How Do I Get Started With CRM ? The Top Best Practices To Set Up A CRM

Maxis CRM

Author

November 4, 2022

Customer relationship management is the most effective and efficient method of developing and maintaining strong customer relationships. However, CRM is not just about business; it is also about creating strong personal bonds between people and also following the best practices to set up a CRM. Yess! Just like the unbreakable bonds with your best friends! 

Just imagine! You are trying to locate an important piece of information in a small cubicle filled with spreadsheets and sticky notes. Now, you are also on the phone with a lead. The last thing you want to do is waste time digging for details that can close the deal. Right? That’s when CRM tools come in handy. CRM tools have evolved over time into the modern method of reaching out to clients and establishing strong strategic relationships with them. 

So coming back to our topic! If you have opened this blog then it’s obvious that you are a newbie trying to figure out how to set up a CRM. Hence, let’s go back to the beginnings and fundamentals of CRM. This article will take you through the starting points, explaining the best sought CRM essentials.

So fasten yourself! By the end of this loooong longggg read (Sorry that was sort of a little exaggeration!!!), but still you’ll get answers to your questions:

• What Is A CRM Software?
• How To Find The right CRM
• Who Needs A CRM?
• Key Features Of A CRM System
• Benefits Of CRM System

So shall we get started? It’s going to be incredible!!! 

What Is A CRM Software?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology that allows you to manage all of your company’s relationships and interactions with current and prospective customers. CRM is more than just an address book. It enables your team to more effectively build relationships and provide the best customer experience from evaluation to purchase and beyond.

Most of the time, when people talk about CRM, they usually mean a CRM system, which is a tool that aids in contact management, sales management, productivity, and other areas. But a solid CRM solution is a multifaceted platform that stores everything necessary for developing, improving, and retaining customer relationships. Without the help of an integrated CRM solution, you may miss out on growth opportunities and lose revenue if you aren’t optimizing your operating processes or making the most of your customer relationships and sales leads. 

How To Choose The Right CRM For Your Business?

Choosing the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for your business can be a daunting task. With so many options available out there to choose from, each with its own set of tools and features, how can you possibly choose the right CRM for your organization?

Remember that you do not have to select the best and most advanced CRM that’s available in the market. Rather, choose a provider who meets your company’s needs and is in line with your budget and priorities.

A good CRM system assists businesses in managing customer data and streamlining sales processes. However, selecting the right provider necessitates a deliberate decision-making process. Hence before committing to a specific provider, you should without a doubt consider a variety of factors such as pricing, features, ease of use, and your own business objectives.

In this section, we will attempt to alleviate the stress of decision-making by providing a few practical tips on how to set up a CRM system for your company. So, if you’re ready to select a CRM for your company, here are the top 8 things to consider while choosing the right CRM as you swift through the many CRM options available in the market. 

8 Things To Consider When Choosing The Right CRM System

1. Recognize And Identify Your Goals

It is crucial to understand the problem that you are attempting to solve with a CRM before choosing a CRM. Without a doubt,  if you’re looking for a CRM system, you’re probably looking to address specific business requirements or solve existing operational issues. To find the best CRM for your company, you must first define your goals and consider the pain points that your new CRM will address. Follow the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goal objectives to choose the best CRM for your business.  Determine which CRM tool will be most effective by identifying the following objectives: 

2. Make A List Of The Essential Features That You Will Require

After you’ve reviewed your company’s goals, determined your business needs, and solicited feedback from teams, it’s time to compile a shopping list of CRM features. It’s even better to make two lists: a must-have feature list and a nice-to-have feature list. When developing your feature lists, keep two things in mind: data security and customer support. When choosing a CRM provider, look for features that protect your data, such as two-factor authentication and advanced user permissions.

3. Investigate The Best CRMs For Your Needs

Armed with interdepartmental input and feature lists, it’s time to research which CRM options on the market will best meet your needs. To narrow down your options and decide which ones to test drive, use a three-pronged approach. Obtain word-of-mouth recommendations, Examine trade magazines & websites and check out user reviews.

4. Sign Up For Free Trials And Live Demos

Most CRM companies, such as Maxis CRM, provide free trials of their software so that prospective customers can test it out before purchasing. The best free trials give you access to all features, allowing for a thorough evaluation and provides adequate free trial days for you to get a good sense of the product. And hence majority of Maxis CRM’s free trial users are happy clients as we provide out-of-the-box features that are seamless to use and employ.  However, during your free trial, keep a few questions in mind, such as – Do the features work as described? Is the CRM simple to use regardless of technical expertise? Is the user interface simple to use? and so forth. 

5. Comprehend The Implementation

As you all know, there will always be a period of implementation when changing or introducing new software. In some cases, an outside consultant or a staff member in charge of the deployment may be required. In either case, there will be a training and testing period during which system bugs will be worked out and best practices will be established. Also, implementation can incur significant costs and divert time away from your team’s current responsibilities. Hence do not underestimate the impact of CRM.

6. Understand Product Mobility

In this tech world, it is certain that mobility is essential. Your sales team will most likely be using mobile, accessing your new CRM system via a variety of devices ranging from phones to tablets to laptops. Look for a tool that can be accessed via a wide range of mobile and web-enabled devices. Remember that most salespeople are early adopters of technology, so you’ll need a platform that is regularly updated and keeps up with new technologies.

7. Check To See If Customization And Training Are Offered

A CRM solution is totally ineffective if it is not properly configured or if your employees are not trained to use its features. So, when you ask for a price, make sure to include how much it will cost to configure the solution to your specific needs and to personalize training sessions – not just online tutorials. A CRM system should complement and reflect your business’s sales process, marketing strategy, customer service activities, and contact management routines. That is why it is crucial for you to select a system that is simple to set up. 

8. Check If The System Includes GDPR Features

Last but not the least, check the availability of GDPR functionality in a CRM.  With GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) now in effect, the data of your customers and where it is stored is more important than ever before. Having a GDPR-compliant CRM system allows you to manage customer data more effectively.

Choosing the best CRM for your company is a critical and time-consuming process. As you begin your CRM research, the considerations listed above can help guide your decision-making process. Conducting thorough research will also assist you in avoiding pitfalls such as selecting the incorrect CRM. Various CRM providers have distinct offerings that cater to specific consumer needs, so do your homework before committing to one. 

Who Needs A CRM?

Many people believe that CRM is a magic wand that can help anyone in any situation. Simply install a CRM, cast a spell, and you’re ready to go. However, choosing a relevant CRM software, let alone integrating it into your workflows, is not as easy as it sounds without the right knowledge and understanding.

CRM  software without a doubt enables businesses to grow and succeed and also takes a systematic approach to improving customer relationships. CRM has proven to be the best solution for longer, sustained, and profitable customer relationships through real-time data collection, documentation, analytics, higher engagement, and well-managed inventory. 

Statistics show that CRM revenue is expected to exceed $80 billion by 2025.

So now the question is who needs a CRM? A CRM is a very versatile piece of software that can be integrated into almost any department: sales, marketing, human resources, customer success, and so on. Simply put, all businesses require CRM solutions to increase business value, efficiency, and profits. Hence here is a small list of some well-known niches that require CRM:

CRM For Healthcare 

Healthcare is an important industry where the benefits of a CRM can be significant. It can store patient data, provide detailed analytics and reports, and allow for real-time updates. CRM thus aids in the integration and cooperation of physicians, pharmacies, and other key components of the healthcare industry in one single space.

CRM Software For A Sales Team

CRM implementation in sales is the most common and obvious use case. It is, however, the most efficient one as well. You can see the team’s performance skyrocketing once they begin to use a powerful CRM that benefits their sales process. The system assists them in managing leads and converting them into clients, retaining customers, and maintaining the company’s reputation.

Furthermore, most CRMs offer precise analytics that can be used in a variety of ways. Analytics provides salespeople with a better understanding of which strategies work and which do not. Thus, this allows them to fine-tune their pipeline and overall workflow for the best possible outcome.

CRM For Property Management

Real estate is a space where the broker has to constantly maintain contact with his customers. Property management CRM helps property managers and owners to successfully build relationships with both current and potential tenants by giving you access to a database that contains data about both existing and potential residents. 

CRM For Marketing 

CRM for marketing helps in improving lead generation and optimizing remarketing campaigns. This is one of the primary reasons why startups require a CRM for marketing. According to VB Insight, marketing automation assisted 80% of respondents in generating more leads, while 77% claimed that it also assisted in increasing the number of conversions.

Finance And Banking

Banking and finance rely heavily on CRM to keep track of clients and offer new products and services. CRM allows the banking and finance industry to track customer transactions, payments, repayments, and much more on a single platform.

Key Features Of A CRM System

CRM tools are capable of much more than just managing contacts and serving as a digital Rolodex. By monitoring customers, nurturing leads to closing the deal and preserving client loyalty, CRM software can help you drive revenue. But how can you determine which features and functionalities to prioritize in your software choices when there are so many CRM options available?

Don’t worry! We have got your back! Here are the top 5 key features of a CRM system that will help you narrow down your choices. 

Contact Management

Contact management entails the storing of consumer information in a searchable database, including name, phone number, address, and social media handle. While all CRM software offers contact management functionality, all you have to look out is for a layout and usability that suits your requirements. 

Lead Management

Identifying, scoring, and advancing leads along the sales pipeline are all parts of the process of generating leads, which involves turning prospects into possible clients (leads). The key here is ensuring that the lead management process in your CRM tool benefits your business and your team.

Reporting And Analytics

Monitoring metrics and receiving routine summary reports on sales numbers or sales rep performance, such as profitability, rate of client retention, and efficacy of marketing initiatives, are made possible by reporting and analytics. The Key question to keep in mind is: Are the reports interactive? What reporting and analytics tools are included in the free version? 

Email Integration

Email integration helps you to integrate with email services like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc. and enables the management and segmentation of contact lists, send mass emails, track email conversations with clients, as well as act as a central hub for internal cross-collaboration. Here, it’s important to analyze as to how your team communicates most frequently and then choose the best CRM for the same. 

Sales Forecasting

Based on current and historical data trends, forecasting in CRM can assist you to predict your future sales or revenue. It enables you to test various what-if scenarios to increase the forecasting model’s predictability. One of the key considerations here is to check if the forecasting feature is powered by machine learning or artificial intelligence capabilities!

Every business is unique! When looking for the best CRM software for your small business, consider your particular sales team and sales process. CRM systems like Maxis CRM is an All-in-one CRM that seamlessly converts your leads to deals. While you’re at it, consider how the programme will work with any marketing automation, email marketing, and social media marketing tools that you currently use. 

Benefits Of CRM System

Customer relationships management software (CRM) has grown to be almost an essential component for businesses of all sizes. The desire from consumers for improved customer service, automated involvement, and more complex customer experiences has made the CRM software market one of the fastest-growing sectors right now, with an expected growth rate of 14.27% from 2020 to 2027.  Today, people who use CRM platforms find it challenging to picture a life without them. While the benefits of a CRM platforms differ by department or industry, the five top advantages of CRM platforms are as follows: 

Trustworthy Reporting

CRMs enable your team to gather and organize data about prospects and deals by using reporting features like sales dashboards and reports. These enable the sales team to more effectively automate and manage their contacts, deals, and pipelines. The CRM platform can also be used to compile, tabulate, and organize clean data— data that is free of errors. Additionally, they can assess their own performance, maintain tabs on their objectives, and do the necessary efforts to meet their quotas. 

Improved Sales

A CRM platform helps you seamlessly boost your productivity and sales, by streamlining your sales process, creating a sales pipeline, automating crucial processes, and gathering all of your sales data in one location. You may also review specific actions like emails, calls, and scheduled meetings using CRMs. With the aid of a CRM, you can create a step-by-step sales procedure that your staff can consistently adhere to and that you can simply modify at your convenience.

Enhanced Customer Segmentation

A contact list with hundreds of names might be cumbersome and overwhelming. This is where CRM comes into play. By using your criteria, a CRM will automatically segment your contact lists, making it simple for you to discover the people you want to get in touch with. Contacts can be coherently sorted by region, gender, age, buyer stage, and other factors. Segmenting and filtering will increase the likelihood of conversions as your team members will now always have a clear understanding of how to position the outreach for each segment.

Save Time With Automation

CRM software leverages marketing automation technology to speed up time-consuming processes like drip campaigns while giving your staff more time to focus on things that can only be completed manually and creatively. In order to save time searching through multiple databases, possibly even across multiple departments within your organization, a CRM makes it simple to organize all your customer data and insights in one practical location.

Simplified Collaboration

A CRM can make it easier for your employees to communicate with one another in addition to improving communication between your company and its consumers. Additionally, it enables team members to communicate with one another through messaging, emails, and more. With the use of a CRM, your team can effortlessly monitor how other employees are communicating with a potential customer and keep a consistent brand voice. 

Moreover, some CRM platforms come with built-in collaboration tools that let several users work on the same document at once or monitor the development of a document, like a sales quote. Instead of being concerned about compartmentalized information, now with a CRM marketing, sales, and customer service teams can collaborate effortlessly without any hindrance. 

Final Thoughts

CRM systems will continue to dominate the worldwide software market as they have transformed the way businesses treat their customers and carry out internal business procedures. Setting up a CRM might seem challenging! But if done right, it can produce a strong tool that can derive the best results for your company and your business. Once CRM’s like Maxis CRM is in place, you will no longer be perplexed about things like where did this lead originate from?, did I follow up on that yet? are they a good fit? and many other questions. As a result, less time will be spent looking, and more time will be spent selling! Doesn’t it feel like a win-win already? 

Maxis CRM

Author

November 4, 2022