Great news! You have finally convinced the leadership that your email marketing tool is great for sending emails. However, it is not designed to maintain all the data needed to help the marketing and sales divisions be successful.
Now you are searching for a customer relationship management (CRM) solution made for a modern, data-driven organization. The bottom line is you need the best system for your business. You are also focusing on a solution that:
- Helps you track sales, leads, pipeline, and delivers actionable information.
- Increases your company’s profitability by aligning marketing and sales
- Provides the information you need to optimize campaigns
- Identifies the strongest opportunities
- Focuses on building and maintaining the most valuable customer relationships
There are many, many choices when it comes to CRM solutions. A few of them rise to the top, but even then, feature sets are on parity. How do you decide which CRM system is best for your company when there isn’t a clear choice?
Choosing the best CRM system for your business
If you look beyond the requirements of sales and marketing, you will find there are additional factors to consider. For example, what connections and integrations does the solution have with other key business applications? Integration should be a “table stake” requirement for any solution you are considering.
Of course, you’ve considered integration with marketing automation or your email marketing tool. But what about your organization’s ERP or business management solution? How about everyday applications such as email?
CRM and ERP Integration
Picture this: Your sales manager visits your largest account hoping to gain confirmation for next quarter's orders. The customer questions how much they’ve ordered in the past quarter before they authorize the Purchase Order. Luckily, your sales manager can quickly pull up all the past orders in CRM. He assures the customer that his purchases are in line with the past. Empowering your sales team eliminates internal emails and phone calls, and helps them close this business quickly.
In this scenario, there is no switching from one application to another. No comparing and consolidating feedback. The team saves time and effort because everyone is using unified business and productivity applications and solutions to work as one. Your CRM is integrated and connected to the tools you already have.
Because your new CRM is going to be chock-full of data, it only makes sense that the data is accessible and integrated with other business applications.
Examples of the Right Data at the Right Time
- One of your sales representatives has a customer on the cusp of a purchase. He wants to act quickly but needs his manager’s approval before sending a contract out. Without leaving the CRM system, the representative can customize a templated contract and alert his manager. His manager can then quickly access a spreadsheet with the latest team numbers. After examining the numbers, she can approve the proposal. The representative follows up with the customer and the deal is closed the same day.
- If your new CRM isn’t integrated with your ERP system, these scenarios can’t exist. Without connections to other systems, you end up creating internal workarounds, searching for solutions from third-party vendors, or living with the inefficiency (and ultimate inaccuracy) of no integration. In short, you miss opportunities and sales.
- By thinking about your new CRM solution as part of your business’s ecosystem, you can align sales and marketing AND operations, financials, service and more. The “powers-that-be” will have a whole new appreciation for the value of CRM (and you!). Further, once your CRM is implemented, you will see improvements in processes, decisions, and best of all, customer interactions – including email.
The Power of an Integrated CRM
Selecting the right CRM system is not just about finding the best tool for sales and marketing. It ensures the tool connects seamlessly with your broader business ecosystem. An integrated CRM empowers your team. It provides accurate, up-to-date data, eliminating manual processes and enabling faster, smarter decisions.
The result? Sales, marketing, and operations working in harmony to achieve shared goals. Most importantly, leadership recognizes the CRM as a powerful engine for growth.
Choosing the right CRM is not just a technology decision. It is a strategic investment that will set your business up for long-term success.
Our experienced business applications consulting team is here to help you navigate the CRM selection and implementation process. Additionally, we will configure it to meet your business needs and ensure your team is equipped to get the most value from your investment.
Contact us today to get started on building a smarter, more connected business with the right CRM solution.
In his role as Director of Business Applications, Loren and his team specialize in positioning organizations up for growth by implementing Microsoft centralized platforms like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
Visit our Business Applications page to learn how an CRM Solution can transform your organization and propel future growth. Our consulting team is available to discuss your specific needs. Let’s start a conversation.
