9 Basic Criteria for CRM Selection

Running and managing your own business processes involves many moving parts and would sometimes require you to wear many different hats. In this day and age, where there is an overabundance of choices and options of CRM software providers and other businesses to partner with, how can you make sure your clients are happy with your partnership? How can you make your business stand out among the rest?

The bulk of it lies in how you build and nurture your customer relationships – past, present, and future. This is where a CRM solution comes in. Since it has a grand impact on all your business objectives and customer journey, a CRM selection process is crucial for your business growth.

Let's have a closer look at what CRM software is, what is the best CRM software on the market and why you need it in your daily ins and outs to hopefully help you in your methodical selection of CRM software.

Learning What Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Is

CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management. It's a system in place to help your sales and marketing teams manage your customer relationships with the aid of technology. There are many additional features in the right CRM software to help with all your business needs. These include:

• marketing tools for your sales team;

• project management tools;

• sales pipeline outline;

• sales management;

• analytics for targeted marketing efforts;

• data security regulations;

• sales and marketing automation tools;

• customer service activities analytics that tracks customer interactions

Most businesses use CRM solutions to schedule and prioritize tasks per client to ensure none of them falls through the cracks. Others use CRM systems for sales reps, while some use systems to get to know their clients better to improve customer satisfaction.

As your business grows, you want to make sure that none of your clients feels neglected and that their companies grow alongside yours.

Along with keeping existing clients happy you also want to be able to regularly acquire new customer relations and leave the door open for old ones to come back. The right CRM software streamlines all your business operations and customer data to help you achieve this and more. Therefore, you need to be conscientious and thoughtful in your CRM selection process.

Types of CRM Systems

There are 3 key types of CRM solutions that you can consider using for your line of business (LOB) depending on your needs – Operational, Analytical, and Collaborative. By learning about each type, you will get a general understanding of the existing tools and purposes of each CRM software.

Operational CRM Software

This CRM software helps a business's sales, marketing, and service automation systems be more efficient. An operational CRM solution also helps generate leads, convert from leads to actual contracts, and provide service for as long as the contract is in place.

By tracking interactions with potential customers, an operational CRM can provide valuable insights into their behavior and preferences, which can then be used to personalize marketing and sales efforts. This way, you can boost customer satisfaction and improve customer experience.

Analytical CRM Software

This type of CRM solution mainly helps the management, marketing, sales, and support teams find better ways to keep their customers happy by using customer data and information gathered through various sources.

By collecting and analyzing the collected data, including customer interactions, purchase histories, and social media activity, analytical CRM solutions can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and behavior:

1. By analyzing data on customer preferences, an analytical CRM can help your business create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to resonate with your target audience.

2. By tracking customer interactions and feedback, CRM can help identify areas where customer service can be improved, as well as identify common issues that customers are facing during the sales process.

Collaborative (or Strategic) CRM Software

The focus of these CRMs is letting an organization share customer information with others solely with the aim of using whatever customer information is gathered to gain loyalty and acquire new customers to drive sales.

This type may be used by the management team to share customer feedback or questionnaire answers with the marketing and sales teams to help increase sales and revenue.

Collaborative CRMs can help improve customer service and support by providing a unified view of customer interactions and issues. By sharing information across different teams, businesses can ensure that customer inquiries and complaints are addressed in a timely and effective manner, leading to higher satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Preparing for a CRM Selection Process

Before actually diving into choosing CRM software, you need to gather general information about your business processes. This will help you determine the best option since you'll be more aware of the possible needs of your company.

Here is a CRM selection checklist to go through before looking into CRM vendors:

1. How many employees do you have? Which of them are going to use the CRM features?

2. How much money can you spend on the CRM tools yearly?

3. What are the main business processes in your company?

4. What work processes need improvement?

5. Do you need software integrations like Gmail and Google Meet?

6. Do you need lead management?

7. What are your marketing channels?

8. Is there a need to look into cloud-based CRM solutions?

By answering all these questions, you will be ready to choose CRM software based on the actual data and save time when searching.

Criteria for Choosing a CRM Provider

egardless of your LOB, most businesses have pretty much the same grocery list of crucial things to keep the venture afloat. These items make up your selection criteria for choosing the right CRM solution provider for your business. They can be (although not restricted to) the following:

1. Grow the business

Being able to attract new leads with customized social media and online marketing campaigns is an important criterion for a CRM system. You also need a system that lets you find out which leads to pursue with tailored web forms.

2. Organization of tools, lead, and data

Choose a CRM system that allows you to streamline business operations and sort through leads with a targeted qualification structure while also providing you with a virtual file cabinet and a fail-safe recovery feature.

3. Manage customer data

Collect and manage customer profiles and other data easily. Make searching equally stress-free as well.

4. Drive sales

Choose a CRM tool that provides you with automated sales funnels for higher conversion and more revenue. Fully customizable rules and triggers help you make targeted sales pitches as well.

5. Streamline communications with customers and staff

Guaranteed quick access to clients, customers, and team members, whether your preferred channel is social media, emails, calls, or texts.

6. Data analysis

Crunch the numbers and translate them into easy-to-understand reports with the Sales Intelligence module from CRM providers. It also helps you view the full client path and more effectively administrate the marketing budget.

7. Cultivate repeat business

The survival of a business depends on its rate of repeat business. This shows trust built over time. You need a CRM that allows you to create customer segments, reuse sales campaigns, retarget ads, and outline previous sales processes, among many other CRM features.

8. Sell and get paid in one place

Most businesses have one of each – a place to sell and a place to receive payments. An effective and efficient CRM allows you to do both in one place with ease.

9. Staying up to date with technologies

The world does not stay in one place for too long, and new technologies are invented every day. It is important for your CRM system to stay in touch with them if you want your team to stay productive and efficient.

Implementing technologies like AI could be a game changer for you. For example, Bitrix24 recently introduced its own AI Assistant CoPilot, which helps with organizing tasks, creating emails, and even marketing strategies.

How to Select the Best CRM System

Finding a CRM that meets all of your selection criteria is a once-in-a-lifetime miracle and might sound too good to be true. However, there is such a thing as the perfect fit, and when you've found it, you'll know.

Bitrix24 cloud-based CRM system provides businesses with all of the 9 criteria mentioned above and more, whether your needs may be operational, analytical, collaborative, or all three, even!

Its creators are proud to have developed an intuitive system that is highly customizable to meet every need, readying your business for growth and long-term success. With an easy-navigated user interface, this CRM can be used by small business owners and large corporations.

And what is the other best thing about Bitrix24, you may ask? It's the CRM software cost. You can start using it for free without a trial period! If you don't need a particular tool, you won't have to pay for it. Your Bitrix24 plan is fully customizable as well!

You've always dreamt of building your own business from the ground up and running it. That dream has now become a reality, and the reins are in your hands. Don't you think you owe it to yourself and your company to give it the best CRM to ensure victory and longevity? Let Bitrix24 help you steer your company to continued growth and success. Create your own sales pipeline, and establish long-lasting customer relationships with the best CRM tool on the market.

Outline

It's a long list, and meeting all of it sure looks like a daunting task when going through the CRM selection process. Thankfully, there are like-minded mavericks that are building and developing a CRM tool that has answers to all of your needs. There are a lot of choices available to you, and it's important that you select a CRM system that is aligned with your mission and vision for your company.

What is a CRM system?

It's a software that helps businesses manage customer interactions and data.

What are the benefits of using a CRM system?

Improved customer satisfaction, increased sales, streamlined processes, and insights into customer behavior.

What factors to consider when choosing a CRM system?

Budget, needed features, CRM customization, ease of use, data security, integration capabilities, and vendor support.

What features should be considered when choosing a CRM system?

Contact management, lead management, sales forecasting, marketing automation, customer service and support, and analytics and reporting.

How much does a CRM system cost?

Cost varies widely depending on vendor and features. Some are free, like Bitrix24, while others cost thousands of dollars per year.

Can I integrate a CRM system with other business applications?

Yes, most CRM systems offer integration capabilities with other business applications, such as email, social media, and accounting software. This can help businesses streamline the workflows and improve efficiency.

What kind of customer support should I expect from a CRM vendor?

Comprehensive support, including phone and email support, online documentation, and training resources.

What features should I look for in a CRM system?

The features you should look for in a CRM system include contact management, lead management, sales forecasting, marketing automation, customer service and support, and analytics and reporting.

What is the first step in the CRM selection process?

The first step in the CRM selection process is to define your business requirements. This involves identifying what you need the CRM to do, which features are essential, and which are nice to have.