What are the 5 Essential Things you Need to Think About When Picking a Sales CRM?

Firstly, you might be asking yourself - what is a sales CRM? Well it stands for Customer Relationship Management and its technology is used to manage interaction between potential consumers and current customers. It enables a company to build good, beneficial relationships with its customers as well as streamline the process of increasing sales, improving customer service and hence increasing profitability. 

Why is CRM so important in order to run a successful business? It enables you to see everything in one place, such as a customer’s previous history with you, any customer service issues as well as the status of customer’s orders. Ultimately if your business doesn’t use CRM then it will never reach its full potential.

Therefore that encourages the question: What are the 5 essential things you need to think about when picking a sales CRM?

1. Features and functionality 

Every business or company is very unique in its process so you need to know that the sales CRM fits your needs with its features so it will be able to function effectively with your business. Also, you don’t want to be paying for a massive set of functions if you aren’t going to use them as you will just be wasting precious money but at Setyl we can help your company manage these costs and minimise them for you. It is also important to note that every division or team within your organisation will have different needs for a CRM therefore it is essential that you stay away from the “one-size-fits-all” solution as it will only end up being a waste of money for your company.

2. Partner network

Considering the CRM vendor’s partner network is imperative as you will want to have a local partner who can provide support during and after the CRM implementation therefore you must find out who the local partners are, do the partners offer business consulting and how much experience do the local partners have? It is also useful to know the type of companies the local partners have worked with previously so you know that they can help with your unique needs as otherwise it is likely to be a waste of time and money.

3. Training availability 

Although this point sounds quite obvious, it is so important that there is a smooth CRM adoption within your company as otherwise it will cause more problems than it solves. Therefore there should be training that is very hands-on so all your employees can use CRM to increase their own personal efficiency. Training isn’t just limited to learning how the system works but it enables you to understand how everything is connected as well as how a user contributes to the workflow of the organisation. It also allows for your business to work together in reaching the same goal.

4. GDPR features

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and it is very important as where your customer’s data is stored is very important. It also enables you to manage a customer’s data more efficiently and effectively which will ultimately create a better customer experience. In addition, a one-click solution will save you and your company a lot of time and resources as it will reduce the manual removal of a customer’s data across the whole business. 

5. User experience 

Simply put if you don’t enjoy using the CRM system then it isn’t going to work out for your company! Therefore it is crucial that you choose the right CRM system that feels good and you like using. You can get some user experience by watching a demo or simply testing out the CRM system in a free trial which will enable you to evaluate whether you like the user interface and if it is easy to use. A user-friendly CRM system is so important as highlighted by a SuperOffice survey which found that “86% of prospects cite user-friendliness as their most important factor for choosing a new system!” It also found that ease of use is one of the most important factors in CRM adoption therefore it is essential that you don’t underestimate the interface.

It is pretty clear from the above information that it is imperative that you need to conduct significant research before buying a CRM but there is also no doubt that it can play a critical role in a business’ success. If you need any help budgeting the costs of getting a CRM for your business then Setyl can help you with this!