Article

Emma James
Emma James 30 August 2018

Checklist to Choose the Right CRM Software

Cutting down manual tasks and improving efficiency are the two goals of every business. CRM software can help ensure you will be always on the top of your game.

Cutting down manual tasks and improving efficiency are the two goals of every business. CRM software can help ensure you will be always on the top of your game. Although, choosing the right CRM software makes sense; companies tend to go with referrals or the one that is marketed aggressively. The good news is that we have listed some of the common key features that are essential for every business.

How CRM Solution Improves Efficiency

Today, there are many CRM solutions such as SutiCRM, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamic, Sugar CRM and more. But, it is important to understand what issues these solutions solve for your business. The right CRM tool will save a lot of time. For instance, if you are spending the most time in entering the data, the CRM software can help eliminate this and leave you more time to improve process efficiency. 

With CRM software, the lead status and other information can be made available to all departments which eliminate spending too much time in exchanging information between multiple systems.

Evaluate Total Cost 

Businesses always try to cut costs while delivering better services. When buying CRM software you have to know how much it is going to cost your business and what will you get out of the investment. Decide whether you want only specific modules of the software or an all-in-one solution. 

The complete solution will cost your business more but could result in more profit, if that is what your business truly needs. So, find out what areas you want to automate in your business process in order to leverage the complete benefits of automated CRM software solution. 

Mobile-Friendly

Your clients expect to work with mobile solutions so they can access it from wherever they are. Software Advice reports revealed that 48% of user access to CRM solutions are from a mobile device and 45% of people access from the tablet. Mobile access is highly critical as your employees might want to update the lead information while out of the workplace. Therefore, you have to consider whether the CRM software you’re buying is mobile-friendly. A recent study stated that employees who have mobile access can close deals faster and achieve greater sales when compared to those who do not have access. Some of the companies that offer mobile CRM are Salesforce, Oracle, SutiCRM, Netsuite and many others.

Adoption 

When it comes to CRM software, implementation is one of the biggest issues for businesses of all sizes. Slow user adoption is the main cause for this. The key to fully leveraging the benefits of a CRM system is to have your employees actually use it. Before you buy the software, make sure your employees are on the same page and willing to use it, otherwise, you may not reap significant results. 

Visibility

Understanding how the CRM software will help improve the key areas of your business. Note that CRM software can improve most of your marketing and sales processes, such as one-to-one marketing, salesforce automation, sales campaign management, marketing activities, and support activities. CRM software gives you a complete picture of every phase of the sales cycle so you can easily figure out areas to improve the existing processes. 

Compatibility

To decide if a CRM system is best-suited for your business, you have to consider how easily it can integrate with existing applications you use. Let’s say if you are using Google Analytics and email marketing software, then the CRM software you choose should be able to easily integrate with these applications. Your CRM system should easily integrate with third-party applications and other APIs.

Reporting

Reporting capabilities is another one of the key features that businesses should look for. CRM software should give adequate reports based on the analytics. The data should help you know your wins, opportunities and other sales details.

The Bottom Line

When considering all these options, it is beneficial to use a trial version of the software prior to making a decision or commitment. The trial version will help you determine if all your need and objectives for CRM software are met. 

Investing in CRM software is a big and important investment for your business. Not in terms of just the financials, but also in that the system can influence how you can interact and do business with your customers. Therefore, the factors mentioned above can help you land on the right CRM solution.

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