Gone are those days when Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications were only meant for enterprises, or just for storing contact information of prospects & customers. 

Over the years CRM tools have grown by leaps & bounds, becoming the backbone of every company’s sales & marketing team.

Your customer is the king and developing a relationship with them is necessary to grow your business, success and prosperity. With you your customer also grows.

Therefore, with a well designed CRM ( Customer relationship Management) System it becomes very important for entrepreneurs to manage things properly. 91% of businesses with more than 11 employees use the CRM software. A successful CRM implementation has many aspects  to it.

From big corporations to small businesses & startups, everybody’s in need of a CRM software to streamline their sales process, boost efficiency & gain higher client engagement, deal conversion & customer satisfaction.

However, choosing the ideal CRM for your business is easier said than done. Higher pricing doesn’t always relate to better capabilities.

What matters the most is, how well the CRM tool fits your style of work.

Matter of fact, research says that more than 70% of CRM failures are due to wrong choices or misfit w.r.t established processes.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy or combination of practices, technologies and strategies to manage the company relationship and interactions with potential customers and other customers. It helps to improve the profitability.  

Hence, it’s very important to discuss some of the points you should consider before investing in a CRM software.

(Source: meracrm.com)

Taking any of it for granted may have an adverse impact on your business growth at a later stage.

 1. User Friendliness/Adaptability

Every CRM tool claims to be user-friendly, but that’s far from true.

You don’t want to choose a CRM that’s too complex for your team members or takes too much time to get used to.

“Most people will tell you integrations, feature sets, and user experience are key. That’s true. But the real test is understanding what is important to you and how you prioritise. Having a framework of what things need to get transferred over, what features are most important, and what the home screen will look like will help you choose the right solution. “

–Fan Bi, Blank Label

Look for a CRM software that offers simpler navigation, easy user-interface & has the minimum learning curve. Signing up for a FREE Trial is a good way to start with.

Pro Tip: Make sure the CRM offers onboarding, demo/training or support on request. It really helps in shortening the learning curve at the beginning. Click here to schedule a demo of Wakeupsales CRM. 

2. Customization & Flexibility

There is no CRM in the market that completely suits businesses of all kinds. Every CRM tool is built in a certain way, with a particular category of users in mind.

So you should always look for a CRM that’s suited to your industry, offers the features you’re looking for, along with scope for minor adjustments and customization. 

Flexibility is also important, several users work in different ways and with a CRM setup impose workflows that do not fit the way sales teams like to use, it meets strong resistance.

Point to Note: Make sure the CRM software you’re considering offers basic customization options such as custom fields for opportunities & contacts. Wakeupsales CRM offers up to 10 custom fields along with add-ons & 3rd party integrations that help you get even more out of it. 

3. Pricing

Pricing of a CRM is important, but not at the cost of your business growth.

Hence, choosing a tool that meets your budget but is compromising on the features you need is like a ticking time bomb.

There has to be a balance of both pricing & functional requirements for this to be a success in the long run.

Point to Note: Wakeupsales CRM offers a simple & straight-forward pricing with industry-leading features at no hidden costs. Users can also upgrade anytime they wish.  

4. Security

Your CRM software will contain all your customers’ information, the transaction details, invoices, precious notes that may also have inside information.

Hence, security should be on top of your list while choosing a CRM; especially if you’re opting for the cloud platform.

Make sure the CRM tool you’re considering, adheres to all the latest industry-standard security practices.

Also make sure it offers data backup & recovery options on request. 

Point to Note: Wakeupsales CRM follows all the industry best practices to make sure, it’s completely secure for the users. Read more . . 

5. Technical Expertise

If you’re a startup with limited resources or limited technical know-how, going for a SaaS/Cloud CRM software would be the best decision.

Getting started would be like a breeze & you can upgrade/downgrade anytime you wish as per your requirements. 

If you are a big corporate house, have technical resources or deal with highly confidential information, going for a fixed priced self-hosted/on-premises CRM would be ideal. 

It is a smart thing to get some initial implementation help that are essential if you are starting with a CRM software with a minimal IT team. Initial assistance led you to get up and run faster with the CRM and ensures you get started with the right foot.

The professional will guide you with the right implementation steps of CRM. They will provide you basic support and overview on how it can be used.

Point to Note: Ask for installation help to your CRM provider, while coming onboard. Wakeupsales CRM is currently offering complimentary installation assistance for a week to all its new Self-Hosted users. And free live-demo to all its cloud users on request. 

6. Storage Capabilities

If you’re a customer-centric/B2C company or have a large team, it’s wise to always check your storage needs while going for a CRM.

Things like storage space for every user account, file upload limit, max file size or type of the file have to be cleared from the very beginning. 

Point to Note: Wakeupsales CRM is offering up to 5GB of storage per user on its cloud plans. 

Wrapping Words

There’s no room for error when it comes to choosing an ideal CRM. After all, it has the ability to make or break your business. Hence, don’t rush into the first option you like. 

Therefore you need to have a vision of what you want in the CRM for your company, and then you can start with implementing a CRM system.
A CRM system provides a larger view of the organisational operation and needs to be viewed as a part of a broader landscape of the organisation. 

WIth CRM strategy you make an evidence based decision to steer the company in the right direction.

Take your time, analyze all the options you’ve got & then take a call. 

It’s totally worth spending the time for the required due diligence. You will thank yourself later 🙂

Looking for an easy-to-use but powerful CRM to drive growth? Try the 30 days FREE Trial of Wakeupsales CRM right away.

It’s tailor-made for small & medium businesses. You’ll love it 🙂