“But do we really need it?”
If you’re referring to a CRM for your business, the answer is most probably YES.
If you are in the business of selling a product or service or deal with customers in any way, shape or form, chances are, your business needs a CRM system.
But what exactly is a CRM you ask and how do you know if you really need it?
Well, we are here to help you figure out just that.
Read on to find out what a CRM is, what it does, how it can benefit your business and, most importantly, it is worth the investment for you and your business’s needs specifically.
What is a CRM and why do you need it?
A CRM system is a software tool that allows you to centralise and manage your customer data and engagements, which effectively means customer relationship management.
A CRM can organise all contact and sales information, as well as all client comms across all the various channels in a central database. It also allows marketing and sales teams to function as a cohesive team, and access real-time data whether at the office or on the road.
The benefits of a well-functioning, user-friendly CRM include:
- Increased sales of up to 29%
- Better customer service
- Increased productivity and efficiency of up to 34%
- Streamlined internal communication
- Effective management of all marketing efforts
Here are 5 questions you need to ask to find out if your business needs a CRM system.
1. Is your business hampered by inefficient processes or a lack of operational processes and workflow?
If tasks are taking longer to complete than necessary, jobs are falling through the cracks, projects are on hold due to outstanding paperwork or a lack of info, or teammates are not communicating effectively, inefficient systems or a lack thereof are probably to blame.
HubSpot explains: “Perhaps most importantly, modern CRM solutions support the complex workflows of fast-growing sales teams. CRM systems keep your team on task and in sync, facilitating more effective use of time and eliminating many of the nuisance tasks that take up time.” For instance, a CRM will keep track of all client data and interactions, so you don’t have to sift through hundreds of emails to find customer info or to figure out who the company representative was that they dealt with.
Not only can a good CRM system help put effective systems and workflows in place, but it can also help free up valuable time by automating certain sales, marketing and customer care functions.
Functions that can be automated include:
- Follow-up communication
- Email sequences
- Sales workflows (e.g. unenrollment trigger workflows, deal workflows, quote workflows)
- Chatbot conversations
- Lead-to-rep assignment
- Lead nurturing campaign
- Campaign analytics
Research shows that marketing automation helps marketers get more done in less time and with fewer resources. In fact, 64% of marketers agreed that they saw the benefits of marketing automation within 6 months of adopting the software.
As Forbes notes, “CRM solutions aren’t just handy for keeping the customer happy. They also automate boring or error-prone sales, marketing and support tasks. As a result, your staff can focus more time and energy on the customer.”
2. Do you want to increase sales?
This is a no-brainer, of course.
Smart CRM software can help you increase sales by 29%.
It can do so by:
- Sorting and prioritising leads
- Providing salespeople access to real-time data at the office or on the road (check out HubSpot’s free CRM app for mobile phones to connect with leads on the go)
- Allowing your sales teams to respond to leads in a timely and efficient manner.
- Automating sales prospecting and data entry (find out how automated lead distribution can increase your sales)
- Sending follow-up reminders
- Segmenting customers
- Creating sales reports allows sales teams to organise better and manage their pipelines, deals and contacts
- Shortening your sales cycle
- Aligning your sales and marketing teams and their efforts
Research shows that, on average, a sales team only spends about 23% of their workweek selling. That means 77% of their valuable time is going into admin and customer-related matters instead of closing deals. By implementing a CRM that can carry some of this load, you can free up valuable time, which, as they say, is money.
3. Are you struggling to manage customer data?
Happy customers are the bedrock of any successful business. Not only does a satisfied client mean a returning customer (and more sales), but they are more likely to refer others to you (that’s more sales). A double whammy.
Read more about why customer retention is important here.
A CRM can help you excel at managing and servicing customers by centralising, segmenting and organising all data about a specific client in a central database that any member of your team can access. This will allow you to personalise your relationship with each customer, effectively and efficiently deal with a client’s queries, follow up with them or send them pertinent marketing material.
A CRM system can also sync and clean customer data and minimise errors that arise with manual data entry.
That means no more Post-Its with client queries scribbled on them. No more lost contact details. No more annoyed clients who felt they were spammed by your company advertising products or services they are not interested in.
4. Are you producing meaningful reports?
It is one thing to manufacture reams and reams of paper with stats and pie charts. It is another to create meaningful reports that give a clear overview of performance, ROI and future opportunities.
A CRM, such as HubSpot offers comprehensive reporting tools, from marketing to sales.
With HubSpot, you can create custom reports by “integrating your CRM contact, company and deal data alongside your marketing, sales, and service data”.
These analytics can help you answer questions related to ROI and set future sales targets, and more.
5. Can you scale your sales processes effectively?
Whilst Excel spreadsheets, sticky notes and quick lunch-time handovers can keep a small company running, a larger enterprise requires proper systems to track sales, marketing and customer relationships.
Here’s how, for instance, the HubSpot CRM can help you scale your sales process over time. “CRMs also allow you to review specific activities like emails, calls, and meetings booked. Sales managers can use this data to identify patterns and see which sales processes are working for their team and which ones could be improved.”
If you do not yet have systems in place, now is an excellent time to think about investing in CRM software that can grow with your business and give you the support you need at every stage of your business journey.