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What Questions Should SMB Owners Ask Before Choosing a CRM?

Editorial Staff

July 20, 2022

The benefits of a CRM system should not be limited to large organizations only.

Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) should equally benefit. But usually, they cannot afford to invest in large systems with features that they may not need at this stage in their journey.

However, you can opt for CRMs specially designed for SMBs to help you manage sales and marketing efficiency and establish long-term relationships with your clients. But the question is how to choose a CRM that is right for your business?

5 Questions to Ask When Considering a CRM Solution for Your Small Business:

#1. What do you wish to achieve?

CRM, like any other system, will take time and resources to implement. This makes it essential to know what you intend to accomplish before searching for the right software.

While every CRM will help you with sales, marketing, and customer service, you should choose one that focuses more on your pain point and aligns with your industry needs.

It is also important to consider whether you serve B2B or B2C customers or both. The way you plan and manage the marketing campaigns, sales, and customer service will vary depending on the type of customer base.

#2. On-premise or Cloud?

It depends on the investment it requires to have an on-premise vs. a cloud-based CRM software. On-premise software setup may look cheaper because of its one-time investment as compared to the cloud-based option, which is often subscription-based.

But once you have the hardware on-premise, you will need a small team for its maintenance and IT upgrades, and invest in security where your server and data can be safe.

On the other hand, a cloud-based option frees you up from such hassles and is actually cheaper in the long run. If you choose a cloud-based CRM, ensure that your team has internet connectivity wherever they work from.

#3. What features are you looking for?

Small and medium-sized companies may not need as many features as big organizations. It is better not to overwhelm yourself with the features you don’t need and end up spending more.

As a small or medium enterprise, your business needs a user-friendly CRM that doesn’t require a ton of customizations. Often, SMBs have overlapping software for accounting, email marketing, data reporting, and analytics.

You don’t want to spend on the same feature at two places. Therefore, opt for a CRM support team that will help you choose the features you want and advise you on what is best for your business.

#4. Compatibility

Your company’s marketing and sales departments will most likely not work in a silo. They would need to integrate with other areas such as accounts, HR, inventory, and report the data to the management.

You may already be using systems that you want to replace with a new CRM. It is crucial to understand if the new CRM system is compatible with other systems that you use. You don’t want to create data silos or share information with other departments over exported excel sheets.

It is also important to assess how you will extract all the data from the system should you want to move to any other software in the future or if the vendor goes out of business. Typically, you should be able to export the data independently with minimal intervention from the vendor.

#5. Any major red flags?

While every CRM will have its strengths and shortcomings, you need to make the most optimal decision. We suggest that you onboard a CRM and take a trial run of the software. As a general rule, if your team is not able to easily adapt to it within two weeks, the CRM may be too complicated to use.

As a small and medium business, you should also look for the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), mobile and email support, and value-added reseller support available with the CRM.

How Prospur’s CRM Is the Answer to All Your Questions

Prospur is the world’s first integrated CRM for small businesses. Being a fully connected business acceleration platform with multiple key features, Prospur is your one-stop solution for sales, marketing, social media integration, and integration with a range of third-party tools.

With an easy and affordable subscription-based system, you can stay ahead of the competition early on. Want to know more? Contact us for a Free Demo.