Do You Need CRM?

Small business has always been about customer relationships — about knowing names, knowing preferences and offering the kind of friendly service that keeps customers coming back. But as a business grows, that ability to relate on a personal level to each and every customer becomes more of a struggle. The owner may be more involved in operations, less involved with customers. Managers may spend more time handling employee issues and less time interacting with customers. Yet effectively managing those customer relationships is a key to profitability. So the question becomes: How does a small business know when it's time for a more sophisticated method of managing customer relationships? That is why there is a higher demand is being placed on the need for CRM software that will do it all.

First, let’s define what a CRM is: The term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a system that connects different parts of a company through the thread of customer relationships. Sales, Marketing, Accounting and Customer Service can all be tied together with powerful, centralized CRM software made to retain customer loyalty, increase revenue, deliver consistent and efficient customer service, and finally, evaluate which customers to focus on.

CRM is a phrase that describes how your business interacts with your customers. Most people think of CRM as a system to capture information about your customers. However, that is only part of the picture. CRM is also about what you do with that information to better meet the needs of your existing customers and identify new customers, resulting in higher profits for you. Customer Relationship Management systems help business owners organize information to maximize new leads, repeat sales, improve customer service, cut costs and integrate information from operations processes.

Most of the companies lose in the selling process, if that wasn't the case, selling would be easy. But when you never get into the sale because lead information is misplaced, or when you fail to follow up because of disorganization, or when your sales people are spending more time updating and managing Excel spreadsheets than they are selling, then it's time to move toward CRM. This type of software assists you to keep your current customers and building new relationships with a variety of sales and marketing tools. 

CRM is useful in gaining new customers, but it's even more valuable when it comes to keeping existing customers. If you start losing them because of failures to follow up -- especially with customers who order on a regular basis -- it's time to introduce some automation into your sales operations. If you forget important details of your relationship with a customer, why should that customer believe that you're any different from any of your competitors? Successful CRM is founded on excelling in two areas – understanding your customers and focusing your operations to serve them through all points of contact

Perhaps the most critical issue that points to a need for a CRM solution goes back to the beginning: Small business has always been about customer relationships — knowing who your customers are, what their preferences are and how you can keep them coming back. With CRM, you can maintain that small business advantage while you take your business to the next level.