2020 turned out to be one of the most challenging years for all business owners – big, small and mid sized. It has been widely reported that the growth attained by businesses and E Commerce online was the same as the quantum of growth attained in the past decade. So, everyone who owns a business soon realized that going digital was the only way forward in the face of a seemingly unending pandemic. This is where the small business owners found themselves in quite a fix – how to employ the right resources to go and stay online?
Going online is one thing and make a profit online is a whole other thing. Sustainability online is a matter of adopting digital tools that can shape the way you do business. Plus, the employment of such tools can also have an effect of how a customer or an audience group may perceive you. This is especially crucial when you are the owner of a small business. Getting and using CRM software is one of the foremost things that every business needs to do today, irrespective of size. In fact, many would argue that to grow as a brand, every small business needs to use the right CRM software.
But first, what is a CRM software?
CRM or customer relationship management can be described as a system, a process, a software, or even a platform. This kind of a software is often used to organize the resources in terms of functions and the goals of the organization. It reaches out to a number of areas of operation including sales and marketing, with a focus on lead generation, nurturing and conversion, more than anything else. Accordingly, the roles of the team members are set and automation is kickstarted so that the mundane is taken care of, while the core skills are indulged in the right way and towards the right direction.
Now that we have set the stage to understand what a CRM software really is and why you should be using CRM software, let us understand the 6 major benefits that one gets by employing such a system. These benefits have been laid down specifically in keeping with the small business owner and what the right CRM software can do for their business.
- Organization: This is the dream of every small business owner. Who does not want to be organized in those beginner, nascent stages of the business when every owner ends up playing multiple roles to keep the cost overrun at the very lowest? That would be pretty much every small business owner and their teams as well! There are a number of tasks and resources that can easily overwhelm the small business owner. The key is not only to pick the right mix of resources and make an optimum killing by reaching goals with scarce resources, but to also be well organized enough to tap all those varied opportunities available – especially online. This is where the CRM software steps in to save the day and help the small business become organized enough to plough through towards its goals in a realistic and optimum manner.
- Cost and Economics: Now this is a major thing that every small business owner necessarily has to consider and think about while building a scalable and successful business. The right CRM software would help the business owner understand which leads are the best ones to pursue even as multiple other tasks are taken care of, on the same platform. This would easily eliminate the cost of bringing in an employee or a team to handle such monotonous and mundane tasks in the marketing funnel and the sales pipeline. Therefore, it is important to recognize this massive benefit since the right CRM software can actually bring in the same results at a fraction of the cost and within a lesser amount of time as well.
- Focus on the Customer: Many small business owners often find themselves complaining of how they are not able to concentrate on the customers because they have to focus instead, on the sustainability and day to day running of the small business that has a small team and limited resources at its disposal. With a CRM at the helm of things, one would be able to focus on the customer since the smaller tasks are easily automated. This will help the business render memorable and more satisfying customer service.
- Building Better Teams: One of the main objectives of running a small business that is poised for growth, is to build a strong team that has the perfect balance and coordination. This can be achieved by using CRM software that would help organize the goals in terms of functions before structuring the automation to help in better team collaboration. This would reduce the time it takes to coordinate and communicate since the automated notifications would make everyone’s life much easier!
- Better Analytics: When you are running a small business, it would be easy to lose sight of the direction and the goals that you have set for yourself. With a CRM software in the picture, you would get regular insights and analytics so that you are able to take corrective action and check the direction of your progress as well. This would also help you find and chart more profitable goals, thus saving you much revenue and profit in the long run!
- Integrations: When you are able to integrate your social media, email and landing pages along with your core CRM tasks and functions, that would be a win win for everyone. That is the whole point of adopting a CRM software, in fact. This kind of a platform would help you control your presence and the activities related to the same from one place so that your time and cost are both saved in the bargain. You would do well to bring in such a system to take care of team building and resources.
