy.
- Vendors are dedicated to providing robust security measures and access control to ensure the safety and integrity of your data.
Con’s
- Employees must go through a training phase with the new software.
- Although this software solution is secure, the fact that the data is stored in a centralized point creates a threat for any company that implements a CRM solution.
On-premise CRM Systems –
Choosing an On-premise CRM system
today for many businesses is a never thought idea, although it has
some features over the Cloud-Based CRM systems but the limitations
and disadvantages exceed over. On-premise CRM systems are
software applications that are installed on the company’s hardware
and require adequate back-end infrastructure to support the
software and are connected through a LAN connection.
Pro's
- As the system is installed on the company’s devices and the data is also stored under the company’s premise it becomes more manageable to tighten up the security as per the demand.
- Integration with current systems of the company.
- No extra skill required from the employees to be able to work on On-premise CRM.
Con’s
- High setup and maintenance costs for the adequate hardware.
- Data is accessed locally only, as the servers are on LAN and are under the company’s premise only.
- Deployment period is longer and is more labour intensive which is a big hurdle for businesses while expanding.
- Integration depends on the vendor but requires expert knowledge and additional costs.
To Sum up the conclusion, Cloud CRM software is the way to go if
you want to have your data accessible at all times, as well as the
flexibility to scale up or down with ease. It’s also easier for small
businesses to adopt a cloud CRM and be more productive without
straining their budget.
What is the right time to switch to CRM systems?
Well, the answer to this question is, just think of your business and
answer yourself. Are you finding it hard to manage sales, marketing,
and customer relations? Then maybe it’s the right time you get
upgraded to sophisticated, all-inclusive business software which will
not only help you grow your business but to have an analytical look
at your overall past performance and future projections.
Always look for these signs while running a business, these will help you in figuring out whether you’re progressing in the right direction or not.
Decentralisation of DATA
It’s hard to make important decisions when your customer data
is spread across your excel sheets, Devices, and hard notes
taken during meetings with the customer. It takes too much
time and effort to collate the data and make sense of it.
Furthermore, conveying this information to the working
teams/groups is just way too time-consuming.
Inability to convert Leads into Customers
If you have sales representatives out there in the field, it’s
impossible for them to keep everyone involved updated on the
status of a deal, or send out documents like sales orders and
invoices, or to even co-operate on leads in which some other
team member may have good experience in. This inability is just
money-losing strategy.
Turnover costs time and money
When sales reps leave your company, they take with them the
relationships they built with customers. Your company needs to
invest time and money into training replacements and getting
them up to speed on customer preferences.
Poor customer satisfaction
Scattered information makes it hard to find patterns and
personalize your interactions with customers. This ends with all
customers being treated the same—and runs the risk of driving
them to your competitors for a better experience.
