Not only is the CRM market teeming with products but the platforms vary in terms of capabilities. On the one hand, more choice increases the likelihood of finding the ideal CRM. On the other, many options make it important to have a sound decision-making process to identify the best CRM platform for your needs. Here are some questions to include in your search when choosing a CRM software that ticks the right boxes for your business.
What do you want your CRM to achieve for you? This will depend on your business model and growth objectives. A sales-driven business will want their CRM to optimize their sales processes to drive higher conversions and increase revenue by engaging customers directly. Some CRMs have a marketing-focus, helping businesses get their products before more customers through marketing and promotional initiatives. An all-in-one CRM includes many of the features of CRMs focused on specific areas of business growth.
List the problems you’re trying to solve to sort and compare CRM platforms based on their capabilities and corresponding benefits. For example, if you’re trying to eliminate repetitive sales tasks and make your sales process more collaborative and transparent for your team, include software with powerful sales automation features in your list.
In a cloud CRM, data is stored on remote servers and accessed via the internet. It is easier to deploy compared to an on-premises CRM. You can access customer data from anywhere, at any time. The CRM provider takes care of maintenance and updates to the platform.
The data in an on-premises CRM resides locally on the company’s server and accessed through the organization’s internal network. On the positive side, you have full control over your on-premises CRM. But maintaining the platform is a lot of work and requires a dedicated resource. Implementing an on-premises CRM also takes longer than a cloud CRM.
Compare the pros and cons of each. For example, if you want a highly customizable CRM and full control over your data, a self-hosted, on-premises platform fits the bill. If you need an affordable CRM, instant access to customer data from any location and can’t be bothered about maintaining the software, cloud is the way to go.
Setting up your CRM properly is crucial to extract the benefits envisioned from implementing it. CRM providers offer some form of implementation assistance. The more comprehensive, the better. An ideal scenario would be to receive full support from a technology expert and the designated implementation partner of the CRM provider. Not only will your implementation partner get the platform up and running for you quickly, but they will also help you leverage its features to deliver the benefits you seek.
Often, the time spent learning the new system eats into your time and strains your resources. Even if you have a knowledgeable tech team/leadership to guide employees on using and making the most of the platform, an implementation partner with hands-on experience using the software can save you substantial time and effort.
Whether or not a CRM software is ‘easy’ or ‘complex’ is a subjective matter. Complex CRMs are needed for complex sales processes and advanced functionalities. The question to ask is whether the platform offers an intuitive interface that allows users to explore its features without feeling intimidated or overly confused. Here’s why:
Sales and marketing are collaborative activities. A strong alliance of sales and marketing teams can help shape a more consistent customer experience. If the CRM platform is difficult to navigate, there is a risk that some users won’t adopt it, which can lead to a misalignment in your team and affect your sales and marketing results.
An easy interface shortens the learning curve and encourages adoption. Check the number of customers the CRM has and go through client testimonials to make an informed choice.
Integrating your CRM with other applications streamlines activities and eliminates the need to toggle back and forth between systems. A CRM that integrates with the everyday tools you use for customer communications and engagement supports performance, provides valuable insights, makes sales processes more straightforward, and improves the customer experience, among other benefits.
At the minimum, the CRM should offer calendar, email, and social media integration. Calendar integration avoids scheduling conflicts and keeps sales reps on the same page. Email integration automates follow-ups and responses and makes lead nurturing more efficient. A good proportion of customer engagement today happens on social media. Integrating your CRM with your social media channels ensures continuous engagement and monitoring, telling you who your most engaged and least engaged customers are.
Think about the integrations that will benefit your business the most. Check whether the CRMs you’re reviewing integrate seamlessly with other applications. Also note whether you will incur any additional costs of integrations, such as from making architectural changes.
Is the CRM affordably priced for the features and capabilities it offers? If you’re interested in a cloud solution, can you afford the monthly CRM investment? And if you anticipate fast business growth, will moving to higher pricing tiers make good financial sense?
Crunch the numbers early on so that you’re not tempted to adopt a CRM platform that is over-priced for its features. As CRMs with comparable features and capabilities still exist on a price spectrum, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a solution that meets your needs and budget.
Finally, observe whether the pricing is simple or leaves room for doubt about the total costs of using the CRM software. In the latter case, you may be hit with hidden charges that could drive the costs of ownership higher. Get clarifications from the company before you commit to buy.
The time and energy you spend crystallizing your exact requirements from your CRM and comparing various CRM platforms will pay off as measurable business improvements. SugarCRM is a worthy addition to your list, striking a balance between functionality and cost to cater to both small businesses and large organizations. Explore solutions here and reach out to us with your questions.
Sugar Sell is a sales automation system that helps businesses spend less time on manual data-entry tasks and invest more time in building lasting customer relationships.
