Contact Management Software (CRM) is a tool to consolidate customer information to organize and promote positive business relationships. It can promote efficiency by automating key processes and monitor performance and productivity indicators. Every good CRM tool will track four core business functions: customer data management, workflow automation, interactive tracking and reporting.
There is usually a searchable database for data and documents that users can refer to in their interactions. Conversations that take place via phone, email, live chat and in-person can be documented and automated as required. This can reduce the risk of customer service failures and miscommunications.
Business processes can be standardized and automated via task lists, alerts, calendars, templates and more. When the tasks are completed the system sets the next task to promote an efficient workflow. The reporting functions can provide valuable insight into the performance and productivity of your business. This is helpful when you want to make an accurate forecast or track the performance of an individual or team. Good CRM software is an excellent addition to a business of any size, but how do you choose the right CRM for your business?
10 Steps to Choose the Right CRM
Adopting a new piece of software can present a challenge that can be overwhelming. This is especially true when it comes to CRM software that can fundamentally change how your organization works. The CRM can improve how your team communicates with customers and each other on a daily basis. It can track your interactions and sales and help you to manage relationships.
So, it can be a daunting process to choose a CRM and there are many products on the market. Let’s take a look at ten steps that you can take to help you choose the CRM that’s right for you.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Needs
The best CRM software is a powerful tool, but you need to understand your needs and future goals to ensure that you’re getting the right tool for the job. How you and your team relate to the CRM will be important in how you approach and relate to your customers.
A well planned strategy paired with a good CRM can be a real game changer for any business. Perhaps your goal is to centralize your business activities to improve organization? Maybe you want accurate and powerful insights to boost your profit margins? You may be looking for ways to improve productivity to scale your business for the future?
The CRM software can offer a tailored solution to these and many other challenges that you want to overcome. That said, some CRM products are focused on specific tasks, such as: improving team efficiency or sales and support or something else. So, it’s vital to choose a CRM that matches your needs and you shouldn’t expect that every CRM product is the same and a good fit for your business.
Step 2: Consider Implementation Timescales and Costs
Certain systems can take longer to implement than others and the right CRM should be easy to integrate without promoting detrimental effects on productivity and workflow. Even the best CRM software can cost you dearly if it takes months to implement and this can have significant impact for your business.
Cost is a key factor. As a business owner, you will keep an eye on costs to ensure that profitability is maintained and improved. The CRM software could be expensive and while there are even free versions, it may lack the options that you need. The free CRM may seem like a great deal, but if it doesn’t improve the productivity like a paid for option it will probably cost more in the long-term. Certain CRM software is created for specialized operations that may or may not apply to your business.
Step 3: Evaluate the User Adoption Promotion
The insights that you receive from your chosen CRM can only be as good as the data your team enters into it. The best option should offer 100% adoption or there will be lower results over the long-term.
The best CRM will minimize friction, your team will want to use it and it should make their jobs easier. To alleviate friction avoid using processes that feel unnatural and adopt a bottom up approach. This should give your team ample time to learn how to use the software.
The best strategy is to select a CRM that has an intuitive interface that’s easy to use and delivers a great experience for the user. If your team members are frustrated by menu diving to complete a simple task, it’s likely that the data will be incorrectly entered. This lack of accuracy can compromise the insights into your business that you’re seeking. Simple software is vital to avoid becoming bogged down into systems that are too complex to use on a daily basis.
Step 4: Mobility Considerations
Mobility may be an important consideration for your team and many businesses rely on mobility as a key aspect of their operations. This can have a dramatic effect on team collaboration efforts and you need to harness the available talent regardless of their geographical location.
This needs to be factored into your CRM choices and the right software should be easy to access in the office, the field or even if you’re offline. Mobile-friendly CRM can be accessed when working outside and this can have an impact on user adoption.
Even businesses with only one or two remote team members could benefit from the additional flexibility that a CRM could provide. Communication, efficiency and reporting will be invaluable.
Step 5: Check the Customization Options
Every business has a set of unique requirements to meet so it’s important to choose CRM software that can meet these needs.
For example: a creative agency sales cycle is very different to the sales cycle of a real estate business.
The right CRM product will allow you to customize sales stages and add tags, filters and fields that make sense for your workflow. If the CRM is limited to templates it will be harder to use and gain accurate insights. Bear in mind that smaller companies may find that too many customizations options can waste time and cause frustration.
Step 6: Consider the Efficiency Gains
The optimal CRM for your business should increase productivity and your team won’t want to work with too many required fields. This can prevent the pass on a lucrative lead over the requirement to waste time on data entry. Smoothing the sales cycle and tracking the important data to close deals is what you need for your team.
Determine how the CRM could improve efficiency and look for ways to automate routine tasks. A simple example would be reminders that can be delivered to mobile devices. Full functionality from any location can allow the user to perform tasks efficiently.
The CRM should not force users to separate uploading content for transactions in the field to replicate the process when they return to the office. This can be frustrating, distracting and inefficient for teams in their core roles when they should be bringing in more business.
Step 7: Consider What You’re Already Using
The CRM you choose should integrate with your existing software. For ease of use, complete integration is essential as you want to avoid forcing team members to learn more programs because they are not compatible with your new CRM software.
This can go beyond a simple email service, don’t forget about Dropbox, Google Drive and other cloud-based solutions. Businesses that make use of social media platforms need to consider the compatibility of LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter) and others.
Even if your software is compatible with the new CRM, there may be issues with your hardware. Some businesses have adopted the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) future proofing strategy. This is when employees bring their own devices to work, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and others. This allows access to company specific applications and privileged data that can create problems for your CRM and your business.
Aside from potential security concerns, there’s the added headache of checking that the CRM can integrate with Android, iOS, Windows and other operating systems. In an ideal scenario, the features on the mobile devices would be present on desktop machines too. This will ensure that the CRM is easy to use and totally integrated.
Step 8: What are Your Required Insights?
Consider the metrics that you need to see that the CRM should be able to provide insights readily. There will be some variance depending on the perspective or the role in the business. The manager is going to have different needs than a salesperson and so on.
- Sales Revenue Goals: This can help to to set and monitor individual and team revenue goals over a set period of time. This can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual goals depending on your preferences.
- Sales Forecasting: This report can highlight the sales deals in the pipeline and the amount that the business is expecting to receive.
- Incoming Volume: This report can break down incoming deals that are registered over a set period. This can be broken down as a percentage of total deal volume figures for easier analysis.
- Sales Funnel Analysis: This report will show the team standing at any point along the pipeline showing gains and losses.
- Won Deals: This is the number of deals won by team members over a set period.
Step 9: Test Drive the CRM Software
Most CRM companies will give potential purchasers the opportunity to test their software before you make a final decision. A trial is essential because it gives you the chance to fully explore the features to ensure that it meets your specific requirements.
It’s tempting to play with the software yourself, but you should open it up to your team to gain some valuable feedback. The team can test the CRM at every stage of the business process. This should give you some excellent insights into how well the CRM will fit into your business model.
Step 10: Consider Your Future Needs
Every business owner wants to grow, the CRM needs to reflect this need. Remember that your business is not a static entity, the CRM should help you to grow and it should work for you now and the next five years.
Select a CRM that will scale with your business growth and avoid limiting yourself with software tailored to small enterprises only. Future expansion plants will require a CRM that can be a long-term solution.
When you purchase scalable CRM software, you will notice that it’s more expensive. But, that investment will pay over in the medium to long-term when you’re not forced to integrate a new system later to cope with new demands and requirements.
Features to Consider in a CRM Software
| Feature | Description | Why It’s Important |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Management | Stores customer information, including names, emails, and interaction history. | Helps businesses maintain organized records and improve customer relationships. |
| Sales Automation | Automates repetitive sales tasks like follow-ups and pipeline tracking. | Enhances efficiency and ensures no leads fall through the cracks. |
| Marketing Automation | Automates email campaigns, lead nurturing, and targeted messaging. | Improves marketing efficiency and personalization. |
| Customer Support & Service | Includes ticketing systems, chatbots, and case management. | Enhances customer satisfaction by ensuring timely support. |
| Integration Capabilities | Connects with other tools like email, social media, and accounting software. | Streamlines operations by reducing manual data entry. |
| Analytics & Reporting | Generates insights on sales performance, customer behavior, and trends. | Helps businesses make data-driven decisions. |
| Mobile Accessibility | Provides access to CRM features via a mobile app. | Enables sales and support teams to work remotely. |
| Customization & Scalability | Allows businesses to tailor workflows, fields, and automation rules. | Ensures the CRM grows with the business’s needs. |
| Security & Compliance | Includes encryption, user permissions, and regulatory compliance features. | Protects sensitive customer data and ensures legal compliance. |
| User-Friendly Interface | Features an intuitive dashboard and easy navigation. | Reduces training time and increases user adoption. |
Popular CRM Recommendations
When you start to look for CRM software, you will quickly realize that there are a lot of products on the market. Some fill very specific niches and others offer more general solutions. The prices can range from free up to expensive and you really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to business.
To make the selection process easier, we’ve compiled a list of three CRM products that we can recommend. This is not a comparative list; each of these products will perform well, but they may not all be the ideal fit for your business.
So, read the descriptions carefully, take the software for test drive with your team and compare the CRM to the ten steps shown above before you commit to buy.
Pipedrive
Most CRMs can collect lead and sales data, but Pipedrive has a visual sales pipeline that is regarded as one of the best for an online business. Each stage of a deal can be viewed using a drag-and-drop interface to add contacts and shift deals between stages. Pipedrive users can even take chatbot leads and web form contacts and feed them into the pipeline. This ensures that these leads are not lost in the system.
New custom pipelines and fields can be created or you can use your pre-existing workflow. Some of the standout features include workflow automation, communication tracking and reporting tools to improve the effectiveness of sales. Pipedrive has integrated AI technology that can examine previous performance and offer advice on strategies to increase sales.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a great CRM for business and for smaller organizations it’s a go-to product that many rely on. Those that want to expand a small company into something larger need a CRM that can scale with them. Salesforce has plenty of functionality to spare, it has a user-friendly interface and is simple for non-tech savvy people to use.
The lead management and account capabilities track a deal from the initial lead to completion. There’s built-in email connectivity for Outlook and Gmail that is useful for solo business owners and smaller teams. The dashboards and customizable reports will refresh in real-time to ensure that the sales team has the most up-to-date information to work with. The case management routing gives the team members the capability to move or escalate and issue to another group for a fast resolution.
There are upgrade plans that bring extra functionality, including collaborative forecasting and automatic lead scoring.
HubSpot
This CRM platform is an excellent solution for businesses that acquire a lot of sales data. But, the value of this is how a company can use the data to improve the performance of the sales team and make informed strategic choices.
HubSpot is an ideal CRM system for a smaller organization that needs top tier reporting tools and performance insights. The subscription is forever-free and there are more than ninety report templates to use on the customizable dashboards.
All the tools are present and correct, including sales-funnel data, sales activity insights, deal projects and more on an individual and team basis. HubSpot can generate reports on email interactions and team inbox chat to improve response times. These reports can show the time taken to resolve the message and how well it is distributed across the team.
Finding the Right CRM for Your Needs
Once you understand the power of CRM, it’s perfectly natural to wonder how it could work for your business. But, choosing the right CRM software that can integrate with your existing hardware and software can be a challenge. If it takes too long to integrate the CRM it can have a serious impact on your bottom line.
Choosing a CRM may appear to be a daunting task and there are a lot of factors to consider. Following the advice in this article can help and the three CRM platforms mentioned are a good fit for most businesses. But, you will need to perform your own research to fully understand your requirements and find a CRM that meets your current and future needs. The best advice is to avoid an impulse purchase and instead take the CRM for a test drive with your team.
