Are you Aware of these 8 Reasons to have a CRM in Your Business?

Having a CRM helps you to retain your existing Customers and develop a strong relationship with them which leads to greater loyalty and recommendation

Here are 8 good reasons to have a CRM in your business:

1. Companies that use CRM successfully have improved their sales by 29% (Salesforce)

Data on the effectiveness of CRM tools can be hard to find. This is because there are many measurable factors that cause these tools to either fail or succeed. The latest and most trustworthy data comes from Salesforce, a major player in the CRM market. In 2013, it was reported that properly using CRM can greatly improve business effectiveness. Salesforce stats show that successful CRM implementation can boost sales by 29%, increase sales productivity by 34%, and sharpen sales forecast accuracy by 42%.

2. By using CRM, customer retention and satisfaction rates increase by 47%. (Capterra)

Surely some of the key stats in demonstrating the importance of CRM when running a sales business are customer satisfaction and retention. Customer retention – the company’s ability to keep its customers and inspire brand loyalty – is crucial when evaluating the effectiveness of your CRM. Capterra reports that CRM software boosts both retention and satisfaction rates by 47%. These impressive stats are sure to encourage further growth of the CRM market.

3. Conversion rates can rise by up to 300% using CRM. (IBM)

Converting leads or potential customers into buyers is the bread and butter of any sales business. That’s why everyone is wondering “Will CRM improve my conversion rates?”. The stats we have say yes – proper CRM implementation can lead to an increase in conversion rates of up to 300%.

4. Customers spend between 20% and 40% more if they’re engaged by a company using CRM, 2017 data shows. (LinkedIn)

As research conducted by Cloudswave suggests, using CRM in sales can increase the amount of purchases customers make with your company. When a company that uses CRM engages a customer, they are likely to spend 20-40% more on their next purchase with the same company.

5. 2014 data indicates that the ROI for CRM is $8.71 per $1 spent. (Nucleus Research)

The stats provided by Nucleus Research concerning ROI (return on investment) suggest that investing in CRM will pay off. For every $1 you spend, you make $8.71 back. That is if the CRM is correctly implemented, of course. This translates into an impressive 771% ROI.

6. 6% of sales professionals say that CRM tools have a significant impact on their company’s bottom line. (LinkedIn)

Among those surveyed in LinkedIn’s 2016 State of Sales report, approximately a third of respondents said that using CRM tools was important for their business. Another 29.6% described their usage of CRM tools as impactful.

7. Only 22% of companies using non-mobile CRM meet their sales quotas compared to 65% of those that use mobile CRM systems. (Innoppl)

Mobile CRM leads the way. Just as cloud-based CRM is gaining momentum, the need for flexibility and ease of access has led to the increased popularity of mobile CRM, which refers to CRM tools you can access from your phone, tablet, or other devices. Not only is mobile CRM popular, it’s also effective. Research by InnoPpl shows that 65% of companies that use mobile CRM meet their quotas, compared to 22% of those that use non-mobile versions. Switching to mobile and cloud-based systems is the new CRM trend.

8. Customer satisfaction will become the most important factor in business by 2020. (Walker)

A report on the future of sales published by Walker predicts that customer satisfaction will become a key differentiator as soon as next year. According to the report, customer satisfaction will surpass price and quality in terms of importance by 2020. Results from this report point out that 86% of customers are willing to pay 25% more for a better customer experience.

To find out more about setting up your CRM, contact Jamie here.

Why CRM is not Delivering for SME’s

The demand for CRM solutions in the SME market is very buoyant in the current market and there is no sign of slowing down. Whilst many businesses have some sort of CRM, many of them are unhappy with the performance and acceptance of the CRM in the business. Many a time I have heard business owners say that they have bought a package but it is not being used in which case it is all but useless as the data is not complete.

When choosing a CRM solution it is vital to get the input from all those who are going to use it especially the sales force. It is always a question of “What in it for me?” to get people to use a CRM which is why you need to have each and everyone’s feedback on how the CRM will support the business process that they are used to.

Also the customer data itself is often out of date and duplicated so time is wasted in contacting individuals who have left the businesses. With data compliance being tightened under GDPR, it is vital that regular contact is made with your customers – at least every 6 months – to make sure that the information is correct.

Once the data is cleansed, enhanced and updated, coupled with the CRM being regularly used by the teams, the Management can see how the business is really performing.

Buy online or build to order?

With the vast choice of CRM solutions that you can buy online including Hubspot, Zoho, SugarCRM to name but a few, it is often confusing as to understanding what you are actually going to get. Of course they have all the right modules and applications BUT will they work to follow the sales and business processes of your business.

Many businesses with 2 or more employees go for a free option which is fine but must be treated as more a trial rather than a workable implementation. The reason for this is that a free version is limited in its choice of applications and as you grow you will probably need to add other applications which may well be only available if you upgrade. Also buying a branded package means that your business will have to adapt to follow the processes available – it also means that the CRM is never going to be owned by the business and your customer database is your greatest business asset.

Building your own bespoke CRM from scratch means that you get exactly what your business needs, with everyone having a say of what they want in the system. Always start small with the basic modules of Company, Contact, Tasks and Leads and build from there. Once everyone can see that the CRM is working to deliver what they have asked for, the greater the chance that will be used and more importantly, be seen as a tool to make their role more successful and productive.

Contrary to popular belief it does not need to be expensive to build your own CRM. A small business can get one built for around £500 with monthly payments from £47 for unlimited users (See https://www.businessequip.co.uk/crm-engine/) and the CRM will be owned by your business.

Your CRM call to action

Many businesses still have their customer files on a spreadsheet or worse still in paper files. I would encourage those that have, to get ALL your customer data into an electronic format which can then be imported into a centralised CRM system.

So make sure that whatever CRM solution you choose, that it delivers to the needs of your business. If you want some help and guidance on this, contact Jamie here.

Data Diagnostics

Cleanse Your Data to Maximise Your Sales

As your business has grown, you have accumulated multitudinous amounts of Customer data which lies within your IT infrastructure across your company’s departments – database Cleansing, Validation and Enhancement is the vital next stage.

Once you have your Customer data in one place, it’s time to Cleanse, Validate and Enhance it and update your Customer data records to make sure that you are talking to those Customers who are most likely to want to do business with you.

Once Cleansed, including full GDPR compliancy, you can use this Customer data to generate regular communications via your CRM system.

Here are 2 guides to get you started:

1. 5 steps to get Customer Data Ready
2. Download this Infographic for Data Management which will guide you through the process of getting your Data fit for purpose.

Data Cleansing and Categorisation

With a quick data cleanse you can add value to your current database making sure that it has been checked for duplications, field alignment, errors removed, formatting, etc. so you can be confident of having quality data to target your Customers and Prospects.

Click Here for a list of Data Diagnostic services to help get your data Validated and Enhanced. No matter what the size of your database, get in touch here and you could have your data cleansed and ready for action within the next few days.

Free Audit

Provide 100 lines of your data as a CSV file and I will produce an overview of what your data “looks like”.

Data Analysis