There comes a time in the journey of every small business where you start to outgrow the spreadsheets, emails and simply holding all your customer information in your head! When you start to hire more people and your customer list begins to grow, it is essential that you implement technology that enables your business to scale. Founders, you need to stop blocking growth by letting technology help you.
The key place to start is with CRM. Customer Relationship Management. Essentially a database of all your past, present and future customers. In this blog, Wave (opens in a new window) will explore what CRM software (opens in a new window) is, why it is vital for small and growing businesses, and how you can find & start implementing a CRM system (opens in a new window).
What is CRM Software?
Customer Relationship Management software is a digital tool that enables you to store information on your customers such as their contact details, communication history, and purchase history.
There are several solutions available and many offer free versions for businesses who are just getting started.
What Types of Small Businesses Should Use CRM Software?
CRM is vital for:
- B2B businesses (for example a video production company or IT services company (opens in a new window))
- Businesses with memberships or subscriptions or ongoing payments (e.g. sports clubs and gyms, cleaning companies)
- Businesses with long and nuanced sales cycles (e.g. architecture firms or nurseries & preschools (opens in a new window))
- Businesses with repeat customers (e.g. online shops (opens in a new window), sports therapy clinics (opens in a new window) or hair salons)
Businesses that don’t require a CRM
Any business where purchases are one-offs and in person doesn’t usually require CRM because they don’t need to hold any data on their customers. However, even these businesses probably need a solution for holding all their supplier data or other important groups, and therefore can still benefit from using CRM software.
Why do businesses need CRM software?
Data Security
We would be shocked if your company held zero data on your clients or customers. Names, email addresses, phone numbers - that’s data. Most businesses will have more granular data than this and may even include payment information. It is essential that this information is stored in a secure way - i.e. not on a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop. The Data Protection Act of 2018 (opens in a new window) states that a set of principles must be followed when storing people’s personal data. They are that information is:
- used fairly, lawfully and transparently
- used for specified, explicit purposes
- used in a way that is adequate, relevant and limited to only what is necessary
- accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
- kept for no longer than is necessary
- handled in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage
A CRM is your best tool in complying with this act because you can put automated processes in place that remove or clean data when certain criteria is met.
Efficient sales process
Even small businesses can think big when working with a CRM software. CRM programmes like HubSpot, allow you to automate repetitive tasks such as email follow ups and deal tracking, which frees up valuable time for your team. Once set up, these programmes reduce admin, and allow you to focus on value-added tasks and building relationships.
Improved collaboration
As your business grows and you hire more people, more people need access to company information. Those people may also leave your company and be replaced by new people. A well utilised CRM software means that collaboration is easy, no matter who needs to be involved. Information is shared in real time and there are no r information silos.
For example, if a member of staff is on leave or resigns from the company, other members of staff have updated information regarding their correspondence with clients or the progress of deals.
Improved customer experience
A CRM will improve your customer experience. How can a database do that? Not only does a CRM system allow you to organise your data so that you can access any customer info in just a few clicks, but depending on which software you use, you are also able to use that information in lots of intelligent ways that enhance the customer experience.
Let’s look at those business types again to see how CRM can improve the customer experience in each:
How CRM improves customer experience across different business types
B2B
When you’re selling to an entire business rather than one person, it usually involves several meetings and a lot of back and forth communication through various people. By having information in your CRM such as job title, you can make sure you send marketing and sales materials related to that person’s role in the buying committee.
By having all the communication for the deal recorded in one place, you can make sure you keep track of progress and not miss out on opportunities by not following up or missing a step.
Membership and Subscription Services
For membership and subscription services, whether that be an online log in or a physical activity such as a children's athletics club, this always involves storing people’s data and usually involves taking payments. It is essential that you store people’s data in a secure environment i.e. on a fit for purpose tool with built in security rather than on a spreadsheet on your laptop.
CRM tools drastically simplify subscription management and ensure your customers don’t get a frustrating experience with incorrect billing or mistakes in their subscription details.
Businesses with long and nuanced sales cycles
Some business types have a long sales cycle. Usually these are big purchase items or very important decisions that require research. In the example of preschools, parents will usually look at several different options online, attend an open day or tour the setting, bring their child for a stay and play, and then make a decision. Even after that point there’s a lot of paperwork involved to make sure the child is ready to attend.
This is the sales cycle and it is critical that the preschool tracks each family’s journey and moves them to the next stage. A CRM tool allows this tracking and streamlines the management of gaining new customers. If your sales cycle has several stages like this, a CRM will really help you stay on top of what’s happening with all your prospective customers.
Businesses with repeat customers
If your customers are going to come back and buy more services from you, it is essential you store their information. Treat loyal customers with respect and courtesy by knowing about their purchase history and not having to start again each time they come back. That’s easy to do with just a few customers, but to execute this at scale, a CRM system is critical in storing that information so that workers are able to provide the same tailored experience each time.
Is CRM just for marketing purposes?
As marketers here at Wave, yes we’re obsessed with CRM. But even if you’re not planning on doing any email marketing any time soon, a CRM is still vital for providing good customer service as described above. We actually promote CRM software for its ability to improve the employee experience too and generally make everyone in your business’s lives easier.
If you’re serious about growing your business, your customer base or your employee numbers, setting up an effective CRM software is a critical step to ensuring future success and simply an easier life.
Hi 👋🏽 we're CRM specialists 🏄🏻♂️
Wave specialises in CRM software and has worked with lots of businesses across many industries to ensure they are set up for success. If we can help you take the next step in your business growth, contact us here. We’d love to work with you.
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