Growth within a business is both a blessing and a curse. The obvious side-effects— boosted revenue, sustainability— are positives. However, growth comes with some pain points that need to be dealt with to remain successful.
Using a CRM tool can help your business ensure consistent, quality service as your business grows. Here are some helpful tips for choosing CRM software for your business.
Outline Your Current Workflow
Take some time to outline your current workflow, from the point where you meet a prospect to customer support after a sale. Outline all the steps of the transaction and customer care process. Add timelines to get a better estimate of how long each task takes. Of course, it will vary from customer to customer. However, having an average range can be tremendously helpful.
You’ll need this list to be able to evaluate which processes need to be improved and what can be managed by the software you choose.
Identify Your Pain Points
After you have the workflow laid out, evaluate all the pain points that you face in your CRM process. Be sure to ask customer-facing employees about their struggles and opportunities for improvement. Give them a safe platform to speak freely and share their feedback. These pain points will be the focal points when finding a CRM software provider.
It’s also worth outlining what your business does well when it comes to customer service. These bright spots are areas to preserve or improve upon.
Make a Feature Wishlist
Make a list of the features you’d like to see in your CRM software. It’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The needs of your business could vary drastically from the needs of other businesses.
Don’t hesitate to look at providers’ websites to get a better idea of your feature options, as there may be things you hadn’t considered. For example, the sales quotes by Salesforce is a valuable feature that creates a streamlined CRM process from the prospect stage to the customer stage in the sales funnel.
Prioritize the features on the list from things that are a must, things that would be nice to have, and features that would exist in an ideal world.
Look for Excellent Customer Service
The customer service offered by your provider speaks volumes about whether or not their service would work for you. After all, if a provider can’t figure out customer service when selling customer service software, they likely won’t last long.
Look for online reviews and recommendations and ask vendors and suppliers who they use. Your CRM software provider should go above and beyond in offering resources to help you succeed.
Evaluate Scaleability
As mentioned before, CRM tools are not a one-size-fits-all approach. A small business that employs ten people won’t have the same needs as a large business with a fifty-person sales team.
Look for a service that has different tiers and commitment levels available to suit your needs. This can also be helpful for long-term planning, as you can scale up your commitment as your business grows.
Try Before You Buy
Look for a CRM platform that allows you to give it a try before you commit. A free trial allows you to explore the platform and assess how user-friendly it is. For business owners, letting a few employees explore can be tremendously helpful as well.
Create an assessment matrix that allows you to quantify your experience during a free trial. Write down questions to bring back to the software sales team to help clarify any confusion.
Assess Mobile Usage
Finally, to get ahead of the curve, you’ll need a platform that’s optimized for mobile use. Look for a service that offers cloud storage so that your sales team can access what they need from anywhere. This feature is more important now than ever before.
Use these tips to create a framework that helps you find the right CRM software for your business.