What is a CRM?
The term customer relationship management is a process that is by no means new. It simply means that your business hinges mostly on what level your relationship you have with your customers. Good management, better communication, and efficient delivery of services as promised are always paramount in any business. This holds true, especially for startups.
As a software, however, CRM is a program that helps business owners collect pertinent data on customer interactions to improve and build better relationships with them. This, in turn, will increase customer satisfaction and ultimately drive sales and revenue.
Which are the benefits of using a CRM system for your business?
1. Centralized Customer Records
Your business will be given full control over company records about customer data, as you will be given instant access to relevant information when and where you need it. And that is only one of the advantages of a secured and backed-up digitized database.
2. Workflow Automation
Among many other processes that need to be carried out regularly and efficiently, the CRM can automate it. It includes sales, marketing, analytics, customer support, notifications, and even your billing processes. Automation will help your business save money.
3. Better Customer Service
With everything streamlined and organized, your front liners can use organized data as information on how to handle customer relationships. This results in a better customer experience from the promotional stage to after-sales.
4. Improved Sales Funnels
With the internet already at the helm of all commerce in the world today, a good sales funnel that is fully integrated with your CRM system will help improve the processes of the funnel itself. Hence, increasing online revenue.
Which are the key features in a CRM system?
1. Leads Management
A CRM provides detailed and organized data about clients and leads, all the way down to negotiations and conversions. Businesses can design a better “pipeline view” of the lead’s information as it displays the different levels of customer stages. It gives your front liners a better handle at potentially converting a prospective client at the soonest time possible.
2. Document Management
The system collects, uploads, and stores documents in one convenient location. The aggregated data is then available to employees to keep them updated about operations and other concerned departments.
3. Analytics and Forecasting
The system provides high-level detail in data analysis, providing in-depth information for both the managerial and employees alike. Monthly, weekly, and all the way down to daily automated reports on sales trends, day-to-day operations are provided by the system in a very efficient manner. It will also provide relevant forecasts based on previous and current data.
4. Detailed Address Book
A customized CRM may also collect pertinent data like email, location, social media, and the like. It organizes it according to the customer’s profile, making it useful for your employee to analyze customer behavior and identify potential buyers and clients.
Why should you consider building your own CRM system?
Customization of your CRM from scratch can help you gain the following:
A. Competitive Advantage in the Market
You will have the chance to create a unique workflow and feature in your system that your competitors don’t have. If it is a feature that is relevant and useful to your business, it will give you an edge over the market. In other words, if it works and works well, and your competitor does not have access to it.
B. CRM Made Exactly to Cater to Your Business Needs
Whether you are a large enterprise or a small business, a full custom CRM will be as “lean and mean” as you need it to be. It can be as agile and mobile as your business is, with no bulky add-on apps in the package that you can’t use. You get your money’s worth with the expected performance to match. And, more importantly, a chance to upgrade the system as your company grows.
C. Integration Ready
Your customized system will not be limited to functionalities that third-party software companies offer. You will have the chance to integrate all your systems across the board, including communication, operations, delivery, and even after-sales systems. All done seamlessly through customization.
D. Data Security up to your standard
A customized CRM will give you complete control over your critical data and secure it as you see fit. You can work with your IT Partner to set up and control the data up in a way that fits your specific industry standards and data security policies.
Final words
Just like any working product, you will get to retain what works and discard what doesn’t. Some functions in your Custom CRM may later become obsolete, but many will give your business the boost it needs. With the advent of AI and machine learning, your custom CRM will continue to automate more and more processes now, intelligently, and in the future.
In the meantime, take advantage of what a self-designed management software like custom CRM can offer. The bottom line is, the increase in revenue will always be worth the initial investment.
Get in touch with us today for a further discussion about how we could help you to build your own bespoke CRM system.
