7 Ways to Know Your Business Needs CRM

As a growing business, you probably rely too heavily on spreadsheets and email to lock in all your customer data. But is this method really working for you?

CRM lets you take back control of managing customer relations and your sales process all while staying organized.

If you are not getting these results from your current system, maybe it’s time for CRM. We’ve compiled a list of seven challenges that customer relationship management software can help you overcome. Do any of these scenarios sound like you?

You’re Far From Organized

It’s tough to remember every client conversation. But a desk covered in sticky note reminders or a corkboard cluttered with business cards isn’t the solution.

If you’re digging through your email messages, then finding the information you need is taking you twice as long as it should.

Or, worse, follow-ups and deadlines slip through the cracks.

CRM compiles all your company information systematically as you’re collecting it. That means you stay organized and in-the-know of what to do next.

Your Spreadsheets Are Too Hard to Read

When you first started tracking clients, you recorded basic qualifiers like name, contact information and their position in your sales funnel.

But now your business is growing—and so is the column count in your spreadsheet. More data is relevant to making the sale, but accessing that information is frustrating.

If the search box can’t find the customer information you need, your spreadsheet system is no longer effective.

CRMs are designed to be instinctive so that locating customer data is quick and painless. No more scrolling. No more squinting at what you wrote.

You’re Losing Leads

Important data, such as when to follow-up with a potential customer, gets dismissed simply because you don’t have the time to enter it in your spreadsheet.

But there are too many risks to putting this off. You lose important customer information. Your employees aren’t on the same page. Your customers aren’t happy with their customer experience.

Ultimately, your company loses customers and potential sales.

CRM makes it easy to enter your customer data as well as clearly spell out when to follow-up with potential buyers. Grow your customer relationships, not your to-do list.

You Can’t Create Valuable Sales Reports

Compiling sales reports by plugging in rows of numbers into custom-made charts and graphs takes time away from what you really need to do.

Sales reports are crucial. But what value do they bring if your reports don’t pull data that you can analyze and apply to further your sales goals?

You should be able to fully analyze your data and create actionable goals from your reports. If you can’t, then it’s time to expand your data collecting process.

CRM can create customizable reports based on your customer data, allowing you real insight into your customer behavior, sales margins and company campaigns.

You Can’t Stay in Touch When You’re Away

It’s not easy to access and enter data into spreadsheets when not at your desk. But you can’t press pause on your business simply because you’re out of the office.

That’s where a spreadsheet system limits you. If an important customer calls while you’re on the road, getting immediate access to your customer’s details is challenging, if not impossible.

You simply can’t be as effective with your customer data when you’re away.

CRM not only lets you access and update customer details from any smart device as well as let your team instantly view your updates back at the office. That means you always stay connected and updated.

Your Team Is Growing

A growing team is a sign of growing business. But it also changes how you run your company.

With more employees, your customers are more likely to have conversations with more than one team member. Your employees need to have access to all customer interactions and data so that calls and follow-ups go smoothly.

A spreadsheet is a great start to snagging customer data, but it’s not built to nurture team collaboration on customer communication.

CRM lets your teams collaborate together on a lead, a campaign or a support ticket alongside your customer data. Multiple emails and file forwarding not needed.

Your Wish List Is Getting Longer

You say, “wouldn’t it be great if we could ___?” more than “it’s so great that we can ___.”Wouldn’t it be great if you could have your contacts organized in groups? If you could apply a bulk action to specific customers? If you could automate certain email responses?

If you daydream more about what you wish you could do with your customer data rather than actually having the capacity to do it, then you’re ready to migrate your system to CRM.

Still not sure if a CRM is right for you? Read this guide to see if your business is ready.

What problems do you run into by recording data by spreadsheet? Share your story in the comments section below.

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