As a business owner, there are many things to take into consideration. On the one hand, lead generation and customer satisfaction are your top priority. You are constantly developing ways of attracting and keeping clients and improving your interaction channels.
On the other hand, there are so many other business processes that are the base of your company. You have to track the progress of ongoing projects, allocate a budget, implement quality control, and so much more.
You might think that to be most efficient in achieving all project objectives, you require multiple tools. But what if I told you that there is a unified task management solution for both small businesses and huge corporations?
Introducing you to customer relationship management (CRM) software, which includes project management tools. What are the benefits of investing in all-in-one solutions? Are CRM and project management different processes? How to choose the best CRM software with project management features? All these questions will be covered in this article.
You have probably heard about CRM and project management. But what is the difference, and how can these 2 systems be intertwined in a unified platform?
CRM, also known as customer relationship management, is a procedure for establishing customer relationships via various communication channels. This a very important process in increasing client satisfaction and improving your sales numbers and usually includes:
Customer data management;
Contact management;
Sales pipeline management;
Lead generation;
Creating marketing campaigns.
By implementing software development and all the pre-installed automation, the sales team spends less time on repetitive work, focusing on customers and their needs. But why do you need a CRM that has project management capabilities and what is the difference?
In general, CRM's main focus is sales process and customer satisfaction, while project management focuses on outlining all actions within the project timelines. Some major differences between these 2 terms include:
Priority and focus
CRM: Clients, interactions, and relationships with them throughout the entire sales funnel, starting from lead to the loyal customer, making sure you are on the same page.
Project management: completing the project, considering the deadlines, budget, employees, and other potential variables.
Components
CRM: All stages included in the sales funnel: lead marketing; conversion from lead to customer; and post-purchase support.
Project management: Project preposition; outlining the time limits, goals, and all necessities; the working state; monitoring and controlling; completing the project and summing up the results.
Executing
CRM: Constant work on improving customer-related activities.
Project management: From the established date of project start till the deadline.
Project management CRM software allows you to face all customer's needs by taking into consideration various companies' conditions and requirements without dragging the focus away from the client. This way, all the processes have a seamless integration, minimizing the potential issues and rough edges.
CRM collects and categorizes customer data when project management tools are used to upgrade the efficiency of business processes based on what the software acquired. This can be done with implemented features like:
project tasks distribution;
customer and project data analytics;
marketing automation;
outlining sales pipelines;
ability to track customer interactions;
team collaboration and communication;
collecting client feedback from customer service teams.
Keep in mind that not all CRM systems provide project management tools. Some of them cannot be used for data collection or arranging customer support communication.
This can be unfortunate, especially for small businesses, since they might need to invest in several services, which can be out of their budget. So, combining CRM and project management platforms can be a real find. Be careful and attentive when choosing software. Bitrix24 is the one we are sure of since it is one of the systems and can also be used as a CRM for project management.
Bitrix24 is a place where everyone can communicate, collaborate, and manage daily activities. Automate routine and encourage teamwork!
Get StartedSo, how to choose the best CRM project management software? For that, we must go through the variety of features such tools provide to know what to look for. By combining the 2 software, you will be able to get the best out of all processes with advantages from both systems.
While the CRM system is used to collect your customer data from various channels, the project management tool allows you to categorize lead information based on geography, interest, social media preference, and purchase probability. This way, your team will spend more time focusing on other metrics and strategies or report compilation so that repetitive processes can be automated.
The project management system is very useful in converting leads into customers. With new technologies, like AI, you can be even more efficient by:
Creating a website bot. Customers can have most questions answered by a chatbot. Your CRM with project management (and a little bit of AI, like the CoPilot virtual assistant) will help you analyze and create answers to the most common questions.
Create a customer persona. With data from CRM and project management platforms, you can analyze the massive of your customers to create buyer personas and personalize your approach.
Feedback surveys. Use analytics and AI to create forms for feedback collection to find the most effective way to manage projects.
Documentation management is a vital part of any organization. A time when you had to keep piles of paper is long gone, thanks to the integration of a CRM project management platform.
All your documents and other gathered data are stored in one place, so there is a need to go through various applications trying to find one specific piece of information. Everything is kept together in cloud software.
This is especially handy for field employees who might require access on the go. All analytics, schedules, calendar, and project status are in the palm of your hand (the best CRM software provides a version for mobile devices as well).
Outlining and updating your sales funnel should be one of your priorities if you plan to gather new customers. The sales pipeline shows a person's position throughout the entire sales process, whether he is a potential lead, has just purchased a product, or needs post-purchase help.
To efficiently manage the sales funnel, the main features of a CRM project management tool must include the following:
Lead management;
Dashboard;
Funnel management;
Feedback collection;
Ability to track progress of the lead.
This helps to determine the best strategies to convert leads into customers based on how effective each separate process is. With provided statistics, project managers can make data-driven decisions to increase the number of sales and customers.
This feature goes both ways: for employees and customers as well. CRM project management solutions are usually built with easy and intuitive navigation so that even a new employee wouldn't need too much time to adapt.
Although, if the software has a wide range of features, it will take time to adapt. But having all that you need stored in one place is totally worth it.
You might wonder what the user-friendliness of my CRM system has to do with clients. First of all, this software manages all your communication channels with the customers, so they should be able to find the preferable one with ease. It also controls the way you receive customer feedback. All forms must be understandable and not too disturbing for the clients.
CRM with project management software must include integrations with various popular software. This way, you can implement CRM project management solutions without disturbing the already established processes.
It is also easier to work with applications and tools that are used by almost everyone. Such integrations include:
Calendar software synchronization;
Main email providers, like Gmail;
Video calls and conferences, Like Zoom and Google Meet;
Cloud-storages;
Messaging and calling apps.
Creating and monitoring the project management process is hard and requires constant focus and attention. With so much information being displayed and analyzed, visualization comes in handy.
The project manager must look for CRM features like:
Kanban board;
Gantt chart
Sales funnel outlining.
These tools will help you make data-driven decisions and provide task management faster. You can easily check everyone's progress. All team members have access to the same data, so daily updates are a matter of minutes. You can also notice the potential issues just in time before any severe consequences occur.
Implementing main company strategies usually requires the collaboration of different project teams. On the other hand, one person can work on multiple projects. In both cases, establishing clear communication is paramount.
All team members must have access to the ongoing communication. Managing projects will get so much easier when there is no need to keep an eye on who knows what and whether everyone is able to receive the updates.
CRM with project management also allows you to grant access to outside personas if needed. For example, if you collaborate with an influencer or need some deeper customer feedback. These people will only be able to view the permitted data, so there is no need to worry about the security of your files.
To help you make the final decision on whether you need a CRM with a project management tool, we have listed the pros and cons of such software.
Some of these were briefly mentioned before, but let's outline all the main benefits of investing in a unified platform.
First of all, there is no need to acquire multiple software. The price for each is approximately the same, yet combined together, the amount of money you spend on moth systems is much higher than investing in a joined platform.
Secondly, with all data stored in one place, you are not wasting time finding the documents, and you can also make linked analytics on separate data. This way, you can make more precise data-driven decisions that take into consideration multiple factors.
Every team and department has its own task to finish. However, it is important to understand the entire picture and everyone's contribution and responsibilities.
Starting from project planning, managers establish the goal and the priorities. Some tasks are intertwined, so having access to data from other teams can be the basis for the next step for another department.
The first line of communication with your clients is your customer support team. They are the ones who know most of the client's most common and urgent issues.
If this team is separate from the other departments, managers won't be even aware of the potential problems. An additional communication obstacle will delay updates and new solutions. Most customers do not like to wait and see that their difficulties were not addressed, which will only lead to them leaving.
Without doing thorough research, investing in the wrong software can lead to more problems than improvement. So, keep in mind some potential cons to choose the best option on the market.
Many CRM softwares have an add-on system. This means that every additional feature will cost money, and the initial price will go high in an instant. Look into the features that the initial software version provides and make sure it includes all the tools you might need.
There are also plenty of options that have a free version. For example, Bitrix24 provides all the main tools for free, which can be a game changer, especially for a small business.
As we mentioned previously in this article, these processes have different timelines. While CRM is an ongoing process of working on customer relationships, project management has a set timeline.
On some occasions, the goals of these 2 processes can mix, drafting the focus from the established priorities. That's why separation can be needed for higher team productivity without distractions from data from other departments.
Bitrix24 is a place where everyone can communicate, collaborate, and manage daily activities. Automate routine and encourage teamwork!
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