For any business to be successful, it needs to have a good process to keep things moving in the right direction. Mcdonalds’ does this well – no matter where you are in the world, the Mcdonalds’ experience is near identical to the one you have at home! This doesn’t happen by chance; it is down to the management and processes that are implemented throughout the McDonalds across the globe. This leads us to your question about CRM systems.
What is a CRM System?
CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management – which is basically a technology which helps us to manage the relationships with our customers.
A customer relationship management system is used by many businesses to manage interactions with customers and potential customers. It is a tool to help you streamline your processes by organising your customer data so that you can increase your sales, provide a better service to your customers and increase your profitability.
What information is added to CRM software?
As this technology manages the relationships you have with your customers, it needs data on your customers. This includes their name, name of their business, email address, telephone number, address, website address and more!
The purpose of the CRM system is to organise all of this information so that you can better understand the relationship with your customers over time.
What are the benefits of a CRM system?
If you’re a small business with a small client base, an excel spreadsheet is probably more than enough.
However, if you’re a growing organisation, you need to invest in a system that will automate and manage your data more efficiently.
Some of the benefits and advantages of a customer relationship management system include:
- Better management of customer data
- Contact management – all contact with the customer is recorded so that the team has history and notes of customer interactions
- Increased productivity. Emails can be automated to help follow up with potential customers, and information is stored efficiently.
- High level view of sales management. Assess your pipeline and track sales.
- Customer behaviour analytics – this will help you to understand your customers and forecast sales.
- Increased customer satisfaction and retention – having a log of customer interactions and their journey helps to anticipate issues or resolve complaints easily.
- Data for improvement – identify gaps, improve what you offer and how you’re communicating with your customers.
- Marketing ROI – if you know how you have acquired your customers, you can identify what marketing channels are working best for your business.
Bespoke CRM vs off-the-shelf-software
Whether you’re thinking about using your first CRM system or you have one already implemented into your business, here are some benefits to both options…
Off- the-shelf-software
As the name already suggests, this is software that is readily available for your business to buy off the shelf. It is essentially a software product that is universal and built for the mass market. As it is built for a wider audience, the technology is more generic to suit more businesses and their needs.
Cheaper to begin with
From a pricing perspective, off-the-shelf software is initially cheaper, to begin with. Sometimes it’s even free! For a small business, a pre-built CRM is a great solution and is highly recommended.
It is ready for use, now!
No waiting around months, or years for a bespoke CRM system to be developed. It is ready to purchase and start using immediately.
Bespoke CRM development
Bespoke software development is built purposely for your unique business. No other business operates in the exact same way that you do, even if you are in the same industry.
Built for your unique business
Quite often, with off-the-shelf software, there are many elements that are not needed for your business. This can feel overwhelming for many businesses when there is an abundance of elements on the systems that are confusing, distracting or not applicable to your unique business. Conversely, there might be elements that are missing from the system that you know your business would benefit from. Bespoke software that is built for your company, will ensure you have everything that your growing business needs.
Scalable
Your business is growing, it needs software to grow with it. A bespoke CRM is scalable as it evolves and adapts to your business requirements. Off-the-shelf solutions are usually restricted, and if any recommendations are offered to improve the system – you can be waiting for years until they are actually implemented.
More cost-effective
We can’t argue that initially, off-the-shelf software saves you money. But, once your growing business needs more accounts or features – it can cost your business a lot more than a bespoke CRM system.
We have worked with businesses that have saved tens of thousands of pounds by contracting us to build them a bespoke system.
Manage your business better
If you are looking for a better system that will not only save you money but will improve your sales and customer relationships; get in touch with Code Galaxy today. Based in Lancashire, we are specialists in bespoke software development.
