Small Business Owners: Find Out Why You Need A CRM System

Posted on Jul 24 2015 - 6:04pm by Editorial Staff

Do you run a small business? If so, you will know how hard it can be to keep a track of everything on a day-to-day basis. There isn’t a small business owner on the planet that won’t agree with that fact!

When you have many roles in your business, it’s easy to let things slip through the net. As a result, you increase the potential to let your customers down. Sometimes, the problem is keeping track of your new clients. Or even the ones that show an interest in what you sell.

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It’s for those reasons that I recommend you get a CRM system. But, what exactly is it? What can it do, and how can it help your small business? All those questions and more will get answered below:

What is a CRM system?

CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management.” As the name suggests, it’s a way of managing the customers you have. It’s also a computer-based system, so if you’re a technophobe, you’ll hate using it! But, if you’re IT literate, you’ll find it a simple and effective solution.

Businesses have used CRM systems since PC use became widespread all those years ago. There was once a time where CRMs were the sole domain of large corporations. Nowadays, there is a raft of choice for small businesses just like yours!

Why do I need a CRM system?

The answer is simple: to manage your customers. Chances are, you’re not using a good solution to keep track of sales prospects. That means you could be losing a lot of potential revenue!

Most entrepreneurs get a CRM for small business growth because they want to expand. After all; in today’s tough economic climate, the last thing you want is to flat line!

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CRMs can work for your business in many different ways. For example, let’s say that you’ve got a website. You can use it to capture a sales prospect’s details and link into your system. The automation helps you cut down on wasted hours doing data entry work.

Your marketers can use a CRM to determine which channels work for engaging interest. Other people in your business can also see when to follow up sales prospects. As you can tell, it’s a versatile system that offers many uses within a small business.

Can’t I just use emails?

Yes, you can. But there is one major problem with relying on an email system: it’s decentralized! That means only one person (you) can access them. And giving out your email login details is never a good idea.

With a CRM system, each user has their own login credentials. It doesn’t matter whether you’d have one or one thousand users. CRMs can still offer the same powerful features to anyone that uses them.

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Another issue with emails is that you might forget to forward them on! Let’s say that you receive all the general emails at your company. What happens if you forget to forward a message to your sales team? Well, you can kiss goodbye any chances of converting that sales prospect!

CRMs provide tracking for all users. That means each user knows when to action a particular task. An example might be following up a phone conversation with a client.

So, when will you get a CRM system for your small business?

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.