Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, is the practice of tracking all of the contact points a customer has with your organization so that you have a record of what business they’ve conducted and who they worked with on your team. This information can be one of the greatest assets for your business. Maintaining a database of happy customers and their contact information allows you to communicate with them on an ongoing basis. For example, any time you’re offering something new, you can start by notifying your customer list of what’s going on instead of having to drum up a market from scratch. At the most basic level, starting out, you can use just a spreadsheet to list your existing and potential customers and their contact information. As time goes on, you may reach a point where you have so many contacts that you’ll need a more powerful system that’s easier for members of your growing team to search and navigate.
By switching to a dedicated CRM solution, you’ll have access to more powerful features such as deal tracking and reporting so you can easily see which customers have what products, or where contacts are in the sales cycle. Many CRM systems also allow for bulk communication via email or text, which can be more efficient than one-to-one messaging.
Factors to consider as you look at your first CRM system:
- How much does it cost?
- What would you be able to do with this system that you’re not able to do now?
- Are there templates for your industry specifically?
- Does it allow you to do bulk communications via email or text?
- Will it integrate with other software products you’re using, or with your product itself?
Remember that there’s more to adding a CRM system than just buying software. If your team can’t figure it out or won’t take the time to learn new technology, this will all be wasted effort. Take some time and treat this like any software procurement process. Start by working with your team to find out what CRM tools they have used in the past. What features do they want to make them more productive? Include your team in the vendor review process. Make sure everyone can do some pre-purchase trials and then go into training once the product has been selected. Also, having a small group of core users who can help with CRM system setup (and the transition from existing tools) can make a big difference in terms of achieving desired productivity gains from your new system.
The Massachusetts Founders Network has resources that can help you choose a CRM system that fits your company’s current needs. For example, we have found that many small businesses opt for HubSpot, which has small business packages that are free or quite affordable. Such systems are good enough to get you started, and allow you to track your contacts, deals, and other information via their web app or on your phone.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions! Reach out to the MFN team at mfnfeedback@leverinc.org. MFN is a HubSpot for Startups partner. Learn More at our HubSpot Resource Guide!
