How to choose the right CRM for your business.

Whether you are an established business looking to create a greater working relationship or retention with your clients & customers, want to manage your revenue, your sales teams or you are a start up seeking an all inclusive business system to launch your business with; choosing the right CRM for your business model can be a challenge.

Businesses are successful due to the relationships they build with their clientele. Whether you are a surgeon, a mechanic, a dentist, a hairdresser; what makes you successful is people. Without the correct customer relation systems in place & great customer service; you risk loosing valuable clients/customers & in doing so your turnover can be hampered.

There is an old adage which says “you are only as good as your last job” & this holds true to a certain extent. However, in an age of social media where competition is rife, you are not as good as your last job, you are as good as all of them! Reviews, shares, likes, comments are all free access now, meaning that with full transparency; a business can thrive through it’s customer facing. However, this can as we well know turn the other way, when negative comments are freely expressed in social media channels.

Therefore, to ensure that your customer base is retained & you have the opportunities to communicate directly with your customers, have a seamless connection to their information, can access important anniversary dates & have the very latest technologies at your fingertips & find those ever so valuable sales conversions; ensuring your CRM system is the right model for you is key.

However, when choosing a CRM, there are some things to think about.

First, find one that suits the way you work, but also think about how you might need it in the future – do you want it just to keep records or sending mailshots/ newsletters to customers, or tracking sale opportunities – and also what other apps you may want it to talk to?

Secondly, find a CRM that works now but also one that will work for you later – as you don’t want to set something up and then have to re-input everything when it doesn’t do everything you want it to.

We have chosen a few CRM providers which have differing options to offer.

Zoho is designed for small businesses & can be available for up to 3 users.

Connect in real time with customers and prospects, across all channels. From email to phone, live chat, and even social media. SalesSignals notifies you when a hot prospect is browsing your site, reading your email campaign, or engaging with your brand on social media. (1)

Zoho CRM includes all the enterprise apps your sales, marketing and support teams need, along with mobile apps and extensions. (1)

Zoho also has four industry specific solutions, tailor made to meet the needs of the Life Sciences, Financial Service, Retail & Real Estate.

Hubspot

Sales Hub – Close more deals faster with a suite of productivity-boosting tools for every part of your process.

A full suite of sales tools for your whole team to shorten deal cycles and increase close rates.

Marketing Hub – Grow your traffic, convert leads, and prove ROI with our all-in-one marketing software.

All the tools you need to run complete inbound marketing campaigns.

Service Hub – Customer service software to help you connect with customers, exceed expectations, and turn them into promoters that grow your business. (2)

Although Zoho & Hubspot have different options which can be adapted & modified to suit most business needs; Catalyst Computer Systems Ltd are specifically tailored to retail sales & in particular the automotive industry.

Platinum Software. This highly versatile product is the leading Windows Based Business and Dealer Management System (DMS) in many industries. We specialise in the Motorcycle, Caravan & Motorhome, Car, Logistics & Road Haulage, Retail Sales, Trade Counter & Order Distribution and Agricultural Machinery trades. (3)

Platinum is an integrated software solution providing everything from electronic point of sale (epos) through vehicle and unit sales to workshop administration, specialist order processing, payroll, planning and invoicing systems. We provide fully integrated accounting with comprehensive flexible management reporting. We offer true cost effective versatility combined with scalability, and running from any windows based PC, stand alone or networked, Platinum software can be used by both large and small businesses alike. (3)

Choosing the right CRM for you is a personal choice. However, as mentioned above, ensuring you are choosing a product which not only suits your needs now, but the needs of the business going forward; will ensure your customer relationships have an opportunity to flourish, whilst also seeing your sales increase.