May 2018
CRM Shopping List: 6 Things to Demand from Your New Bespoke Solution
So, you’ve decided to embrace the bespoke CRM – great! But as with many purchases in your everyday life – a house, a car, a new phone – choosing the right bespoke CRM solution for your business requires some thought. After all, you wouldn’t buy a car without checking it suited your needs, would you?
The best way to start the process off is to create a ‘shopping list’ of sorts. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start, though: we’ve got you covered!
1. Affordability
Choosing a bespoke CRM is a decision which forces business owners to provide justification – to employees, stakeholders, and of course, accountants. The first thing you should look out for in a bespoke CRM is affordability. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean cheap, as you’ll find you usually get what you pay for. Instead, you should be on the lookout for a solution which doesn’t force you to cough up for onsite servers or physical software, and which can guarantee a strong return on investment.
2. Opportunity for Growth
If you’ve already chosen bespoke over off-the-shelf, then chances are you’re already clued into the flexibility the former can offer. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t bespoke solutions with limited potential for growth. You need a solution which can be scaled up alongside your business, helping it to grow whilst also becoming more powerful in its own right.
3. Third Party Integration
Just because you’re opting for a new tool doesn’t mean you have to take away the resources your team were used to dealing with. A great bespoke CRM will offer third party integration, allowing for teams to carry on using familiar resources which still communicate with your new CRM.
4. Security
As you’ll recognise from Facebook’s various scandals and the incoming GDPR guidelines, keeping customer data safe is a big deal in the 21st century. With that in mind, you can add ‘security’ to your CRM shopping list, with the best options keeping your customers’ data safe and sound. What’s more, dedicated up-times, secure off-site servers, and regular back-ups are all features to look out for if you want that extra peace of mind.
5. Automation
Automation is a big player in the business world, helping to alleviate some of the pressure put on employees and business owners by small, tedious tasks. A great Rules Engine is just one example of a bespoke CRM putting automation to work for you, and if you look out for such features and take advantage of them, you can get ahead of the competition in no time.
6. Solutions for Employees
Yes, a bespoke CRM solution is designed to address your business’ challenges, but when making the decision over which one to use, it also pays to make sure that employees feel that their own challenges are being addressed.
For example, are they looking for a CRM with plenty of support? One that’s based in the Cloud to facilitate remote working? Or perhaps one which will tackle specific processes they feel need to be improved upon?
Communicate with them to find out their thoughts and the whole experience will be much smoother. After all, if employees don’t feel like their requirements are being taken into consideration, their support may be hard to come by, and your new bespoke CRM deserves a warm reception!
You’ve got your list, now what are you waiting for? Time to start shopping! Get started with your bespoke CRM solution retail therapy on our website, or get in touch with our team to book a free demo.