Customer Relationship Management: exploring the pros and cons of CRM Software.

Managing relationships with customers isn’t always an easy task. There is a lot of data that you will need to source, task and manage to maintain healthy external interactions with your current and potential clients.

It can be sort of like mining the bottom of the ocean and coming to the surface with a few spare clams if you're not purposeful about how you manage their data. So it might be wise to consider CRM software before diving in.

Your organization's relationships with individuals- whether they are customers, colleagues, service users of suppliers are essential. That's why we’ll explore the pros and cons of CRM to better understand if it's worth investing in and take a look at some of the best available options.

What is CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. As the name implies, CRM is a system designed to help your organizations relationships with potential and current customers.

Its core thesis is to help your company manage its relationship with its customers and improve profitability. Think of it as an all-in-one tool that helps you focus on relationships with individuals. Whether this takes the form of finding customers, winning their business or providing additional support, the focus is on relationships.

It accomplishes its task by collecting and storing customer data in a central database that will be accessible to you and members of your organization. This can help you with your marketing efforts, customer service, accounting and management. CRM's also usually come with team collaboration features and automation designed to help internal workflow, which can really de-clutter your team's process. Who doesn't love that feeling after a spring cleaning session, right?

Pros of CRM

There are many advantages to integrating a CRM into your organization's everyday process. From its capacity to centralize your customer data all in one place or its ability to be accessed remotely, there are many benefits to working with this technology. It probably won’t give you wings but it could be a good start.

1.Speed up conversion process

If your organization is focused on delivering an online experience this can be especially true. In today's world your customers have an abundance of information about your company at their discretion before making a decision. A good CRM will help customers initiate this research so by the time they actually contact you they will be nearly all the way through the sales funnel on their own.

2. Data Consolidation

The data you're collecting needs to be centralized and accessible for it to be truly effective. A good CRM is capable of offering immediate access to a centralized database of organized client information, allowing you to focus on best meeting their needs.

3. Remote Access

In the past a CRM would have been run using software installed on a stationary computer terminal. Now, thanks to cloud-based computing, 4G data, and VPN capabilities, you can access the software from virtually anywhere. This can allow a sales team to stay in the field longer, potentially schmoozing clients and closing leads. So, order another round!

4. Analytics and Insights

A good CRM not only provides metrics about your customers behavior but also insights about your company and its scalability needs. It can provide key indicators about your company’s growth and overall health. You can then develop a plan based on these insights for increased customer retention and satisfaction.

5. Lower Daily Costs

Centralizing all of your data can lead to decreased daily costs due to the increase in efficiency. Lost paperwork, missing files and other minutiae will be eliminated due to CRM’s wonderful powers of organization.

Cons of CRM

While the good might generally outweigh the bad, there are important shortcomings that your organization might want to consider when deciding whether to go forward with a CRM. It’s important to remember: they might just not be for everybody.

1. Data Security

While storing all that data in one place can have its advantages it also comes with the risk of security breaches, hacks and other concerns. What if the power goes out or data is entered incorrectly? Any number of small mishaps could compromise the whole system. However, a little oversight should work wonders in preventing a possibly colossal blunder.

2. Additional Training

Another disadvantage may be the increased time and effort involved in potentially training your employees. This may be a problem particularly for larger companies that may need more than a couple of primaries with access to the system. Although the learning curve is not incredibly steep, it may take time away from other initiatives that employees could otherwise be working on.

3. Technical Support

Even assuming your company has personnel who are well-versed in your CRM does not ensure that you will not have to outsource technical support from time to time. If that occasional support ends up being a regular occurrence it can come as an unpleasant surprise. If need be you can hire your own specialist but that can be costly.

4. Process Driven Sales

It’s important to keep in mind that a CRM requires a process-driven sales regime. While it can be used to simply collect data and insights, its real value comes in its ability to be fully integrated in your sales funnel. If no formal sales process is already in place or if it doesn't fit in with your current process it could require an investment in human capital or an overarching shift in philosophy, which in the long run will cost you time and money.

5. Not for everybody

It’s possible that a CRM just doesn't fit your business plan. Some organizations have highly standardized sales operations that just don’t jibe with CRM’s highly personalized integration. For instance: if your company sells health insurance CRM might be a great option, but if you're Exxon it probably won’t be of much benefit.

FAQS

What does CRM stand for?

CRM stands for Customer relationship management. It is a technology that allows companies to manage all their relationships with customers and potential customers from one place with the goal of improving those relationships.

Do I need CRM Software?

If you sell a product or service and regularly deal with customers and clients, having a CRM can be effective in gathering customer data and establishing an integrated sales funnel. In addition, it can potentially help you save time and money.

How do I choose a CRM system?

There are a number of different options on the market today. It’s important to first identify your business needs and goals. Then,identify your must-have features, check your budget and then see what on the market best fits your strategy.

Conclusion

Like any of the major decisions in life, picking the right CRM can be a little challenging. “Do I want the special or don’t I want the special?” Whatever the case may be, it's important to first have an idea or your budget and business goals in mind and then try to find an option that best fits your needs.

In any case, happy hunting and good luck!