How big does a company need to be before a CRM system is necessary?
Many start-ups and small businesses assume that spreadsheets are good enough to track contact information for their stage of development. This method is viewed as a way to keep the budget lean, because, after all, they’re both databases, aren’t they?
Here’s the sad truth: Opting for spreadsheets to handle CRM functions, even for the time being, may actually cost a small organization, and it might not even realize it’s happening.
Our grandparents called it being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
4 hidden costs of waiting to get CRM
Waiting costs you speed. “We all know the speed of customer engagement is not the same as it was. That means you must have information at your fingertips so you can provide the right feedback and content in the right channels, and turn their interest into a full-blown relationship,” says Brent Leary, co-founder, and partner, CRM Essentials LLC. “In today’s digital business environment, you need a system that allows you to speak [personally, we’d add] to a number of people in a short amount of time, and you can’t do that in a spreadsheet.”
Plus, your time is valuable and so is that of your staff. With a spreadsheet, time drains away with scrolling and searching and switching from one to another. A modern engagement CRM system puts data and actions at your fingertips all on the same platform.
Waiting costs you customer engagement. “In today’s world, you need to have a customer engagement process right from the very beginning,” says Leary. Say you do some marketing, and somebody you reach wants to learn more about your products. A modern engagement process will help you respond quickly and effectively so you can keep the momentum of interest going.
Waiting costs you relational insights. Who knows who? Who in your company talked with a particular customer about what? Are they happy with your offerings? Whom have they referred to you? CRM systems are relational databases, meaning they make tracking and utilizing disparate types of information quick and easy. They provide visibility into things spreadsheets can’t.
Waiting costs you a great impression. Most customers today expect to do business with companies that utilize technology to deliver fast, personalized service the way they want it. That’s impossible to do old-school, with spreadsheets. They might have been an innovation back in the 1990s. But today you need more. It’s like the difference between GPS and reaching into the glovebox, finding the right map, and unfolding it to find your way.
As Leary says, “There’s no such thing as too soon when it comes to CRM systems.”
It is truly in the best interest of any size company to make the move to a CRM system like Sales, Marketing, and Support Creatio. Modern engagement requires modern technology. The costs are too high to put on hold. And the value Creatio delivers can accelerate your business development.
Are you ready to move into 2021 with a modern engagement system?
Contact us to learn more. Email or call: 269-445-3001
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20 Warning signs your business needs a CRM system - Part I
Topics: Results Gained with CRM Engagement improvement Accelerate Business Transformation
