As a Microsoft CRM specialist and Microsoft Gold Partner, we regularly hear the question “Does my business need a CRM system?” followed by “When’s the best time to install CRM software into a business?”.
In an ideal world every company would install a world class CRM software as soon as they began trading. This would enable them gather clean customer and contact data from the beginning of their commercial lifecycles.
Obviously, not every business works like that. In reality, organisations constantly weigh-up CRM system investment against the number of leads they have.
However, sales and marketing professionals forget that CRM software is all about ‘Customer Relationship Management’. It’s not just about amplifying the number of leads into your business. CRM software is designed to help nurture your bonds with your current customers, as well as fine-tune your sales and marketing processes with accurate data. You cannot achieve this when managing your contacts through out-of-date spreadsheets.
What’s more, the consumer world expects excellent customer service, as a recent survey from Microsoft revealed:
- 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for customer experience.
- 65% of consumers have left a brand due to bad customer service.
- 72% of all internet users are now active on social media.
- 68% of internet users trust consumer opinions that they read online.
If you’re worrying about your budget, don’t. The cost of installing a CRM system can be much lower than you think. Find out about all its latest features on our new blog.
We have also come up with a list of questions that will help you to determine whether your business does truly need a CRM system. Try them out on your team and see what you conclude.
- Is all of your customer, lead, partner, and contact data stored in an easily accessible location that is visible to all members of your team?
- If one of the key members of your team left your business tomorrow, would you have access to all of their contacts and know which opportunities they were developing?
- Do you know how many deals you have lost during the last quarter or over the last year? And, do you know why you weren’t successful?
- Do you know how many customer service issues each of your clients has had?
- Do you know which members of your sales team are most successful and why? Do you know who is underperforming?
- Are you certain that you are following up on all leads? Are you tracking this?
- Are you able to access up-to-date contact and case information when out of the office?
- Are you monitoring regular communications with customers and contacts?
- Do you know how successful your marketing campaigns are? Do you know which campaigns are generating the most leads?
- Do you have the ability to generate reports on the health of your business, any time you like?
If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions it is likely that your organisation needs a CRM system.
Sign-up for a FREE trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 by clicking the image below or contact Crimson’s CRM consultants for advice via 01675 466 477 or book a Free Discovery Call.
Crimson are an IT consultancy, an IT solutions provider, an IT recruitment agency, and a Microsoft Gold Partner with offices in Birmingham and the City of London.
