Best CRM Software for Your Business

Why Do Companies Use CRM Systems?

A CRM software or Customer Relationship Management software, as its name suggests, is a set of programs that enable an enterprise to manage its clients, contacts, contracts, sales leads, and employees, essentially helping it to manage its relationship with all its stakeholders. CRM tools are a catch-all term for all the sales, marketing, and service-related interactions of a company that serves to grow or improves the company’s relationship with its customers or potential customers.

A CRM software for small businesses stores every bit of relevant information of present and potential customers, including contact information and account details, in a central database. The best CRM system has been developed to enhance customer experience and customer engagement of the company. CRM software provides a flexible structure for all the relevant information and processes that will result in greater insight into the customers and the industry trends.

A typical CRM solution will have features such as the dashboard, activities, contacts, accounts, and sales presentations as basic modules. Other modules, such as sales force automation, advanced analytics, pricing & distribution, unified communications, and product configurator, are also available. They can be easily integrated into top CRM systems for small businesses.

The 5 Best CRM Software For 2022

• CRM for scaling a business: Zoho
• Multi-channel communication CRM tool: NetHunt
• Easy to use CRM system: Salesforce
• CRM to manage sales team: Oracle NetSuite
• CRM for Small Business: Freshworks

How Does CRM Software Work?

To understand how customer relationship software works, you must thoroughly understand what customer relationship management is. In essence, customer relationship management is a strategy developed to boost the value of a business and fuel its profitability by working towards building and creating customer loyalty and satisfaction. It acknowledges that there is a much better business sense in creating long-term relationships with existing customers instead of simply getting new ones. Once you understand this, all the CRM tools and their functionalities will begin to make sense.

In simple terms, CRM solutions enable businesses to manage their relationships with their existing and potential customers. CRM software do not just help you manage these relationships but also analyze them. Every interaction of a customer with the company is tracked through various touchpoints, such as,

• Contact Forms

• Search Engines

• Emails

• Phone calls

• Social media

CRM tools collect as much information about the customer as is possible. In this manner, a sales professional can instantly see a customer’s history with the company and understand who the customer is. As a result of this, the interaction with the customer becomes more personalized. CRM software increases the chances of conversion. It fosters customer trust and loyalty.

CRM tools are based on the following:

• Automation

• Record Association

• Insightful Reporting

All these three factors go a long way in making your sales process perform better. CRM solutions help you identify key, promising prospects, and follow up on high-yielding deals. At the same time, they free up your sales professionals from focusing on manual, time-consuming, transactional tasks so that they can focus on doing what they do best- selling!

CRM solutions are more than just a solution to manage all kinds of sales-related activities. CRM solutions also are capable of automating marketing activities. For example, they can automatically send customers emails or publish social media posts based on a schedule to keep leads engage and increase conversion of the version. To this end, most CRM solutions today come with an integrated marketing automation functionality, while some are designed to integrate with other marketing automation systems easily.

Theftware, when combined with marketing automation capable, CRM software cities becomes a comprehensive solution that provides sales and marketing teams with all that they need to manage the sales and marketing funnels entirely- right from lead qualification to lead management to sales forecasting and deal closure.

Here are some of the ways CRM tools can achieve that:

• Alerts Regarding Important Sales Tasks

A CRM solution helps you stay on top of your to-do list. Whenever something has to be done, CRM software will remind you about it based on how you have configured its settings. Emails and phone calls can be prescheduled so that you do not miss out on anything. Every activity and interaction are automatically recorded to refer to them when you make action plans to close potential deals.

• Generating New Opportunities

Customer relationship management software helps you secure more business in an ongoing manner. For example, suppose a customer has logged in a question on an integrated help desk system. CRM tools will alert if the content of the message indicates any upselling or cross-selling opportunities. As a result, the customer is funneled back into the lead pipeline, and the possibility of potential revenue from the same customer is secured.

• Streamlined and Efficient Workflows

Sales activities are majorly divided into two categories- pre-sales and post-sales. A CRM solution will swing into action as soon as a lead or a potential customer is identified. After the lead is entered into the system, it will follow the lead’s journey through the sales process while automatically associating relevant records related to calls, documents, messages, and reminders, making it easier for sales professionals to provide seamless service with little effort.

• Build Better Sales, Marketing, and Support Strategies for Better Outcomes

When implemented and used properly, a CRM system can optimize sales and marketing efforts and yield improved and reliable results over time. We have already discussed how it can facilitate reporting and analytics. They provide business intelligence that can help you develop sound sales and marketing strategies in the long run.

• Optimize Other Solutions While Integrating with Them

In essence, CRM software helps you manage your sales pipeline. It collects and organizes customer data from various sources, including other tools and applications such as e-commerce platform system. And, as we have already discussed, helps with help desk and marketing automation systems. CRM software also enables you to obtain more value from these solutions.

The Benefits of Integrating CRM System into Your Business

CRM Solution is such an integral and vital tool for any business, enterprise, or firm today. Be it a large, small, or medium-sized enterprise, customer relationship management software is a top priority. There should be no hesitation by businesses in integrating the best CRM system with other systems. If there is, this list of benefits should dispel their fears:

1. Automation of Everyday Tasks

Finalizing a single sale involves completing several small yet vital routine tasks over a period of time. Activities like filling up forms, sending reports, taking feedback, etc., may seem insignificant individually, but they play a vital part in a company’s sales/marketing strategies. The major qualm that employees have with task management is that they are too time-consuming. But with CRM tools, that problem is easily solved. Online CRM software programs automate these tasks, saving a huge amount of time for the sales and marketing departments. This means that they have more time to focus on the customers of the company.

2. Better Communication

The best CRM software for small businesses improves an organization’s internal as well as external communication. It tracks all the relevant communication regarding the customers and streamlines this information, making it accessible to all the interconnected departments. This CRM system undoubtedly makes internal communication, i.e., communication between different departments, more effective. The sharing of customer data between different departments will also enable them to work better as a team.

3. Improved Efficiency and Productivity of Teams

Having all the information about customers in a central place where each relevant department has access to it makes everyone’s job easier. In marketing, collaboration plays an important part. Through web-based CRM software, the Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service teams have access to and can share valuable information regarding different customers, new products, and better processes. Teams can collaborate seamlessly to be more productive with the help of CRM tools. 

4. Better Quality of Customer Service

Customer service is vital for building customer relationships. Timely and helpful responses to customer queries should be the many companies in the customer service de company. The best CRM software programs will make customer service a cakewalk. CRM software will equip the customer service representatives with the customers’ preferences, past purchase history, and the issues they have faced previously, which would aid their search for a proper solution to a great extent.

5. Increased Sales and Revenues

Top CRM systems will improve the way you do business, thus increasing sales and revenues. How? With the data collected using a CRM solution, businesses will be advantageous in judging what’s really working for them and what isn’t. As more data and numbers regarding customer experience, their reactions to the company’s products, and marketing strategies are made available, through CRM tools, they will be able to make corrections and changes in the way they’re selling and in the products/services they are selling too. These targeted improvements should ideally enhance sales and revenues as well.

6. Enhanced Customer Experience

Customer Experience or CX is one of the parameters that businesses are judged upon today. Why is it so important? Because customers are everything to a company, they’re the very reason CRM software for small businesses exists. Improving customer experience is an ongoing, eternally recurring endeavor for companies because satisfied customers bring more customers and repeat business. They are a valuable asset to an organization. Online CRM software builds customer relationships to improve and enhance the customer experience. Best CRM systems can be used as a customer loyalty enhancement tool. Information in the CRM system can be successfully used to send the right message to the right customer. CRM system can be used to keep customers updated on company news and the latest offers. Positive customer experience can be cultivated by seeking out their opinions and feedback on social media and email surveys.

Types of CRM Software

CRM tools can be broadly classified into five categories based on the purpose they serve. They are:

1. Strategic CRMs:

These solutions are designed to improve decision-making by using customer data and market trends. They help adjust your promotional strategy and build lasting relationships with customers.

2. Collaborative CRM:

These CRM systems help improve customer, vendor, and distributor interactions based on shared customer information. Different teams share information about prospects, customers, and vendors, which is used to improve communication and understanding.

3. Analytical CRMs:

As the name suggests, these tools help businesses visualize data and provide deeper insights into their consumers’ psyche. By analyzing customer interactions and tastes, these CRM software inform companies about opportunities they might be missing.

4. Operational CRMs:

These solutions collect customer data to help you improve your operational efficiency and output. They can help bring about automation in sales, marketing, and services.

5. Campaign-based CRM:

Considered to be a combination of operational and analytical CRMs, these CRMs are designed to improve the efficacy of specific marketing campaigns.

Things to Consider Before Buying CRM Software

Here are the key factors to consider when choosing CRM software:

1. Type of deployment:

While choosing a CRM software for business, you must decide whether you need an on-premise solution or a cloud (SaaS-based) software. Cloud-based CRM systems require less technical expertise and all your data resides in your native servers. Though cloud CRMs require no specialized software installation and can run on your browser, you need to be online all the time and can only access your data with a stable internet connection.

On the other hand, on-premise CRM solutions require installation and physical server hosting at your location. This allows you to access your servers anytime and not pay for recurring cloud subscription charges. Both cloud and on-premise systems have their pros and cons, and you need to choose a solution that matches your business’ needs.

2. Features/Functionalities:

Each business is unique in terms of its target demographic, processes and growth dynamics. Moreover, an organization’s needs are subject to change as it grows. Therefore, committing to a set of standard functions in CRM software can limit your business growth. Hence, choosing a scalable CRM tool that can be upgraded as your business develops is wiser.

CRM systems typically come with a lot of functionalities that first-time users seldom use. Hence you should opt for a tool that allows you to add functionalities as you go, allowing you to be more responsive to market changes.

3. Integrations:

Though typically overlooked, integrations play a significant role in the effectiveness of CRM solutions. Such solutions need to integrate with your existing tools to derive insights about your customers. Integration with applications and tools that you are currently using would improve the accuracy and efficacy of the CRM System and reduce your workload significantly. Thus, it is wise to check if the application you choose works smoothly with your website, HRMS software, ERP, etc.

4. Demo & Free Trial:

If you are purchasing a CRM Solution without a free trial, you’re inviting a lot of problems into your life.  A particular solution may look great in ads or videos, but how suitable it would be for your firm can only be figured out with a trial run. Additionally, rather than an introductory video, you must ask your vendor to provide you with a live demo explaining the features and benefits of the CRM tool. This would allow you to see the application in use first-hand and ask pertinent questions about its usability.

Having a trial version of the software also lets you play around with the application and evaluate it yourself. Besides functionality, you should also look for usability and scalability before investing in a CRM system. 

5. Training & Support:

CRM solutions can be difficult to master, especially without proper training and support. When it comes to understanding CRM software, a few instructional videos or a guidebook simply won’t be enough. Instead, ensure that your team gets personalized training sessions to guide them to use the software properly, minimizing the possibility of disruptions while working on it. In addition, learn what kind of learning materials they provide and the kind of customer support they offer before finalizing the CRM solution.

A List of CRM Software Dependent Industries

1. Real Estate

The usage of Real Estate CRM software is increasing drastically in the real estate industry. This is because a real estate system can cover the major requirements that any real estate company requires to be fostered. The most popular customer relationship management would provide the user with a lead generation process, maintain a database, create a follow-up process, automated marketing, and sales c for the real estate industry closure. This CRM system would automatically cover the whole sales procedure from start to end. There is software like PropertyBase and Exact, which have raised the standards of real estate CRM systems. This is what makes them one of the top CRM software solutions available in the industry.

2. Hotels

The only way to retain the customer and get free word-of-mouth marketing in the hotel industry is by providing better service. To provide quality service, a hotel would require top-level management. This is where the Hotel Management CRM system becomes useful. This CRM software allows the user to provide better management services by optimizing the whole hotel management process. Softwares like InfusionSoft and NetSuite provide web-based CRM software solutions for the hotel industry.

3. Construction

The construction industry constantly needs activities like real-time activity, tracking, the bid recording process, organizing available resources, and most importantly, making a smooth lead generation to the sales closure process. Popular CRM tools like JobNimbus are designed for the construction industry specifically. These kinds of CRM software provide all the necessary features, allowing the team to focus on more important activities like decision making and strategizing.

4. Pharmaceutical

Companies have to be very customer-centric in the pharmaceutical industry, as there are many substitutes for almost every product. So pharmaceutical CRM solutions are designed so that every feature of the software is designed by keeping the customer in the center. There are best CRM software solutions for pharmaceuticals like Bpmonline and Kapture that provide the company with web services, sampling, interactive detailing, and field sales automation. So due to such requirements of the market and attention to detail by the popular CRM solution companies, there is such a boost in demand for top pharmaceutical CRM systems.

5. Retail

Due to the surge of the internet's influence in our daily life, retail outlets have started to make their presence felt online. But along with this, they also have to keep their brick and mortar stores as strong as they were earlier. This is the reason that has created a spur in the usage of retail CRM systems. There are top CRM software programs like SalesForce and Nethunt, which provide the retailers with all the features required to match the retailing industry's present-day demands.

6. Legal

The legal CRM software provides law firms with legal marketing automation, legal documentation, legal consultation, and communications. It is like Lawler, and SalesBoom automates almost all the clientele-related activities and thus providing more insights to the customers and at the same time providing law firms to focus on rather important activities.

How CRM Software Can Help Your Business?

Though CRM systems were initially designed to improve relationships with customers and prospects, they soon became a great way to identify and categorize prospects. In addition, these systems capture customer information from various sources and organize them so that organizations can make use of them.

Today’s CRM solutions not only store customers’ data but also help businesses understand consumer preferences. This makes the CRM solution an effective tool for ensuring higher conversions and revenues. Additionally, they are also an effective way to improve customer satisfaction and business decision-making. 

CRM tools also help organizations introspect and find out how a firm can improve its products and services. Moreover, they help organizations identify gaps in service, spot problems faster, and enhance their customer support. Thus, they are helpful in the overall development of an organization.

Key Modules of CRM Software

1. Salesforce Automation

CRM software keeps track of customer interactions. They also automate the various business functions of the sales cycle that are mechanical and repetitive but are required to follow leads and attract new customers. In this way, salespeople can focus on more complex, specialized tasks.

2. Lead Management

Customer relationship management software keeps track of the company’s leads. It allows marketing teams to enter these leads in the system, either automatically or manually, to track them and analyze their data about them.

3. Opportunity Management

Also known as lead scoring, CRM tools can help you identify customer leads most likely to convert. This helps sales and marketing teams to optimize the sales process, align their efforts in the right direction, and become more efficient.

4. Contact Management

CRM solutions can help you segment your contacts into various groups. CRM software enables you to tailor your marketing strategies according to the various segments to resonate with each of them optimally. It also enables you to communicate with them in a personalized manner.

5. Task Management

Sales professionals need to carry out various tasks to take a sales prospect through a particular stage and next. With CRM software, sales professionals, whether experienced or novices, know exactly which tasks must be accomplished as they move through the various sales process stages.

6. Sales Forecasting

Customer relationship management software allows forecasting that can help you create benchmarks to ensure that results are in line with your efforts. It also helps you determine your plans for the future.

7. Campaign Management

CRM solutions let you manage your entire sales campaign on one single platform. CRM software involves managing campaign ROI, scheduling, and even analytics, among other such functions.

8. Billing and Invoice Management

CRM tools can help you keep track of invoices, create customized ones, and get paid online faster. They allow you to automate recurring invoices, send payment reminders, and even thank-you notes.

9. Social CRM

Customer relationship management software does not just track telephonic and email inquiries; it can also manage and track customer interactions on social media channels. They can also gather valuable and actionable insights about the customer sentiment related to your brand, your organization, and even certain products and services as a result.

10. CRM and Sales Reports

CRM software can help you gather data from various sources, including sources such as website traffic, social media, and polls, all on a single platform. They offer you various reports that allow you to analyze current and historical data to create better sales campaigns.

11. Mobile Edition

Customer relationship management software usually comes with mobile CRM programs and apps that allow users to view information, receive updates on sales campaigns and carry out various tasks on the go, on their mobile devices, no matter where they are.

12. Cloud/On-Demand (SaaS)

Cloud CRM solutions are hosted on a remote server CRM software service provider that manages software and hardware upgrades, updates, backups, and security measures video. However, on-demand customer relationship software solutions may not always be hosted on the cloud. There are also on-premise CRM solutions that use a network of highly-customizable onsite hardware and software systems to store customer data and require software licenses.

Must-Have Features of CRM System

CRM software is important to find the right fit for your business in a market saturated with hundreds of online sales CRM tools for small businesses. It is also incredibly challenging. Businesses should pinpoint the functionalities they’re looking for and find the best CRM system that caters to those needs. This is imperative to avoid switching over to a new CRM  platform because the first one did not meet its needs in the way it was expected to. To save this trouble, thorough research should be undertaken for the company's best CRM for small businesses.

Following these steps is the best way to go about it:

1. List the goals you need a CRM platform to accomplish

2. List the features you need

3. Decide upon budget

4. Get input from Marketing and/or Sales departments.

5. Read user reviews of CRM on forums or third-party websites.

6. Find a CRM platform that is compatible with existing systems. 

7. Take a free demo or trial of the popular CRM tools.

A basic checklist of must-have features of various top CRM software is as follows:

1. Integration

Integration is the name of the game today. Most businesses use a multitude of software to keep up with their day-to-day operations. Online CRM software for small businesses should seamlessly integrate with other software such as ERP, HR software, SCM software, and the like. CRM system is a two-way street that will make the job of every department that much easier.

2. Mobility

Cloud and mobile are the final frontiers in software. Mobile versions of CRM tools are essential because sales representatives have to travel frequently to meet customers and potential customers. Mobile CRM systems allow them to have relevant information on them while also allowing them to make important changes in the database in real-time. Look for a web-based CRM software that has a well-rated mobile application for all devices.

3. Productivity

Which company does not want its teams to be productive? To stimulate maximum productivity, top CRM programs should have features such as integrated email inboxes. Since manual data entry is a major pain point for most customer relationship management tools, the software chosen should be capable of pulling data from multiple sources to reduce the need for manual data entry.

4. Lead and Contact Management

Leads and contacts have to be nurtured and maintained for the rewards to accrue to the company continually. This is why customer relationship management tools should have lead and contact management capabilities.

5. Batch Email Marketing

Email marketing is still very much alive and thriving. CRM software is a core marketing strategy for many companies. Top CRM systems should have batch email marketing features to allow the sales team to quickly design professional-looking emails even if they are not familiar with design or coding.

6. Customer Targeting

The best CRM software solutions have the ability to effectively track parameters such as customer spending patterns, preferences, likes and dislikes, location, age, and gender. This is what eventually allows the company to target customers according to specific demographics. Using this information for different segments, targeted marketing materials and content can be developed for each demographic. 

Implementation of CRM Software

The proper implementation of CRM software is vital to its success. The first step towards proper implementation of a CRM is creating solid strategies regarding:

• the goals of the CRM tool
• the processes it needs to support
• the business areas (sales, customer service, or  marketing) that it will cover

Since all of the above factors are subject to change, implementation strategy can be altered based on the present needs of your business. You would also need to decide on workflows, data migration protocols, and customizations before implementation commences.

After the above processes are taken care of, you must test the CRM solution on your systems, find out about its training and support arsenal, test its deficiencies, and evaluate deployment guidelines before giving the final go-ahead for implementation.

CRM Predictions That Came True

The following are some predictions that were made over 5 years ago about the way CRM platforms would transform over this period. These are the ones that actually came true for small businesses.

1. The Cloud Will Take Over

This has been a long time coming and has now finally happened. Cloud-based software has become more popular than on-premise software. Among others, the reasons are obvious: it is cheaper, more flexible, easily customizable, and supports mobile devices.

2. Social CRM Will Boost Sales

Social media integration with the best CRM programs has enabled sales representatives and marketers to reach their target customers in a much more effective manner. Social CRM solutions also allow businesses to build brand loyalty and brand awareness through promotional activities and engage content for target customers. CRM software has definitely helped companies to boost their visibility and sales.

3. Mobile CRM to Improve CX

Most enterprises have switched over to using tablets and other mobile devices over laptops and notebooks. They’re lighter and have ease of use, which is a must for salespeople who frequently travel. There has been a steady migration to mobile CRM platforms, as it enables sales reps to access information about leads and customers at any given time and place.

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