Do I need a CRM

Here’s a short introduction to what a CRM is, who needs it, and how to find one for a small business.

Do these problems sound familiar?

Let’s first take a quick look at some of the most common challenges small businesses have.

Problems

Disjointed client history

Contact info and emails are all over the place

Forgetting to follow up

Nothing prompts you to get in touch with a contact

No repeatable processes

No templates, manual and time-consuming processes

Lost meeting notes

Lack of focus, too many apps that are not integrated

Out-of-sync team

Clients repeat themselves to different team members

These problems lead to

Poor results

Missed sales opportunities

Inefficient workflows

Low customer retention

Slow growth or stagnation

Stress and burnout

Organizing client information in spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are easy.

They are a simple-to-build, low-cost, and familiar solution.

But here’s the catch.

Once your business starts to grow, so does the number of rows and columns in your spreadsheet… up until the spreadsheet bursts at the seams.

What is a CRM?

Three main CRM features

Database storage and management

Remind you to follow up.
Encourage regular client interactions.
Promote personalized approach.

Relationship-building functionality

Store client information.
Provide tools for sales management.
Integrate with other business apps.

A unique built-in methodology

For example, the Next Action principle or Inbound Marketing.

Which CRM does your business need?

With thousands of CRMs on the market, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Here’s a simple classification that will help you narrow down the number of choices.

To find the best CRM,
you need to know if it’s admin- or action-focused.

SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERPRISE

Action-focused CRM

Admin-focused CRM

Client-centric

Simple functionality

No training required

Starting from $9-10 per month

Process-centric

Multiple features

Training required

Starting from $99 per month

The Action Stream is the most notable feature of an action-focused CRM

Although it might seem similar to a spreadsheet, there’s a powerful functionality behind this simple interface.

The Action Stream turns a client database into a color-coded to-do list with follow-up reminders next to every contact.

Every contact in the Action Stream has an individual page with all details, notes, emails, sales deals, and even document attachments.

How to choose
the best CRM?

You need to identify where your business stands.

6 Questions to Ask When Selecting a CRM

1.Do you want to simplify internal communications?

A good CRM should help your team stay on the same page and share information efficiently by:

Keeping all of your relevant sales information in one place
Ensuring the information is always up-to-date
Giving everyone access to these details
Acting as a “single source” of data

Your CRM should take team collaboration to the next level by giving team members access to centralized customer data and a shared calendar. It should also eliminate the need for team leaders to take on a liaison role where they’re constantly trying to “keep everyone in the loop.”

2.Do you want comprehensive access to customer information in a single database?

Trying to manage your customer information without a CRM is a recipe for lost information, and ultimately, lost sales. The right system will allow you to track every piece of information related to each customer relationship, including:

Adding unlimited contacts per customer
Tracking customer interactions (meetings, phone calls, emails, etc.)
Specifying customer preferences
Maintaining details on quotes, invoices, and payments

Customer communications and scheduling should also be streamlined, allowing every member of your team to provide efficient and informed customer service.

Need to follow up with a particular customer next week? No problem. Ideally, you’ll schedule a follow-up activity and the CRM will automatically send you a reminder about it.

Wondering when your team last touched base with a customer and what was discussed? No sweat. With shared access to notes and activities in your CRM, it should be simple to check what’s happening with an account, without needing to track down your colleagues.

3.Do you want to make it easier to identify quality leads?

This is where your sales team will get excited. One thing a CRM should do — and this is a must-have — is help you turn your contacts into leads and turn those leads into customers. The system might help you accomplish those goals by:

Capturing leads from your website through a contact form
Allowing you to easily convert emails in your inbox into new leads
Allowing you to mass import existing spreadsheets of leads

Once the leads are in your CRM, a comprehensive system should help you streamline the lead management process. This might involve categorizing and filtering your leads and tracking the status of potential sales in your pipeline. With these features, you’ll be well-equipped to close deals faster.

4.Do you want to streamline marketing campaigns?

A sophisticated CRM will help you streamline your email communications with existing and potential customers, allowing you to easily share reminders, promotions, and announcements. The platform should help you:

Strategically filter your contacts based on key criteria
Create mailing lists for targeted email campaigns
Send out mass emails

Whether the CRM offers built-in email campaign functionality or integrates with other email marketing software, you should be able to leverage your customer data for better marketing results.

5.Could you benefit from automating some manual tasks?

Automating manual tasks is more than just an individual pursuit — it’s now a widespread and fast-growing trend in every sector and industry.

No matter what your business does, there are many repetitive administrative tasks that can take away from your day-to-day productivity. These might include:

Processing orders
Creating and sending invoices
Managing inventory
Turning timesheets into reports

Of course, every business has unique needs related to these complex processes, so it’s hard for out-of-the-box software to accommodate them. If you’re looking to streamline and automate specific tasks, it’s worth looking for a CRM that can be customized for your business.

6.Plus: A bonus question — to be shared at the end!

It’s time to unveil the bonus question. And if you’ve already answered “yes” to the previous five questions, this could be the one that makes the final decision for you:

Does your business use QuickBooks?

This is key. If you already use QuickBooks for your accounting, then KESTONE:CRM could be the perfect CRM for you.

KESTONE:CRM offers a two-way, real-time sync with QuickBooks, giving you one centralized view of your customers, transactions and sales data. It’s a great solution that allows you to make full use of your QuickBooks data while extending its power far beyond accounting.

Plus, with Method:CRM’s complete lead and customer management features and fully customizable platform, you’ll have everything you need to streamline your operations and grow your sales.

7 must-have CRM features

	Spreadsheets/Google Sheets	Action-focusedCRMs	Admin-focused CRMs
Use for	Simple data management	Follow-up reminders, lead generation, sales efficiency, workflow automation, email management	Hyper-customization and all-in-one platform (CRM + CMS + ERP)
Ease of use	No training required	No training required	Training required (often paid)
Focus	Information-centricContact details and notes	Relationship-centricA full picture of every client profile with seamless integration between your contact, deals, and services databases	Processes-centricA variety of in-depth customization options
Price	Free	Starting from $9-10 per month	Starting from $20-50 per month

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