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A modern CRM system can benefit a business of any size and industry. But you need to ensure you’re not just implementing the right one but also that you’re doing it at the right time. Here are some signs that indicate it’s time to look for a CRM system…

 

  1. Customer response times aren’t as quick or as efficient as they could be
  2. You’re struggling to keep up with lead flow
  3. It’s hard to find the data you need
  4. It’s hard to visualise what’s going on across the business
  5. It’s taking too long to report
  6. Your marketing isn’t personalised
  7. You’re restricted to working from the office

1. Customer response times aren’t as quick or as efficient as they could be

Empty call centre

When customers reach out to customer service, they want to get through to the right person and have their problem resolved as efficiently and speedily as possible. How many different siloed systems do your service staff need to access to help your customer with their query?

The more there are, the longer it can take your staff to resolve customer issues which can affect the overall customer experience.

A CRM system can help this issue by consolidating customer data in one location. That means your support team can quickly find the information they need to resolve customer problems. Also, the customer doesn’t need to repeat their issue multiple times to different representatives.

 

2. You’re struggling to keep up with lead flow

New business is great but if you’re struggling to keep up with that new flood of customers, you won’t be able to nurture them properly. Certain manual tasks associated with this, such as data entry and searching for information across multiple systems, are often tedious and hamper productivity.

Help your teams break out of this monotonous cycle of manual activities with a CRM system. Good CRMs offer lead scoring models and sales readiness grades so it’s easier to know which leads to prioritise. Coupled with their ability to integrate with multiple systems, it’s much easier for marketers to monitor the complete customer journey, efficiently nurture leads and hand them off, sales-ready, to your salespeople.

 

3. It’s hard to find the data you need

Reporting

A Microsoft survey found 72% of consumers say that when contacting customer service, they expect the company to know who they are, what they have purchased and have insights into their previous engagements.

If customers have to speak to different representatives to get their problem resolved, they don’t want to repeat their information multiple times. The next rep should pick up where the previous left off.

This is where good CRM systems flourish. Their ability to integrate with any third-party source means your data is no longer siloed or fragmented. It’s easy for your customer service reps to quickly pick up conversations as they have a complete view of the customer.

They can even personalise the interactions and boost customer satisfaction, thanks to this additional context.

 

4. It’s hard to visualise what’s going on across the business

Siloed data means it’s harder to see how well your teams are performing. A CRM system pulls your data from multiple systems into one place. This means you can access complete, real-time data (via intuitive dashboards) and generate customised reports more easily.

Now you can quickly see what’s going on across your business, predict when you’ll need extra resources, make more accurate sales forecasts and more.

 

5. It’s taking too long to report

CRM software

It’s often difficult to keep information up-to-date or complete if it’s stored in disparate systems. If your sales team is spending time manually entering data or looking for it, they’re spending less time selling.

CRM systems store your data in one place. Some are even intelligent enough to offer contextual prompts to make data entry much easier, fill in missing information and remove duplicates. As modern CRM systems can also manage your sales pipeline, consistency across the sales teams for reporting is a natural ‘press of a button’ outcome.

So, finding real-time data and generating up-to-the-minute reports suddenly becomes a breeze.

 

6. Your marketing isn’t personalised

Your customers now expect, from the modern-day digital journey, a personalised experience. To provide this, you need a CRM system. Using customer insights, you can begin to understand what your customers want and the best way to target them.

The right CRM system will help you:

  • Gain a better insight into your customers’ buying journeys so optimising each stage is much easier
  • Analysing the data to understand your customers – demographics, segmentation, shopping frequency, past purchase history. This allows you to target your customers more accurately
  • Create the most convenient journey with simple navigation and ensure content is relevant and contextual to your customers
  • Use insights to create more personalised messaging for your audience across all platforms

 

7. You’re restricted to working from the office

Working from Home

Without a CRM system, your data is only available for your employees at your office, at their desks. This is hugely restricting to your business, especially when working from home has become the norm for many companies due to the global pandemic.

Plus, it makes life more difficult for employees who may be field-based.

Modern CRM software systems, such as Dynamics 365, are cloud-based, which allows you and your employees to access up-to-date data on the go, at any time. Your employees will also benefit from:

  • Greater employee flexibility – because data is stored on an external, remote network, CRM systems allow your staff to access information anytime, anywhere. This gives your employees more flexibility as to where they decide to work
  • Mobile CRM apps –this means to access even when on the move
  • 24/7 access to data – round-the-clock access to data supports flexible working and gives a clearer insight into your business needs
  • Mitigated risk to any business downtime – by having all of the above points now accessible due to a mobile CRM system, you’ll find it much easier to fix any issues that could result in business downtime regardless of where you’re located. For example, if there’s an issue with your website outside of normal working hours, it’s easy to log in and resolve it quickly. Therefore, reducing any impact of missed sales or enquiries

So it’s time to invest in a CRM, where do you start?

If you’ve spotted one or more of these signs, your business would likely benefit from a CRM system or it’s time to invest in a new one. However, there are so many choices - whether you’re deciding between cloud SaaS and on-premise or between vendors.

And there are all the different features to consider. So, understandably, choosing the right system can be a difficult process. That’s why we created our guide to choosing the right CRM. Filled with the answers to FAQs about CRMs to what you should consider when you’re narrowing down your options, it’s designed to help you make the right choice for your business.

Ready to get started? Click the button below to download your copy.

Here's how to find the right CRM

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