CRM systems have become increasingly popular among modern businesses. These powerful systems have helped businesses large and small all around the world to streamline their operations and ultimately generate more profit.
While there are plenty of reasons why you should use a CRM in your business, it’s far more difficult to make a decision on which CRM system you need to adopt. There are hundreds of CRM systems to choose from, and not all of them are built equally. It’s also not as easy as going for the most popular CRM on the market.
CRM systems need to be adapted and molded to your business, which is why you need to make sure that it suits your business needs and requirements. That’s why it’s best to get in touch with a CRM consultancy that can help your business to find the perfect CRM. Before you get in touch with a consultant though, there are some guidelines you can use to narrow down your search for a CRM. Keep reading to find out what you need to consider before making a final decision on which CRM to use.
Budget
CRM systems can become very expensive very quickly. You need to pay per user per month, which means the more team members you have using the system, the more expensive it’s going to be for your business to adopt the CRM.
Ultimately, a CRM needs to help you generate more money, rather than increase your expenses. There are plenty of CRMs out there with different pricing packages — some are much more expensive than others. If you’re just looking at the top CRM systems on the market, you’re going to be paying a lot more than you should be. For example, there are some medium-sized businesses that pay $6500 per month for Salesforce, which is considered to be the world’s leading CRM.
The majority of businesses can’t afford to pay that much every single month for a CRM system, which is why you need to carefully consider the costs involved. The good news is that there are plenty of CRMs that are much more affordable than Salesforce. Hubspot, for example, is free for an unlimited number of users and with no time limits. All it takes is some time and research to find the CRM system that suits your budget best.
One cost that is often overlooked by business executives is the cost of implementing and maintaining the CRM. The process of integrating a CRM with your business systems is extremely complex and needs to be done properly. Over 70% of CRM implementations fail because they are not done properly. You need to make sure that an expert is helping you to implement and maintain your CRM, and this comes with an additional cost. The best way to save on this cost is to find a CRM that offers the first month for free, or a completely free package that will ease the costs of the first couple of months.
Features
Each CRM is unique and has different features and capabilities. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one CRM is better than another. Some CRMs might have more features, but it’s more about the quality of those features and how relevant they are to what your business needs.
If you’re just going to choose the most feature-rich CRM on the market, you’re likely going to end up paying for features that you don’t need and won’t use. You need to make sure that the features offered by the CRM are worthwhile for your business based on the requirements and goals that you have set out.
Learning Curve
The one obstacle that prevents the widespread adoption of CRM systems is that they are complex and difficult to use. That might be true for some CRM systems, but certainly not all of them. There are a few CRM systems out there that are incredibly intuitive and easy to use, which is incredibly important and something that is too easily overlooked by businesses.
Most business executives will look into the costs of the CRM and the features that they offer, but at the end of the day, it’s their teams that need to use the CRM on a daily basis. If the team struggles to get to grips with how the system works and how they can make the most out of it, then it’s not worth using.
In order for the learning curve to be flattened, business executives need to put themselves in the shoes of their team members to see what it would take to learn how the system works from scratch. Whether that’s doing workshops and courses or jumping onto a demo to see if they can get to grips with the system. If management and leadership have a solid understanding of how the system works, they can help to train their team members and answer any questions that they might have.
Another element to look out for is learning resources from the CRM provider. Some CRM systems have their own online academies and resources that team members can use to learn how they can get the best out of the CRM system.
Support
Finally, you want to be sure that you have both local and international support readily available for your CRM system. Just like any other software, CRM systems can be prone to bugs and errors. If you don’t have a network of people who can help you to fix these issues, you’re going to struggle with the system. This is especially true if your entire business is being run on the system and any downtime will cost you time, productivity, and money.
Some CRM providers do not have good customer support networks, and you can find out which ones by reading individual reviews on specific reviews or keep an eye out for customer comments on message boards. If there are a lot of complaints about slow service, it might be best to move along to another CMR unless you can find a consultancy in your area that is able to help with any issues that arise.
