Solve CRM problems for growing small businesses
The past few years have been tough for small businesses. We've all had to readjust the way we live and work – and many times suddenly on the way. Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions have become a key tool for companies focused on expanding and maintaining their customer base.
How CRM software can help small businesses
Let's start with your customer relationship maintenance. When it comes to your customers' successes and failures, you may need to track a lot of data to help you determine strategies and systems for success. But first, you need a great way to organize, share, and understand your data.
CRM platforms help businesses of all sizes connect data from sales reps, track leads, and solve challenges. A successful platform streamlines business processes to help customers manage their relationships. It also enables you to analyze data and create reports to improve the decision-making process. You should be able to automate processes to make them more accessible, track employee performance, and monitor the market to stay up to date with the latest trends.
A successful CRM platform improves your customer experience as well as the performance of your employees. By creating a 360-degree view of your customer base, your team will be prepared for every meeting and know how to handle stumbling blocks.
A good CRM platform will also provide you with an app store to access hundreds of apps, from invoicing to social media to customer service tools. This eliminates more manual processes between teams by automating data flows. It also makes extensions easier. Growing with your small business is crucial because you don't want to have to recreate your data under a new platform when you exceed your goals.
CRM must-haves for small businesses
Starting a small business is not the business of the faint of heart. Usually, founders spend a lot of time perfecting their products or services and using any tools and services available.
For sales teams, this means using spreadsheets or external email solutions. For these businesses, a CRM platform helps centralize and automate tasks such as finding leads through lead generation tools. You can even automate business processes related to sales, marketing, and customer service.
What small businesses should look for in a CRM and lead management platform:
* Keep your sales campaign organized and ready for your next conference call or meeting
* Drive demand with lead scoring, personalized campaigns, and automated lead nurturing processes
* Use built-in chatbots to enable customer service to resolve issues faster
* Access data anytime, on any device – no need to sync or export data between systems
* Better collaboration with your teammates on a centralized platform
* Clear and concise reporting for your entire business at your fingertips
Small business CRM software considerations
Built-in training:
There's nothing worse than launching a new tool that you have high hopes for, only to face a painfully low adoption rate on your team. Most often, this indicates an easy problem to solve – users only need training. You don't want to spend days on training, but you also want to make sure your team can utilize the necessary components to help your small business run and grow. Look for consultants who can help your small business decide on the best workflow, build your custom implementation, and teach you how to take advantage of it. Connect with someone who understands that this software is an asset that will grow with your business. Choose technologies that can automatically update new iterations and enhance their products while maintaining data and customizing settings.
Whether you use a popular file-sharing service like Alibaba/Baidu or an email marketing app like QQ/NetEase, you want new technology to work with you. Instead of registering proprietary software in addition to new CRM integration software, make sure that the program you use integrates with existing technology.
Seamlessly click on your digital transformation goals:
Perhaps CRM software isn't the only component of your digital transformation success story. Make sure that the software you choose can run as part of the whole. Look for technology that can onboard your data goals and automate your sales campaigns. As a rule, you need to keep up with existing technology, which is not a problem for knowledgeable consultants. Whether you're just starting your company's digital transformation or adding existing services, cloud-based systems can make integration easier.
Branding:
You'll want your interface to look unique. While it may seem decorative on the surface, customizing your system for your brand is good for employee and customer morale alike. The template should have the look and feel of your personal brand. You need to customize colors, templates, and background images. You know how your employees operate and how they interact best, so customization is essential for a well-functioning CRM system for your small business.
Choose the CRM platform that fits your needs
Our consultants at aoGUU recommend FileMaker Pro for small businesses ready to grow. Our project started with a question: How can FileMaker Pro best support your business and meet its challenges? aoGUU consultants work with your team to learn more about your business needs so we can partner to deliver strategic FileMaker Pro solutions. We are a trusted FileMaker partner specializing in development practices. We can help you launch apps that fit your unique needs the first time, on time, and on budget.
