Does Your Business Need a CRM?

At Coellaborations, we've been busy working on customizing a new CRM platform for a professional services client. So now seems like a great time to share a few insights on what CRM software does, the benefits, and whether you might need to consider it for your business.

And what even is a CRM? You might ask!

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.

Put simply, it's software that acts as your digital address book, enabling you to track and keep in touch with all of your customers.

CRMs are most commonly used to manage a sales pipeline of potential customers. However, a well designed CRM can also offer valuable insights for marketing purposes and improve the overall customer experience.

A CRM will help you get organized and manage all of the data about your customers. How did they find you, when did you last engage with them, what is their estimated value as a customer? Not only will this allow you to focus your efforts, there are often opportunities to automate your workflows. Imagine a world where you were notified if you hadn't heard from your customers in a while and could choose to email them automatically.

CRM software also empowers teams to work more efficiently and present a unified front. No prospective customer wants to be contacted by three different people asking the same question. Let alone having to start over two years later when they come back calling, instead of being able to pick up where you left off as you have easy access to all their prior communications.

You might find that your website builder or marketing software contains a lightweight version of a CRM, effectively displaying all of your contacts. At Coellaborations, we're a big fan of consolidating technologies and keeping things simple. But if you have more customers than you can keep up with, or people on your radar that you would like to become customers, you might need a CRM with more features.

There are a vast array of different CRM softwares on the market that range in terms of price and capabilities. Ultimately, which CRM is the right fit will depend on your business, your customers and your needs.

If you need help choosing the right CRM for your business or setting it up for success, please do get in touch!