Making the most of your relationships with customers is among the main goals of every business. You want to acquire as many new clients as you can, and you surely want to retain those who you’ve already “won”. A customer relationship management system (CRM System) is the “wingman” that helps to convert your leads, make daily work easier, and keep your customers happy. Thus, on this page, we’ll gladly share what you need to know about CRMs, explain how it can help to boost your business, as well as introduce you to the top 5 CRM software that’s worth your attention.

What is a CRM System?

A customer relationship management system is specialized software, created for the purposes of organizing and managing the processes of a business. The technology makes it simple to interact with existing clients, leads, prospects, and employees, as well as to work with databases. Among the major aims of CRMs are to improve the current business processes, enhance the efficiency of work, reduce manual work by automating processes, as well as to obtain new clients, and, consequently, to grow your company’s profit.

That said, CRM doesn’t only revolve around customer support, it is somewhat used as a strategy for business growth and development. Regardless of business size, using CRM software, you can effectively connect your sales, marketing, and client support processes under one roof. It’s a tool you should definitely be using if you’re currently not.

Of course, every CRM system needs to be set up according to your specific business needs, therefore, as a rule, there is someone responsible for tweaking and keeping track of how the processes connected with customer retention, acquisition, and other daily work are handled.

8 Ways to Boost your Business via CRM Software

Let’s face it, you wish that your business would operate efficiently and you want to have the maximum opportunity to make the work of every person on your team to run like clockwork with simple prioritization and less time wasted on unneeded movements. Below are some ways that this can happen if you opt for a CRM solution and the benefits of using it.

1. Keeping Data Organized

Storing data properly and having everything compartmentalized can indeed help you improve your business. CRMs are indispensable when it comes to organizing the information you have on your clients, orders, partners, invoices, well, everything really. Among the greatest ways the software can help you is by allowing you to get rid of hundreds of scattered spreadsheets, emails, and other bits of data, and offer you a smart, fast, and easy-to-use database instead. By all means, this can not only save everyone a lot of time but also safeguard you from losing priceless information.

2. Process Automation

Mentioning other time-savours, can you imagine how faster and more efficient work can be if you replace many manual work processes with their “conveyor-belt” analogues? Scheduled automatic email send-outs created using templates are just the tip of the iceberg here. With a clever CRM, there won’t be a need for third-party or “sticky-note” reminders to follow-up a client. The system will not only make sure that your specialists get the message, but it can even inform people about things that they can most likely forget (f.e. that a contract is soon to terminate).

Lead distribution and assignment is one more thing that can be handled automatically. Not to mention auto-notifications to team leads or heads of departments regarding large upcoming opportunities or approval processes. Frankly, there’s very little that can’t be automated.

3. Logging Every Aspect of Sales

This includes the full picture that starts with placing every single one of your leads in the system wisely without missing any. Then on to fairly distributing the leads among the specialists, say, on the basis of their current workload or sphere of expertise. Then on to the steps a lead moves through the pipeline with each call, message, or note carefully logged in a convenient way. The system will help to close deals properly and in shorter times. Again, nothing and no one gets lost and you can use the failed cases as a way to learn what went wrong and make conclusions on preventing it from happening again.

4. Handy Detailed Reports

Having data organized is great as it allows you to begin tracking the engagement and the movement of your sales right from the start. You can make use of standard reports and even make custom ones based on your necessities. Reports can also be crafted automatically, thus, you can be receiving the data and numbers that matter to you, including that on the performance of specialists.

5. Boosting Communication

Having your team on the same page is an indisputable advantage of what CRM software grants. With everything carried out in a single place, assigning tasks, asking questions, discussing cases, sharing expertise, or requesting approval become easier than ever. There’s no need to use external means of communication.

Moreover, this applies to communication with your customers as well. Numerous CRMs offer the possibility to add on extensions so employees could make calls right from the database pages. Similarly, chatbots and the smart search allow you to quickly find answers to questions that are frequently asked.

6. Multi-Device Accessibility

Another undeniable perk is having everyone connected. Most CRMs provide access from mobile devices, therefore, urgent things can be handled on the go without unwanted waiting times and delays.

7. Uplifting Marketing

It cannot be left unmentioned that you can use CRM software for your marketing efforts too. Email campaigns are one of the things to add to this list. Moreover, you can measure the effectiveness of the resources that were invested in your marketing. 

8. Making Customers Happy

With everything firing on all cylinders, it becomes easier to live up to the expectations of customers and to build long-lasting relationships with them. No customer lacks personalized attention, importantly, in quick time frames, and this results in their satisfaction. This will produce very positive effects as clients will ultimately be happier with the level of service they receive, and that’ll do your business and its reputation good.

Popular Software to Consider: Top 5 CRMs

1. Salesforce

One of the most popular CRMs as of today, Salesforce is a powerful all-in-one solution that is suitable for larger businesses with complex processes. With proper set-ups that are often obtained via professional Salesforce development services, there are practically no limits to what you can tailor it to be, as the system is highly customizable and offers various ready-made solutions for numerous business types and needs, including non-profit organizations.

2. HubSpot CRM

Next on the list is Hubspot that has won over the hearts of many business owners. It’s simple to use, has a free version, and is a great match for small businesses and for those who are just starting out with CRMs.

3. Zoho CRM

One more CRM system worth mentioning is provided by Zoho. This service is used by many global brands, such as Netflix and Amazon. Among its top advantages are omnichannel connection solutions, affordability, and that it has a free version too. It’s a great fit for companies of varied sizes, small and large.

4. Bitrix24

Another highly popular free CRM, Bitrix24, is widespread all over the globe since it comes in over 10 languages. More than 6 million users are using this system. The pay-free plan includes such perks as email marketing solutions and even telephony.

5. Pipedrive

Last but not least, Pipedrive is a hit among small businesses too as it has very simple navigation and great visuals. Plus the set up is very fast and no specific preparation is needed to start using this CRM. Again, this choice is right for petite businesses and teams.

Summing up, having a CRM system can certainly help handle the loads of information that you have, structuring it effectively, automating many ongoing manual processes. It’ll also be irreplaceable for building stronger relationships with clients, communicating effectively, keeping track of all of your data and performance, and making the most of your work!

About the Author

Alex Husar, CTO at Onilab with 8+ years of experience in Magento and Salesforce. He graduated from the Czech Technical University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Computer Software Engineering. Alex’s expertise includes both full-stack dev skills and a strong ability to provide project-critical guidance to the whole team.