Building a customer-centric organization should be a priority goal for any business. Anticipating your customers’ needs and providing them with answers quickly is the hallmark of a quality organization. Reaching this goal requires the use of an advanced CRM solution, one that is simple to use yet powerful enough to drastically alter the business for the better. But picking the right CRM solution isn’t easy. Every business operates within a unique industry, so it’s imperative to choose a solution that is customizable to meet your specific needs. Here’s six tips for finding the right CRM platform:

1. Establish What You Need and Want

This sounds simple, but it’s the necessary first step. You have to take a look at your business and determine fundamentally what you want from both your customers and internal staff. Start by answering several questions honestly in order to best prepare for CRM:

  • What needs to change in your company-customer relationship?
  • How do you use your current solution, and what needs to improve?
  • What business goals are you trying to achieve and how will CRM improve your chances of achieving those goals?
  • As you work towards goals with CRM, how will you measure its effectiveness?
  • Do internal staff work productively and collaboratively? What specifically could be improved?

2. Consider the Needs and Desires of Multiple Departments

CRM solutions that connect and improve various departments have the best chances of widespread adoption and having the desired transformative effect. Talk to prospective CRM vendors to determine how data can flow from department to user and ways that CRM can be leveraged by staff members who aren’t in customer support or sales roles.

3. Review Security and Regulatory Rules

The security of data is of paramount importance to any firm, especially those that must operate within regulatory guidelines. Ensure the prospective CRM platform employs various data safeguards that can satisfy even the most stringent industry-specific compliance rules.

4. It Scales Easily

Businesses (hopefully yours) can grow at exponential rates. You want a CRM for the company you are soon going to be, so choose one where you can quickly add users and capabilities. Look for a cloud-based solution such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce that is infinitely scalable.

5. Integration with Email and Mobile

CRM data and actions should be tightly integrated with your firm’s email system. They also must be accessible and usable via tablets and mobile devices. Remote workers are becoming the norm, staff like to check-in on the weekends, and busy sales teams are often on the road. Seamless mobile connectivity is vital.

6. Timeliness, Pricing, and Service

A final consideration is in regards to the service provider itself. Measure their responsiveness to questions and the completeness of their answers. You want to count on this platform for your entire business, so it has to be backed by quality support. And of course you need to judge the pricing. Make sure it’s flexible based on the number of users and other customizations.

Thought Leadership: