There are an infinite number of CRMs on the market. Some are large, complex and feature-heavy; others are simple and streamlined. What’s important to understand is this:
Not all CRMs suit all businesses.
The “best” CRM is the one that fits your business size, goals, industry and way of working — not necessarily the one with the longest feature list.
Nearly every client I speak to about their CRM within the first 5 minutes they say – we don’t use half the stuff it can do.
There are two equally correct perspectives on this, one being – you should be! And hopefully I can help with that! Secondly, do you need to? Is this the right CRM for you?
A CRM system is almost always born from an excel spreadsheet, all of the names, addresses and contact details for anyone you have ever done business with.
What does a CRM bring to a small business?
For small businesses, a CRM is often the difference between feeling on top of things and feeling constantly reactive.
You can expect your CRM to take control and automate a lot of your business from initial enquiry through to sales follow up, not only that but where there are multiple people working for you dealing with clients it is important that everybody has access to the same amount of information in order to provide a professional service.
Instead of information living in inboxes, notebooks, spreadsheets and people’s heads, a CRM creates a single source of truth for your business.
How does a CRM make everything more efficient?
Most CRM’s will link automatically to your email system which is the first thing, everybody in the company (depending on access controls..!) can see that email that you sent yesterday and everybody has access to the exact quote that you sent, the customer doesn’t need to wait to speak to you directly. Customer service – 10/10
Need to streamline your follow ups? CRM can do that, sent up automated emails for signposted events, a sale – they get an email to say thank you, you send a quote – 3 days later you send an email asking if they need any more information, need to run a report to tell you which customers you have not spoken to in the last 6 months? You’re CRM can probably (should probably!) do that. Efficiency – 10/10
Choosing the right CRM matters
One of the most common mistakes small businesses make is choosing a CRM that is either too complex and never fully used, or not designed for their industry.
A CRM is an investment — not just financially, but in time and adoption. Getting the choice and setup right from the start is key to seeing a real return.
Common stumbling blocks?
In the initial period you are moving from – what has always worked to – what is going to work better. This period of change doesn’t affect any one generation, it is awkward and it is slow and it takes some getting used to. It is really important to get this stage right and put the right processes in place that are easy for everyone to follow and implement.
Often a period of time after the CRM has been implemented frustration grows because the data is duplicated or incomplete, or automations were never set up.
How I can help
I can support you through the entire CRM process, including:
- Helping you choose the right CRM for your business
- Assessing whether a system is genuinely a good fit for how you work
- Overseeing installation and implementation put processes in place
- Ensuring your data is clean, consistent and uniform from day one
- Training staff on how to use the system confidently
- Advising on reports you can pull — or pulling them for you
The goal is simple: to make sure your CRM works for your business, not the other way around, so you get the most value from the investment you’ve made.
If you’d like help choosing or implementing a CRM, feel free to get in touch.
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