What Your Small Business Needs to Know About CRM
Editorial StaffJuly 27, 2022
While we tend to focus on large companies, small and medium businesses (SMBs) are the real drivers of the economy. They generate 60-70% of the employment and 55% of the GDP in developing economies.
However, most SMBs still don’t use a customer relationship management (CRM) system and feel its deficit.
A recent study shows that customer relationship management for small businesses can increase sales by up to 29%. This is a clear driver for SMBs to get one on board.
However, the number of choices, budget, and effort required to select a CRM is a deterrent.
The Pros of CRM Software for a Small Business:
Most small businesses don’t survive beyond the first five years of operations. The lack of a CRM platform for small businesses is a major factor.
Without clear visibility of your automation strategies and sales and marketing efforts, you can only do so much before the competitor takes your leads.
- With a CRM, especially for SMBs, you can –
- Manage the tasks, email, social media campaigns, leads, and existing customers efficiently.
- Automate redundant tasks and have your team focus on important matters that require human intervention.
- Discover new opportunities for long-term business using customer insights from the CRM system.
- Design meaningful marketing campaigns that matter for your customers, be it through emails or on social media.
- Get fast access to customers’ historical data and resolve their grievances quickly to leave your customers delighted.
- Access detailed reports quickly to make data-driven business decisions. Establish the KPIs and align the daily activities towards the corporate goals.
- Integrate with all social media channels, third-party software, payment platforms, and email systems.
However, every CRM is not for SMBs.
What to Look for in a Small Business CRM:
The requirements of a small and medium business are different from that of a large enterprise. The main features you should look for in a CRM for small businesses are –
#1. Long-Term Compatibility
Given the tight budgets and cut-throat competition, you don’t want to implement a CRM and change it after 5 years. Look for a CRM that can quickly scale up as your business grows.
#2. Better Organization of the Information
If you manage data in excel sheets, it can quickly get out of control and create data silos. Get a CRM that manages and segregates data into categories such as location, demographics, payment history, and more.
#3. Get Valuable Metrics
The sales data should reflect the days and times of the week you get the most calls and the most common consumer complaints you can automate. CRM systems should highlight such metrics at an early stage.
#4. Communication
SMBs focus on revenue but forget to set automated and repeatable processes and communication channels. Lack of communication can lead to wasted man-hours and inefficient customer service.
Are you able to quickly fetch the entire communication history when in need? If not, get a CRM system.
#5. CRM Budget
SMBs are already running on tight budgets. You want a CRM that is easy on the pocket.
#6. Accessibility
Remote accessibility is the need of the hour to handle business continuity challenges. You can work from any location and device (laptop, tablet, smartphone), provided the CRM system is cloud-based.
Which CRM Is Best for Your Small Business:
Here is a comparison of the best CRMs in the market for small businesses:
Features |
Prospur |
Zoho |
Nimble |
Hubspot |
Insightly |
Thryv |
Sales & Operations Dashboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sales & Marketing Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Orders & Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Contact Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Calendars & Bookings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Social Media Integrations | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Reputation Management | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Listings Management | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Personalized Onboarding Process | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Free support via Phone, Chat & Email | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
While most SMBs are still catching up, your company can adopt a CRM at an early stage to explore new business opportunities, handle clients better, and stay far ahead of the competition.
Click here for a FREE Demo to learn – how Prospur can help you grow online.