How to Choose the Best CRM System for Your Business
A customer relationship management (CRM) system is an integral part of every marketing, sales, and business development department as well as CRM companies. Organizing and maintaining relationships with clients and maintaining a fantastic customer relationship management system is extremely important for small business CRM to big business CRM and a CRM’s contact solution does just that. However, it’s a lot more than a simple contact manager app.
A CRM system, in the form of top CRM software, helps users organize, categorize, and prioritize contacts, as well as monitor relationships with previous, current, and prospective clients and customers. The address books and Rolodexes of the past have transformed into the CRMs of today. With sophisticated address books, you were able to add detailed contact information, obtain email history and even categorize contacts into groups. But with CRMs, you are able to do all that and a lot more, using its contact solution features. The “R” in CRM does exactly what you think it does: helps you keep a track of your relationships. It helps you keep a focus on customer relationship management.
Recommended CRM systems
These are some of the most recommended CRM systems on the market:
A good business, whatever that may be, especially those that are CRM companies are overly reliant on well-formed and cultivated customer relationships. When a product is purchased, a lot more happens than a simple credit-debit transaction. Where did the customer find information about the product? How much time did it take for the customer to make the purchase? When was the last time the customer made a purchase? Answers to questions like these lay the foundation of the data that is stored in the contact solution part of a CRM. In the long run, the data and analysis provided by a CRM system can prove to be an invaluable asset for the company.
By acting as a central repository for all the information related to potential and contemporary customers and clients and by allowing you to keep your contacts online, the contact manager of a CRM system helps a company, from marketing to PR to CRM companies in the following ways:
Improved customer satisfaction levels
The more you know about your customer (their behaviors, preferences, and needs), the better your chance of satisfying their needs and gaining their trust. This is where a contact management system of a CRM helps a lot.
Increasing revenue
By helping to build strategy formulation and by eradicating rotten prospects (customers that are not expected to convert anymore), CRMs allow companies to do targeted and efficient marketing that leads to positive revenue spikes.
Streamlining the sales pipeline
A sales pipeline is the process that begins with the first interaction made with a customer and continues until an actual purchase is made. By using CRMs, businesses can streamline their pipelines and predict expected revenue by finding out their customers’ typical churn rate and removing bottlenecks from the sales funnel.
Efficient internal communication
With the application of CRMs and the best CRM software, companies can ensure that all internal departments are on the same page. A company can keep its contacts online and the same data is available to employees across all relevant departments, creating seamless communication and improving collaboration.
Pipedrive allows you to see all your communications in one place.
These are only some of the many advantages that an enterprise CRM system provides. If you want your company to be successful you should read on. According to IBM, if you don’t use a CRM in the modern age, around 79% of your leads will fail to convert.
How do I choose the right CRM system?
If you have finally decided to do the right thing and get a CRM, then here is a list of the most important things that you should look for when choosing one of the CRM tools.
Ease of use and support
CRM systems and their business contact managers come in a range of shapes and sizes, so some CRM tools are easier and more usable than others. Usability is a key component of every successful CRM system because it’s used by managers, executives and administrative staff alike, from small business CRM to big business CRM, and skills can vary widely between users. You will also find the best CRM for small business with the best contact manager.
Your CRM vendor should also provide quality support in case any technical (or otherwise) assistance is required. That’s why it’s important to use the best CRM software whether it’s the best CRM for small business, medium business or big business.
Features
The usability of a CRM system and especially its contact database is of paramount importance, but the list of features it carries is even higher on the list of “things that make a CRM application special”. Of course, you want the top CRM software with the best contact management system. That is why a CRM comparison is so important. When buying a CRM, you should ensure that the features that are most important to your business’s success are available in the software. You also need to look if you need small business CRM. You need to look at the ones that suit your business best. The best CRM software and ideal CRM should have features like contact management software, lead management, campaign management, email tracking, social media management, sales pipeline tracking, deals and tasks, reporting and dashboards, and mobile applications etc.
Integrations
Another important feature of a great CRM system is its support for third-party integrations. Most of the modern CRMs and top contact management software, allow companies to integrate all of the majorly used accounting, email, storage, and e-commerce applications (e.g. Dropbox, QuickBooks, Google Drive, Box, etc.). This helps in making sure everything is connected, synchronized, and streamlined. Check your CRM comparison to gauge what’s best for you.
Customizable
Each business has its own unique elements and CRM tools and a contact management software should be able to complement and incorporate them. There is no one-size-fits-all CRM solution and your vendor should be able to deliver a customized solution that can be molded to your specific business needs. You just need to look at a CRM comparison to know what’s best for you.
Security
Security is another obvious characteristic that you need in a CRM system and its business contact manager, at least in the top CRM software with a sophisticated contact management system. Your CRM’s contact manager app will be expected to contain everything that is near and dear to your business, as well as information about clients and their companies. You want your CRM system to be the best business contact manager for small business or medium to large business, and to be rigorously secure and safe from attacks from the world of cyber-crime.
The best CRM systems
Now that we have explored CRM system features and realized just how important a contact database can be, let’s take a look while we do a CRM comparison at some of the best CRM options available:
Piperdrive
Piperdrive has been working since 2010 to provide state-of-the-art sales CRM and pipeline management software for businesses of all sizes. Their contact manager is very easy to use and by keeping your contacts online, you ensure that you have ubiquitous access. This is one of the best CRM for small business, medium or large business. You can try their “trusted by thousands” solution and CRM tools for free and see what all the hype is about.
Monday.com
Monday.com is another leading CRM service provider. It comes with an efficient contact database. Their software makes your team’s job ridiculously easy with the vast list of features and a highly aesthetic user design. Learn more about them here.
Hubspot
You can’t talk about CRMs without bringing up Hubspot. It comes with an efficient contact manager app. The company first started in 2006 and currently can be referred to as the ‘go-to’ CRM and inbound marketing software provider in the world. They are great for businesses of different sizes including small business CRM. Hubspot’s software is well- known for helping out CRM companies and companies dealing with marketing.
In today’s world, businesses need to rely heavily on CRMs not only to ensure efficient internal operations but to also streamline sales pipelines and revenue streams. We discussed the things that need to be considered while choosing a CRM vendor and also mentioned some of the most trusted ones; if your business still doesn’t have one, now is the perfect time to change that!
*91% of businesses with 10 or more employees now use CRM software. (Source CRM Magazine)