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Maybe you've heard about CRM systems but you're not sure if your business is really ready to make the jump. There are many scenarios that highlight why CRM is important for future success. If one or more of these situations apply to you, the right CRM could make a big difference to your business:
 

1. You don’t have a single view of the customer

 

Does your business have customer and order information in more than one location? If the answer is “yes”, then that's one glaring reason why you need a CRM.

If you have customer details in spreadsheets (or sticky notes), then your sales team – and everyone else who interacts with your customers – is at a disadvantage. When information changes in one system, it isn't automatically updated in the other/s. There's no complete, single view of every customer’s contact information, orders and interactions.

A CRM system brings together all of your customer data – from sales, service and marketing – so you can access, track, sort, analyse and take action on it instantly, from anywhere.
 

2. You don’t have insight into sales and service performance

 

If you don’t have a single view of the customer, it’s highly likely that you also lack insight into what your salespeople and customer service teams are doing. And, if you’re not sure what they’re doing, it’s harder to help them be successful and keep them accountable.


 

3. You create reports manually

 

Do you and your team go through the cumbersome process of creating reports by hand? If so, your performance-tracking capabilities can probably be described as “slim to none”. Not to mention, the report-creating process is no doubt tedious and painful.

A CRM system enables you to automatically generate reports and gather insights into your sales team’s monthly progress against their quotas.
 

4. You’re losing track of customer data

 

Is it hard for you to schedule follow-ups with customers and prospects because you’re not sure what you’re following up on? If your customer interactions aren’t being tracked, important details often get lost – especially if an employee leaves the business.
 

5. You can’t access customer information away from the office

 

When your sales reps are out in the field, can they quickly find the resources they need to close a deal? And when they are meeting prospects and discovering valuable information, does the rest of your company ever get to see it? Data stored in handwritten notes and on laptops is an untapped gold mine.

Cloud-based CRM systems mean every user has access to the same information, at any time, from any location. This means your sales teams out on the road can check data and update customer records instantly. Meanwhile, the same information is available to anyone who needs it within the business – from sales to service.
 

6. You struggle to personalise your offers and content

 

Are you sending the same types of offers and messages to all of your customers and prospects? If so, you’re missing out. To make the most of every interaction, you need the ability to target prospects based on their industry, location, stage of the buying process and value to your business at a bare minimum.
 

7. You can’t easily scale for growth

 

What if your company grew from 20 to 200 employees this year? Are you confident your business processes could scale as quickly as the demand? Winning new customers and growing your business is great – unless your processes stand in the way of hard-earned success.

So, you’ve determined that you need a CRM, but not sure where to start? Keep reading ‘CRM 101: Part 4 – How to choose a CRM solution’, or check out what makes Salesforce the world’s number one CRM.