Roadmap to CRM Best Practices: Leveraging Your CRM

There’s no job that doesn’t require some kind of tool in its workload. Every job will be time-consuming or impossible to complete without an effective tool. Technology is nothing other than an advanced tool for various tasks. 

Nowadays, we have thousands of digital tools that help us run things smoothly. One such tool is CRM (Customer Representative Management) software. So, stay here and learn all about the best CRM practices and how to boost your business successfully with CRM.

What Types of Companies Use CRM Systems

As its name implies, CRM is for any company that deals with customers. Mainly banks, eCommerce, education, real estate agencies, legal and charity organizations, and supply companies. 

These companies use CRM software to manage interactions with customers and potential customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability by organizing and analyzing customer information, sales, and marketing strategies.  

Types of CRM software

Still, that doesn’t mean every CRM will benefit every company. So, there are three major CRM categories. The good thing about CRM software is that you can use multiple tools and combine them. That’s because some tools have numerous options. The primary objective is for all those management tools to help you run your business smoothly.

Analytical CRM

Its name says that its main focus is organizing and analyzing your data. Such CRM tools can run complex analyses in a short time, making them great for companies that deal with huge piles of data. 

Moreover, they’ll also help them improve their marketing strategies, making this tool excellent for sales and marketing teams. Here are my top 5 analytical CRM software.

Top 5 analytical tools

• Salesforce Einstein 
• Hubspot (marketing)
• Zoho Analytics (for small businesses)
• Zendesk Explore (customer support)
• Freshworks Neo (sales)

Collaborative CRM

This type of CRM is crucial for those companies whose work is mostly remote or whose communication is mostly online. A qualitative CRM will enable smooth collaboration and cooperation between all teams within a company. 

It also emphasizes communication between the company and customers. Here are my top 5 collaborative CRM. 

Top 5 Collaborative CRM

• Click Up (all teams can organize, collaborate and grow)
• Hubspot (the core of the management team)
• Monday Sales CRM (centralizes entire sales cycle)
• Pipedrive (focus on activities that seal the deals)
• Zoho CRM (classic full stack for every business type)

Operational CRM

Operational CRM tools help you create stable and trustworthy relationships with your customers. They mainly focus on automation in customer service, sales, and marketing. 

With automation, your employers won’t have to do daily repetitive tasks manually. That means they can pay more attention to helping customers. Here are my top thirteen operational CRMs.

Top 13 operational CRM

• Salesforce /the best CRM overall)
• Agile CRM (top for project  management)
• HubSpot
• Zoho
• Really Simple Systems (for Start-ups)
• Accelo (for sales teams)
• Pipedrive
• Bitrix 24 (for team collaboration)
• Capsule (ease-of-use)
• Keap (marketing automation)
• Less annoying (for contact management)
• SuiteCRM (open source app)
• Insightly (for business intelligence)

Assess Your Business Needs

Assessing and determining business needs is an early CRM strategy but a highly significant one. Without this, or done incorrectly, any further step won’t lead to a successful CRM adaptation. Not every company has the exact needs to handle customer data. 

So, when choosing the right CRM, you must assess your business needs. Only then can you effectively select powerful CRM software for your company. 

How to Assess Your Company’s Business Needs

A question arises: How should you appropriately assess your business needs? We have provided clear direction by preparing a concise guideline for you. To be sure what type of CRM database will be perfect for your data management, you need to answer these questions.

What Are Your Company’s Goals?

Simple as it can be. The first question refers to revising and reviewing your company goals, especially determining the company’s specific objectives at the moment. It also refers to defining the company’s strengths and weaknesses.

How Satisfying is Your Current Software?

This question is crucial in CRM implementations. The best method to answer this question is the traditional pros-and-cons approach. That way, you’ll be on the right track regarding CRM implementations. So, there are some things you should consider at this point.

What Shall You Pay Attention When Grading Your Current Software

Pay attention to what extent these features are relevant for your company, as well as to what extent your current software helps you with each of these features:

• customer experience
• customer data management
• lead management
• sales pipeline
• marketing automation
• tracking communication channels
• social media management

Learn More About CRM Benefits

Since there’s a splendid offer of CRM vendors, one should learn more about what each offers. Learning more about CRMs also applies to those who aren’t yet sure about these systems. If your business deals with managing customers’ data, customer segmentation, sales reporting and forecasting, and scaling a sales process, you should invest in a qualitative CRM.

What Do You Want From a CRM Software?

After familiarizing yourself with all CRM benefits, the next step is brainstorming ideas from the company’s data management, sales, and marketing teams. In other words, after a detailed review of your existing software, you’ll know whether it’s time for a new CRM.

Choose the Right CRM for Your Business Processes

After thoroughly brainstorming about desired CRM features, you still have many things to do. There are over 400 different types of CRM software. For example, those with an extreme focus on sales will probably use Monday Sales CRM because it helps sales teams from pre- to post-sales processes.

Moreover, remember that even the most straightforward CRM can help you grow sales if used adequately. That’s why we are here to help you do this research. We’ll list the key elements when choosing the best CRM vendor for your business.

Is It Adjustable to the Growth of a Company?

Such a CRM is essential when discussing a company’s long-term goals. Since every company wants to spread its business, they all need a CRM that will adjust to their growth. Just imagine going through this process every year. It’s time-consuming, and the time is money.

Take the Cost of Maintenance Into Consideration

Speaking of money, it’s not just that you need to pay for a system. You need to pay the cost of upkeep and regular maintenance. No one wants software that crashes, especially if you work in a customer service agency. 

Your customers will gravitate towards businesses where they feel confident that their sensitive data is secure and well-protected.

Data Storage Preference: Premise, Web- or Cloud-Based Storage

Large companies handle vast amounts of data daily, necessitating secure and organized storage solutions. Imagine thousands of digital folders accessible from anywhere at any time. This capability is critical for running your business remotely and is further enhanced by cloud-based storage, allowing efficient and flexible access to all your customer data.

Don’t Forget the Hardware

Qualitative software must match some hardware requirements because such systems will not function on outdated hardware, which can cause system crashes. However, don’t worry. Every software product has a description of its requirements, which will help your IT team prepare for flawless implementation.

Windows and Mac systems must meet the following requirements to run CRM.

Most CRM requirements for Windows 

• minimum 256 GB SSD 
• minimum 16 GB RAM
• x86-based 64-bit processor with a minimum of 4 cores
• minimum 1920×1080 screen resolution
• minimum 4000 Intel HD graphics

Most CRM requirements for Mac

• minimum 256 GB SSD
• minimum 8 GB RAM, but
• 16 GB RAM recommended
• min. 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, or
• 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 
• minimum 1440 by 900 pixels resolution
• Minimum Intel HD Graphics 6000

Is it Easy to Upgrade

Given the rapid pace of technological advancement, investing in regularly updated and easily upgradeable software is advisable. Crucially, it should smoothly integrate with existing systems to minimize the need for your employees to adapt to new software continually.

Possibility of Integration Within CRM Tools

As we have learned, different CRM tools are designed for various purposes. Most of them can be used for multiple applications. However, some specialize in just one thing, one in another. That’s why we should choose those that enable mutual interaction. This way, our workflow will be flawless.

Easy Handle with Customers’ Data

Handling your customers’ data, i.e., importing and exporting data, can be tiresome without proper software. Thus, companies should opt for software that smoothly handles the data, especially when solving customers’ problems.

Data Security

Dealing with sensitive data means having software that safeguards it highly. The data must be 100% safe from misuse and stealing.

How  to Keep Your Data Protected

To keep your data out of reach from unwanted misuse, do the following:

• always encrypt the customers’ data
• use strong passwords
• reset the passwords regularly
• regularly update systems
• do the back-ups
• optimize the company’s data life cycle
• check and refresh the list of authorized access
• Install alarms and locks
• train your staff on cybersecurity
• real-time monitor

Consider the Availability of Support

Quality software requires regular maintenance. However, your system may crash or have other problems. For that reason, your CRM software must have support that can quickly solve a technical problem. 

Is It Easy to Learn

Every business owner should discuss this with their staff. Not everyone will easily understand all about CRM technology. That’s why you should consider how easy or difficult CRM is to learn. Moreover, you can always pay for qualitative training. Remember, as Benjamin Franklin said once, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’’

Feel Free to Read the Reviews on CRM Vendors

If you need to determine whether one CRM system suits your business, you can always read reviews from similar companies or ask them what CRM system they use.

Feel Free to Customize

CRM customization is one of the attractive features of any CRM tool. Since CRM is there to serve your business, it can completely adapt to your business. Everyone can arrange and integrate tools, mix them, and do whatever they prefer if that boosts their job. Otherwise, all your efforts were in vain. 

Align The CRM Strategy with Your Business Goals

By now, we’re familiar with the types of existing CRM tools and what we can use them for. The next step is aligning the CRM strategy with your business goals. To remind ourselves, CRM is there to help companies grow and improve sales while creating trustful relationships with customers.

Improved Customer Retention

Having an outstanding CRM strategy is the key to success. Why? CRM does all the tedious work for you instead. You can check all the relevant data and help your customers with a few clicks. 

It’s an effective tool for all customer service agencies. Effective customer service will attract more customers. However, effective customer service is only possible with an exceptional CRM vendor.

Increase Sales Revenue

Satisfied customers will spread the word about you. If you’re a supply company, that’s better than any commercial. Moreover, with effective CRM software, your lead team will easily track the progress of your sales goals. 

CRM will also optimize your sales pipeline. In other words, it will define precise sales processes and realistic sales targets and implement sales forecasting.

Enhanced Marketing Effectiveness

The two above lead to enhanced marketing effectiveness. With all the tools, you’ll easily track your customers’ habits. That way, you’ll know their needs and, thus, improve your offer to match their needs. It’ll guarantee your marketing campaigns will be fruitful.

Develop a Robust Plan for Implementing CRM

Choosing the right CRM for your business isn’t a one-day event. It takes time and patience. You need the right tools for your business to grow successfully. However, the process isn’t complete after you have chosen your CRM tool(s). You need to plan how you will implement CRM into your business.

Create a Plan

As a business owner, you likely have a vision for this process. You can begin by drafting a to-do list of activities as you imagine them. Consider this list a preliminary sketch rather than a final plan because involving your staff in this process is crucial, allowing their input to refine and enhance the implementation strategy.

Let Your Employers Share Ideas

Nobody likes changes that happen overnight. So, discuss the plan with your employers. It can be in the simple form of a questionnaire. Large companies can do it within teams and then present on that. Their insights will help you define your exact CRM implementation strategy.

Create Your CRM Implementation Team

This team will lead your implementation and ensure everything goes according to plan. The implementation team should consist of:

• The leader-project manager
• application analyst (data migration part)
• application developer (customization)
• QA test engineer
• representatives of key user teams and managers (i.e., customer service, marketing, sales teams)
• senior advocates
• specialists
• workhorses

Don’t Rush

Be aware that it takes time. Take your time, but take it slowly. Taking time for onboarding and implementing CRM is essential for success. Discuss with your team what they think about how much time it requires.

Set the Timeline

Setting the timeline is more challenging than it seems. So, before setting the deadline for your CRM implementation time, write a to-do list of must-be-done activities. That way, you will be fine with whether you’ll make it on time. How you will cut it into stages depends on your team.

It’s Time to Choose a Platform

Even though it’s a style of preference, you must prioritize some features when choosing a CRM platform. These aspects include automation, cross-software integration, data security, intuitive customer support of that software, FAQ section availability, and easy-to-use software. One advantage is that you can always view demo versions of any CRM software.

Transfer the Data

Data transfer is the most sensitive part of the implementation process. However, some companies specialize in this field and can help you smoothly transfer all your customer and business data.

Train Employees

Your company wouldn’t be successful without a hardworking staff. Switching from one to a wholly new or slightly different software requires training. With training, your employers can use the CRM tools effectively. We’ll give you some tips on how to organize training.

Make it Versatile

By this, we suggest you provide various teaching methods for inclusivity. Depending on your budget, you can find a great lecturer or enroll them in an online course with a deadline. 

Let the IT experts create interactive sites for practicing software usage. Have some short tests to see how well they understand the software. Remember, you need a solid and motivated team behind your back.

Keep it an Ongoing Event

We never stop learning. That’s what a strong company should keep in mind, as well. Training and team-building events are crucial factors for developing a work-friendly company. Some companies even pay for training for newbies when they need more staff. Afterward, they must pass the test to continue working there. Options are endless.

Maintain the Database

Consider the maintenance of your database as any other type of maintenance. If we don’t check our cars regularly, don’t keep our house in order, or, even more, ignore our health, everything will go to the shackles. 

That’s the same with the database. So, your company needs a team to maintain, clean, and enrich your CRM database regularly. Regular maintenance yields optimal results. Otherwise, it will lead to neglect and failure, which can even cause malicious cyberattacks.

Use Automation to Streamline Your Business

CRM is so popular among companies because of automations. They can partially or fully complete repetitive tasks for you. The best thing about them is that you can completely customize them according to your needs. The most popular are email and workflow automations. They significantly boost business processes, which benefits the entire company.

Why Use Automation

Here are the reasons:

• fewer errors 
• improved productivity
• provides a transparent list of all tasks
• enhanced customer communication and engagement
• less repetitive work boosts work satisfaction
• helps cut costs
• enables creating a consistent process

Keep Evaluating

We have already discussed how analytical CRMs process all your data to support business growth and profit generation. These analyses not only provide insights into the effectiveness of your CRM strategy but also reveal how well the system meets your company’s needs. 

Regular evaluation through CRM analytics and reporting is crucial, allowing companies to gauge effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Promote Continuous Improvement

As technology quickly develops, we must keep track of it. That also applies to CRM solutions. As a business owner, you want your company to continue and stay caught up. Keeping your company abreast of new technologies is essential because they offer innovative solutions. 

We recommend proactively adapting to these changes to ensure you’re not left behind. Remember, CRM systems are designed to serve your business needs, not the other way around.

Check out our other blogs too! Our CRM experts publish helpful content daily, covering everything from how-to guides to insights on the future of CRM tools.