At a glance, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the tracking, analyzing, and forecasting of external interactions and relationships through an online system. It serves to enhance the customer's overall experience. An enhanced customer's experience means improved business relationships. Improved business relationships means business growth and financial health.
CRM solves many challenges faced by small business owners and entrepreneurs including messy data and insights, lackluster customer service, disorganized branding, inaccurate sales tracking, and low productivity.
CRM software was originally designed to be a simple contact management system, but has since evolved into a powerful tool with versatile functions. When deciding which CRM software is right for you and your small business, look for these features:
Let a CRM software take the manual labor out of time-consuming, yet necessary processes including:
Workflow automation features can also take the time out of tedious administrative tasks, such as order processing, order tracking and inventory control.
The best CRM software can cater to your business's unique needs and wants. They allow you to customize the data shown on your dashboard, customize the features and additional extensions of the software, and create custom reports.
Internally, CRM software can help you acquire and retain customers by providing excellent customer service. According to Business News Daily, capabilities of your CRM software to look for include:
Externally, your CRM software should offer you FREE customer service and be available to answer questions via phone, email, or online chat.
Connecting your CRM software to other solutions and platforms you already use will save you tons of time and money. Having everything in one place will prevent you from having to constantly switch between and manage multiple apps on your desktop.
Ways you can integrate?
Related Reading: An Introduction to Social Media Marketing for Small Business Owners
CRM software is a great way to track employee activity and performance. Employees can track their hours, tasks, meetings, internal and external communications, sales numbers, goals and other items. The software can also give supervisors access to individual dashboards to more accurately write employee performance reviews, create incentives, reward strong employees, and identify those who are struggling and address areas of improvement.
CRM analytics offer insight into the people that are buying your products or services. The data provided is important because it can help you better make decisions when it comes to the way you advertise, communicate, and distribute those products and services to your customers. The most up-to-date data needs to be provided in order to keep track of trends, revenue, and product performance.
Business News Daily gives additional questions to ask yourself when considering a CRM software:
CRM software has exploded in the last decade, so it can get overwhelming trying to find the right service for you and your small business. We've compiled a list of our top picks of CRM software to help you narrow it down.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is and will continue to be the backbone of all successful business operations. Turn the mundane and tedious into an asset by digitalizing your day-to-day responsibilities.
We know that selecting a CRM isn't the only decision you're faced with as a business owner. We're here to partner with you and discuss your business banking needs.
At Flagship, you're not just another number. We are committed to helping your business succeed.