https://www.xperience-group.com/news-item/crm-for-small-business/
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is software used to manage interactions between you, your customers, and your prospects. It allows you to track all communication with customers and easily nurture leads. A CRM brings all the data you need into one place. You’ll have access to client calls, emails, texts, and meetings in one place. Additionally, you can also have all documents, like quotes and purchase orders stored in one accessible access location. The result is better time management, efficiency, organisation, and detailed analysis. So why does your small business need CRM?
You might be under the impression that you don’t. The business can get by using the same old system of excel spreadsheets, calendars, and emails that you always have. But unfortunately, that’s not the case in today’s world if you want to progress.
Not every small business wants to expand, but for those who do CRM is vital as your business grows. The more customers you have, the harder it is to stay on top of all the communications, leads and sales you have. Increased workload also means you’ll need to hire more staff and if things really go to plan you may need to acquire new equipment, and maybe even move to a larger office and help you lower the costs of expansion. It does this by allowing you to be more efficient and allowing you to automate a lot of your workload.
CRM provides you with more visibility of your clients meaning it allows you to work on different strategies for each client, moreover, more information will ensure you are targeting the right clients with the right products at the right time.
It also gives you the ability to produce valuable intelligence about future sales trends allowing you to plan sales strategies and increase revenue.
Storing all your data on one laptop or on hardcopies means it can be very easily lost or stolen and is generally not recommended practice. Small businesses should be using a CRM to avoid this. You can remove the use of notepads, calendars and memos and other outdated methods of keeping track of customers. Using a Cloud-based CRM, that has frequent backups means that any lost data is recoverable and that your data is accessible from anywhere.
At a basic level, a CRM will let you see the status of your customers meaning it lets you see what customers are ready for a callback and who needs more nurturing. As a result, you can see what products they might be showing interest in, allowing you to develop a sales strategy. It’s important to keep track of calls, texts, and emails that you send a client, so you know the conversations you’re having. It means you can avoid wasting time on cold leads and nurture hot ones.
CRM software can save you valuable time on data entry which allows employees to improve productivity and boost sales. Automation also cuts the risks of mistakes by inexperienced or busy employees. Many communications with clients can be automated e.g., messages announcing sales or offers.
It’s highly recommended that small businesses make use of a CRM. It can totally revolutionise the way you run your business. It can streamline your processes, make your employees more efficient and help you build better relationships with your customers. Ultimately, investing in a CRM can help your business thrive. If you’d like to know more about CRM, take a look at our CRM overview or get in touch with us.