3 reasons why CRM is essential for SMBs

Although more and more SMEs opt for a cloud-based CRM system, many SMEs are still unfamiliar with a CRM system.

CRM is essential for SMEs because it increases efficiency, makes communication(more) personal and analyzes leads better. In this blog we will take you through those three advantages:

Increasing efficiency

A major annoyance among SMEs is administrative chaos. The contact information is not up-to-date, incorrect or even lost. These situations are annoying for you, but also for your employees and customers. Time is precious and you lose a lot of time this way.

Contact management is one of the core functionalities of a CRM system. The system records all contact moments and thus creates a total overview. Employees can view (customer) reports, so that no more time is lost in searching for that data. Reports can be easily transferred within a team. The customer benefits from this speed and clarity: they also have all relevant information in one place. This ensures transparency, because they have insight into exactly where they stand.

In short: it increases efficiency through better (customer) insight. This saves time and improves business operations.

Personal communication to the customer

A CRM solution ensures that communication with each customer becomes more personal. The system tracks the history of customer contact. Tracking your customers is essential: it ensures that you can send the right message to the right person at the right time, based on measurable needs. This improves interaction and increases conversion.
Of course, there are many ways to record contact information or conversations with customers, such as in spreadsheets or the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. But those options don't give a complete picture of the relationship with your customer. It is difficult to create personal communication with this method. Entering data manually also wastes time (and money).

In short: with a CRM system, your company can store all the contact details, preferences and history of every customer and lead. This way you always keep and make the conversation personal, relevant and up-to-date.

Data analytics

Without a CRM system, it is difficult to keep track of interactions with prospects and customers, which allows you to follow up on sales opportunities in a timely manner. Leads slip through your fingers before you even have a good picture of them.
A CRM system tackles that problem by generating reports and forecasts. With that data analysis you can better target customers to increase your sales. This way you ensure that you have a clear view of every opportunity or lead: from the first information request to the final sale. This gives you more insight into the sales pipeline and the work that is to come.
The system allows sales managers to view reliable information through the system, for example to check the extent to which specific team members are achieving their targets. In addition, the performance of teams, products and campaigns can be viewed in a broader sense. These analyzes ensure that sales managers can implement improvements in time.

Are you convinced that as an SME you want to purchase a cloud-based CRM solution? Or do you still have doubts whether this is right for your company? Then contact us!

Sources:

Waarom CRM een essentiële tool is voor het MKB – Salesforce NL Blog

Small Business CRM. Cloud CRM en relatiebeheer software voor het MKB – Salesforce Nederland – Salesforce Nederland,