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Here are the top 6 benefits of buying a new CRM:
Essential Benefits:
You’ll find these features and their benefits in pretty much every modern CRM. These features differentiate the CRM from spreadsheets and pen and paper client lists.
Cloud-driven mobility
While the number of inside sales teams is growing, especially among small businesses, sales teams still value mobility and ability to access client data from any device to help them stay connected to customers.
More and more CRM systems live in the cloud, where sales reps can access their contact and pipeline data from anywhere. Advancements in information security, data mobility, and mobile app development mean that sales teams can use their CRM from anyplace and at any time, whether it’s analyzing the lead pipeline from home or checking the latest account updates right before that big on-site meeting.
Look for these features:
- Access CRM data from anywhere
- Mobile CRM data updates in real time
- Enhanced data security keep mobile apps and customer data secure, even in the field
Connections to other tools/integrations
Most modern CRM tools have native integrations that give teams plug and play access to data from other software right within the CRM. So, instead of exporting a .CSV file of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) from a marketing automation tool, transforming the data to fit the right categories in the CRM, and uploading the data to the CRM tool, you can instead connect the marketing automation software directly to the CRM and have the systems port over new data automatically. The two tools communicate via API and share data via a 1 or 2-way connection.
Look for these features:
- Automatically ports data over from other systems
- Real time or near-real time data updates
- Centralized data location means closer to single source of truth
Single centralized sales data source
An essential benefit of software as a service (SaaS) CRMs has long been how they centralize and streamline data into a single system. Rather than manually updating a system of spreadsheets that each provide varying levels of detail and accuracy, putting all of your customer information directly into a centralized CRM means that the whole team can access all the data, log updates automatically, and the team can make decisions quickly and with greater accuracy.
Look for these process improvements:
- Faster decision-making
- Fewer manual updates than spreadsheets or pen and paper
- Single data format ready for analysis or business intelligence
Additional CRM benefits for larger companies
Analytics
We’re pretty keen on analytics here at TechnologyAdvice (at last count we have 351 blog posts mentioning analytics) because they make decision-making faster and easier in general. While a basic CRM without data analysis tools will still help you streamline your sales processes and keep track of all of your customer data in a centralized location, data reporting and analysis tools will help your team figure out how to improve on your current processes.
Look for these features:
- Trend analysis
- Finding and understanding bottlenecks or process efficiencies
- Faster decision-making through data visualization
Sales contests, gamification, and sales engagement tools
Employee engagement is all the rage these days, and it’s easier than ever for sales teams. Use the CRM tasks and data points your team already logs to fuel friendly competition that helps teams crush their sales goals. By using elements of gamification that produce feel-good endorphins in response to competition and recognition, teams can motivate employees to sell more, sell bigger, or even just complete more tasks in the day.
Look for these features:
- More engaged employees
- Higher sales numbers
- Better workflow compliance
Automation, AI, ML (tasks, insights, workflows)
Machines, robots, and computers were all invented to help humans complete manual tasks easier, faster, or more accurately, whether we talk about a simple lever or the complicated set of search algorithms that run Google’s search function. CRMs use automation to reduce the number of repetitive manual tasks that users have to complete throughout their workday.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning in CRMs aggregate data from across the tool to make suggestions and draw connections that sales reps might otherwise miss because they’re focused on the day’s tasks. The combination of automated task management, automated workflows, and big data insights helps sales reps focus on the right parts of the sales process at the right time.
Look for these improvements:
- Sales reps spend less time on data entry and more time working on finding leads and closing deals
- Finding hidden opportunities