Business has changed amid the global pandemic, and no businesses have been more affected than small companies. As small businesses adjust to survive and thrive, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms can help by streamlining operations, saving time and money, and guiding companies successfully into the future.

While CRM technology can offer advantages for businesses large or small, the overarching goal is to enhance your company’s relationship with its customers whether potential, current, or former. Plus, CRMs are customizable. They allow you to collect customer information, organize, store, and manage that data, streamlining your efforts and saving you time and money. Let’s explore how a CRM saves time and money for a small business, along with other added benefits.

Defining CRM Technology

CRM technology allows your small business to automate monotonous, but crucial tasks in the areas of sales and marketing, thus allowing you and your employees to focus on business growth. The goal in any business, whatever you are selling, is to attract potential customers, convert them to actual customers, and develop a positive relationship that keeps them coming back again and again.

To do that, you need to enter customer data, send emails, book appointments, create invoices, record sales, document customer interactions, and more – all costly and time-consuming for your employees. And those areas are just where CRM comes in, keeping your employees from the tedious task of manual data entry.

A CRM system allows your small business to track leads, manage contacts, build relationships with target customers and existing customers, and engage in successful marketing campaigns. You can select a web-based CRM solution to help your company decrease overhead costs, but the savings don’t stop there. Here are some of the many ways CRM technology can save your small business time and money.

• Enhance Communication – Your sales and marketing teams, regardless of their size, need to communicate effectively in order for your business to succeed. CRM software enhances communication because everyone is adding data and referencing the same software, thus clearing up confusion and improving communication. Plus, along that same line, the same software means mobility and portability for your employees, so whether working in the office or remotely, a CRM system allows employees to access the data from desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

• Keeping Information Up-to-Date – The beauty of a CRM system is in its ability to eliminate time wasted by employees using manual or older methods for recording contacts and creating profiles. The CRM technology provides a central location for employees to update profiles and work contacts in real-time, meaning your team members are always working from the latest information avoiding repetition and eliminating uncertainty. Every customer interaction can be recorded easily in the CRM system, increasing accountability, accuracy, and communication, while eliminating ambiguity and wasted time. 

• Enhance Customer Relationships – Enhanced customer relationships mean increased customer confidence, which often translates to a robust bottom line for your business. Exceptional customer relationship management means outstanding customer service and communication, which helps keeps customers satisfied and loyal to your business. Your CRM system allows you to schedule ongoing customer communication, have easy access to past problems and solutions, and gain the ability to excel at customer relations. 

• Ridding Your Business of Unnecessary Software – A CRM system which delivers all the needed web-based project management features and a single license can save you money by allowing you to eliminate superfluous software programs and licenses. 

• Predict Buying Trends and Enhance Marketing Campaigns – With a quality CRM solution, your business can accurately predict buying trends and cycles throughout the year by collecting date and delivering relevant analytics. Using past sales data, a CRM system can develop a predictive model telling your business the probability of customer purchases and timing for the future. 

With this information, you can plan marketing campaigns with predicted buying cycles. CRM software also syncs with your company’s emails for an enhanced email marketing campaign. It can target customers with timely messages whether they want information, just purchased a product or service, or need to reorder. No more manual organization of email campaigns needed! 

On top of that, CRM technology can help manage targeted campaigns and adjust based on the campaigns effectiveness. You can analyze campaigns, identify those that succeeded and those which fell flat to help plan successful marketing efforts for the future.  

Ready to Start Saving Time and Money with a CRM System

Perxi can help with CRM software designed to help you keep your customers engaged as you manage referral data effectively – saving both time and money. Contact us today and discover how!