A while back, one of our sales associates sparked an interesting conversation with the owner of a small business (SMB) who brought up two very important questions. The owner asked that if they'd been in business for over twenty years, why would they need a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution now? They subsequently asked, “how would I ensure to get the maximum Return on Investment (ROI) after implementing the CRM solution?"
Questions like these are asked often by businesses who are used to doing business in a particular and conventional way, and wonder if there are in fact any advantages from adopting the new IT buzzword solution (in this case, CRM). Thus arises the classical commercial question, why fix something if it's not broken?
To better explain why CRM is a necessity for all 21st Century businesses, both small and large, it is pertinent to understand what CRM is and does. A Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, solution is used in assisting organizations manage business-customer interactions is an organized fashion. By organized fashion we mean creating a consolidated view (interface) of all engagement and communications with current and/or potential customers. Depending on the type of CRM solution deployed, this gives the organization some or all of the following functionality:
In the current digital era, the majority of customers have the ability to be more knowledgeable about products and services offered by an organization and its competitors. Within this competitive environment, CRM has become the tool that enables an organization to be more effective and efficient in their method of marketing.
After crossing the hurdle of deciding that a CRM is necessary, the next stage is ensuring the CRM deployment gives the best ROI. For an SMB, this is done by considering the following points: