13 Dec Do you need a CRM for small business?
Posted at 00:08h
in The New Entrepreneur
[caption id="attachment_12860" align="alignright" width="300"]
CRM Magazine is an excellent resource if you're considering CRM software for small business.[/caption]
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a popular type of enterprise software that is slowly working its way into more and more small businesses. But do you need CRM for small business? Let’s take a look at some pros and cons.
CRM software is essentially built on exploring the relationship between the business and its customers. The data gathered and maintained within these tools is customer-focused, and often consists of customer identifiers, purchase histories and other vital customer information that can help enable sales and/or close deals much more quickly. At least that’s the “promise” of the multiple solutions out there.
Here are some of the pros and cons of using a CRM package to power sales for a small to medium-sized business:
Pros of using CRM
- Convenience - Many CRM packages are delivered via the cloud, which means there's no software license or special hardware required which can make CRM for small business a good idea. Usually a subscription version delivers all the functionality of the programs without any of the overhead. In this way, companies can benefit from on-demand services as well as change or upgrade services as needed, without a lot of cost and effort.
- Sales History - CRM software helps salespeople and others to always know the history of the customer, or the company they are working with. This can be crucial during personnel changes, or in a company where multiple customer services reps are dealing with the same company.
- Mobile Capability – Most CRM’s work across multiple devices, so field reps can easily access information anywhere. This helps facilitate more sales efficiency, as well as providing (in some cases) integration with other back end systems.
- Data Analysis – Data from CRM systems can be invaluable for making better decisions, viewing trends, or even just building more accurate mailing lists. A good CRM system will have a strong, customizable reporting arm for management and owners to review on a regular basis.