Although CRM software has become a burgeoning phenomenon, there is no wisdom in simply jumping on the bandwagon and investing in CRM technology. Firstly, you should know what CRM software is and how it will impact your business operations. Secondly, you should look for the following ten warning signs which might indicate that it’s about time you got a CRM software.
1. You Are Still Using Excel Sheets to Run Your Business
Use of manual processes, like spreadsheets, results in business operations being highly inefficient. It wastes precious time of your employees doing repetitive tasks, leading to a decline in productivity. Also, these days, employees find working on Excel sheets extremely boring.
Your business can take a lot of mileage by using a CRM as it eliminates the need to do repetitive tasks manually through automation. Some of the most common applications of workflow automation in a CRM are marketing automation, sales automation, and customer support automation. All these will make your business hours more productive and fruitful by finishing routine tasks for you without causing any hassle.
2. You Do Not Have a Single Point of Consolidated and Centralized Customer Data
The more information you have about your customers, the better strategic decisions you can make. However, a plethora of information is of little value if it is being stored in Google sheets, business cards, handwritten notes etc., that too, separately.
A CRM can give you a 360-degree view of your customers by allowing customer-facing employees across different departments to maintain every interaction they have in one central database. Information could be accessed and updated in real-time.
3. Your Salespersons Have Insufficient Knowledge About Your Customers
As your customer base grows, it becomes increasingly difficult for salespeople to remember each and every detail related to a customer since there is no database maintained to give you instant consolidated information about the customers. If customers get the slightest hint that they are being neglected, they will simply walk away. That will be downright damaging for your business.
With a CRM in place, salespeople will have all the relevant data about the customers at their fingertips, e.g. past calls, meetings, emails, etc. They will know who the customer is and what product he is interested in, based on past interactions. Hence, a CRM will enable the salespeople to serve the customers in a more personalized manner.
4. You Are Treating All Customers in a Similar Fashion
The need of knowing your customer base for targeted marketing has become more important than ever. If you are targeting every customer with the same promotional content, you are making a big mistake. Every prospect needs individual attention depending on which stage of the sales life-cycle he is in.
A CRM system gives you the ability to segment leads based on their interests, needs, preferences, demographics, psychographics and more. It helps the salespeople in planning effective strategies to move the leads from one stage of the sales funnel to another quickly.
5. Your Marketing and Sales Departments Lack Coordination
The Marketing department is responsible for nurturing leads whereas the Sales department is accountable for closing deals. Both need to work in harmony to ensure that leads are converted into opportunities and, finally, sales won.
With CRM, Marketing and Sales departments can now stay up-to-date by having access to real-time data related to a customer’s profile. The Marketing team can pass on the leads to the Sales team without any manual effort. The Sales team can then act on those leads and try to convert them into deals.
6. You Have a High Sales Staff Turnover
Training new staff is not an easy job, especially if it is someone from Sales. Upon leaving, salespeople take all crucial information about clients with them. Your business will need to invest time and money to train a new employee from scratch to equip him with the knowledge and skills needed to build excellent customer relationships.
If you have a CRM system, all the vital information will be saved in a central database. Any incoming sales agent can go through that information and start making sales without any delay.
7. You Are Losing Customers to Your Competitors
Losing customers to your competitors can be extremely painful, especially if customers report dissatisfaction due to poor customer service.
To earn the loyalty of customers, you need to make them feel important and, for that, you need to address their concerns instantly. If you have a CRM, you can proactively serve them. You can integrate social media tools with your CRM and constantly monitor what is being said about your product online in order to improve its quality.
8. You Have Inadequate Reporting/Data Analysis Tools
Are you able to accurately forecast customer demand? Is your Sales team meeting its monthly sales targets? Are you aware of the latest trends in the market? Can you accurately assess your growth strategy?
Reporting is one of the most significant features of CRM. CRM can allow you to generate customizable reports based on the information that is relevant to your business in only a few steps. Reports generated through CRM can deliver managers a unified view of all key information including the set targets and performance assessment data.
9. Your Sales Staff Cannot Close Deals While They Are on the Move
Sales are the lifeblood of a company. But what if your sales agents are out on the road or away on a business trip? Does this mean they won’t be able to conduct business as usual?
Mobile CRM empowers salespeople to easily access all the information regarding leads, opportunities and potential deals on their mobile phones and tablets. Not only this, they can update information in their CRM system just as the activity occurs, making it easier for other teams to help analyze the data in real-time.
Having your sales team equipped with a mobile CRM not only offers a degree of flexibility but is also a proven way to increase sales.
10. Your Business Is Witnessing Growth and You Don’t Know What to Do
As your business operations expand, you can no longer rely on inefficient manual systems to cater to the needs of your customers. You will have to opt for automation.
CRM will open new and unexplored avenues for your business. The key to success, in today’s business landscape, is not to work harder but to work smarter. In the form of CRM software, you will get an all-encompassing tool to monitor and manage your business processes. This will ensure that resources are allocated in the most optimal manner.
Key Takeaway:
If any of the signs mentioned above ring any bells, then you should start further exploring the CRM technology. Digging deeper into the realm of CRM will make you realize that it is an extremely powerful tool that doesn’t have a steep learning curve. With businesses under unprecedented pressure to provide personalized customer service, CRM software can deliver tangible and quantifiable results.
Rolustech is a SugarCRM Certified Developer & Partner Firm. We have helped more than 700 firms with various SugarCRM Customization, Migrations and Integrations. Contact us today for your FREE Consultation Session. We will be happy to assist you!
