So, how do you decide if your company really needs CRM software?
Surprisingly, there is no simple answer. Experience and analysis shows that many
companies have spent lots of time, effort and money on CRM software and associated
services with minimal benefits. The main observation is that the work has just gone
on as before. The mistake that these companies have made is that they have just
jumped on the bandwagon without really understanding their needs and evaluating
what the CRM software really has to offer them.
There are questions you need to ask before making a decision to purchase CRM software;
1. Does everyone in your business who communicates
with a customer or prospect know what their colleagues
said to them or did for them?
2. Is all contact information kept in one area, accessible
by everyone for ease of access and reference?
3. Do you have a single database of product, pricing,
quotes, competitive analysis, supplier information that can
be accessed to benefit your sales efforts?
4. Do you know how many customer service issues each
customer has had and why?
5. Do you know which customers consume most of your
customer service representatives time?
6. Do you know how many interactions are required
to close an opportunity?
7. Is your marketing software integrated with your
contact database?
8. Is all critical customer data stored centrally?