Is your business struggling to keep up with orders or customers? Without a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) system, you aren’t giving your employees the tools needed for success. What is a CRM? A CRM is a dedicated series of systems, working together to manage interactions between your customers by analyzing them and offering suggestions.
Whether you’re managing a small business or a sales team of over a thousand people, having a CRM will improve your workflow and keep your company visible from every angle. We’ll go over each type of CRM, how they can impact your business, and what you should look out for when purchasing a CRM subscription.
At Hooked CRM, we’ve created a CRM that seamlessly integrates with your own process. Book a demo or schedule a call with us, and one of our representatives will walk you through the features of our call center solution.
What Does CRM Stand For?
CRM stands for customer relationship management. It is a combination of management, customer service, and analytical tools that streamlines your workflow and increases productivity. A common misconception is that a CRM’s only function is as a contact list or software that drowns out real work.
A good CRM will not only keep track of your customers, but it also provides advice on how you can improve your process and simplify complicated workflows. According to the Harvard Business Review, when Availl integrated a CRM into their process, they tripled sales and increased their customer base by 33%. Their story isn’t uncommon.
Today, companies that aren’t using a CRM are at a disadvantage. Without a system to capture their customer information or manage their schedule, call representatives can’t keep up with the demands.
How Does a CRM Work?
CRMs are management tools that provide a comprehensive view of your entire workflow. While every CRM is different depending on your workflow, here is the basic CRM flow that you can expect:
Stages of CRM
| Stages | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Client Acquisition | Every sale, scheduled event, and customer relationship begins with an interaction. Whether that be through a call, email, or in-person, it’s important to track those interactions and how they were acquired. |
| Conversion | Depending on your company’s goals (sales, number of appointments scheduled, etc.), it’s your call representatives and agents' job to create the opportunity, leading to an increase in your company’s ROI. |
| Logging Information | Once the client interaction is complete, it is up to the call representative or agent to fill out notes, providing a detailed record of the conversation. |
| Follow-Ups | After your representatives and agents have updated the client profiles, follow-ups must be scheduled. This enforces the customer relationship and increases the potential for future sales. It will also provide additional support if there are any lingering questions or concerns with the product. |
| Client Loyalty | If all the steps are followed properly, the client is more inclined to return to your company when purchasing similar products. |
How CRMs Work in Your Process
CRMs can be seamlessly integrated into your current process. It allows you to keep track of everything in one location without switching between dozens of different windows. For call representatives and agents, it’s a useful tool for managing schedules and building client relationships. For managers and administrators, it provides a simple way to check workforce engagement management and increase productivity.
The Types of CRM Software
There are several types of CRM software built for specific industries. Of course, there are CRM options that serve multiple industries. However, it is important to evaluate your business needs and the functionality of the CRM software you purchase.
Here are just a few of the CRM software types:
Operational CRM
Typically used by sales teams, marketing, and service industries, this type of CRM streamlines the customer experience and tracks leads and workflows. The day-to-day operations are condensed into a simple CRM that eases the stress of your workflow.
Analytical CRM
With an analytical CRM, managers and administrators can identify trends from the data input into the system. After the data is stored in the CRM, it will provide insights from the data analysis.
It will also determine customer behaviors, allowing your call representatives and agents to pick up on the patterns they see and adjust accordingly.
Collaborative CRM
If you’re working with different teams or in a remote working environment, a collaborative CRM is what you’re looking for. It streamlines communication between teams, so everyone is aware of the customer’s needs.
Strategic CRM
Wondering what your company needs to do next? A strategic CRM can help guide you by providing the next steps. This type of CRM works best in conjunction with an analytical CRM since it will digest the information it provides and give you more actionable insights.
What Can a CRM Do for Your Business?
No matter what business you’re involved in, a CRM can enhance your process and streamline your workflow. Here are just a few industries that use CRMs and how they benefit:
Sales Teams
Sales teams work in fast-paced environments, calling customers and confirming payment information. Often, they are focusing on several leads at a time, which means they need to be experts at time management and note-taking. Any delays or errors can make representatives and agents less efficient and miss key opportunities.
CRMs logs all the information for every lead that comes in, easing the burden from sales representatives. For each customer, it will track exactly where they are within your workflow and provide the next steps.
Medical Offices
Scheduling appointments and tracking client information are essential for medical offices. That means tracking insurance providers, client addresses, and payment information. Without a CRM to track clients, the doctor’s schedule can become cluttered, and appointments can be missed.
CRMs can ease the workload of the office staff scheduling appointments and ensure the day goes smoothly. It also logs the information needed for the client while tracking insurance payments.
Hospitality and Travel
Scheduling is the backbone of the hospitality and travel industries. A proper scheduling system is essential to ensure that every customer is taken care of, so if it’s reliant on an archaic system, it will eventually collapse on itself. This is why a CRM is critical in the hospitality and travel industries.
With a CRM, you can track each customer, send personalized messages, and keep dedicated payment records. This makes the impossible task of tracking down each payment easier and more efficient, ensuring that everyone stays on pace with the revolving customer base.
Home Improvement
Contractors in the home improvement industry need to be efficient in their scheduling, provide accurate estimates, and track payment information. Each of these tasks can be made simple with a CRM.
It’s easy to upload the information to your CRM and manage your schedule. With a CRM, you can manage your schedule better and create workflows that allow for quicker turnaround with clients.
Legal
Tracking time is essential in a law firm. Every interaction, email, call, and review must be diligently tracked to ensure proper billing for a client. Plus, lawyers and paralegals must record the exact time it takes to complete tasks. Having a CRM automatically record the information is necessary for proper record keeping and provides a basis for your client to reference when it comes to billing.
Does Your Small Business Need a CRM?
In short, yes, your small business needs a CRM. No matter the size of your business, having a CRM is incredibly important for tracking tasks for you and your employees. Not only will it make your process easier, but your call center training will also become more efficient. There are several CRM systems for small businesses, but if you’re looking to expand, you should consider investing in a CRM that will grow with your business.
Is Excel a CRM?
No, Excel isn’t a CRM in itself. However, if you are a small business, you can set up Excel to manually track each customer and note their interactions. There are several free templates online for you to test out, but you will find that each one will have severe limitations that will prevent you from expanding or reaching your team’s full potential.
Signs You’re Ready for a CRM
If you’ve been using Excel as your CRM, here are some signs you should consider moving to a dedicated CRM:
- Leads falling through the cracks: If you’ve been missing follow-ups or unable to catch up with your current leads, it’s time to think about a CRM.
- No visibility in the workflow: Admins and managers must have a comprehensive view of the overflow. If you aren’t able to discern what’s going on in your company, having a CRM can help.
- Time spent on manual input: Time is better spent chasing leads instead of typing down every little detail. CRMs can expedite the process by giving clear fields.
- Too many shared assets: Not everyone needs to know exactly how each of their coworkers is doing. CRMs manage information so people know what they need without being flooded with unnecessary information.
- Uncertainty in where you're succeeding: You always want to focus on your successes and how to improve in those areas, but without a CRM, you might be lost on exactly where you’re winning.
What to Look for in a CRM
There are several CRMs to choose from. However, before you make your purchase, you should review your company’s needs and the CRM features you’re prioritizing. Here are a few items to consider:
Ease of Use and Setup Time
An easy-to-use CRM will be more easily accepted within your organization. Not only will it make your call center training faster, but it also increases employee satisfaction. The faster you can set up and relay the CRM processes, the more you can sell and onboard employees.
You should always see how long it will take to comprehend the CRM. While plenty of CRMs come with a plethora of features, too many features can inundate the process, and you will end up with a CRM that is barely functioning. Prioritize what your business needs, and seek a CRM that matches them.
Core Features to Expect
However, that doesn’t mean you want a bare bones CRM that doesn’t serve your business. Here are a few features you should consider when purchasing a CRM:
- Scheduling & a Native Calendar System
- Basic Client Information
- Ability to Communicate with Clients
- ROI Tracking
- Integrations with Other Programs
- Task Manager
AI-Powered CRM Features
Today, AI integrations in your CRM can save you time and money. AI virtual assistants can help expedite the process by providing live transcriptions, actionable suggestions on your next steps, and giving summaries of each client to prepare for the next call or interaction.
With AI-powered CRM features under your control, you guarantee that your team has the best tools available to work as efficiently as possible.
Conclusion
CRMs have been integral to businesses for over a decade. Today, there are so many options that fulfill different needs; however, at Hooked, we believe we have created the best CRM option available. We’ve integrated CRM functionality with a native VoIP dialer, so you won’t need to upload data into the CRM from your dialer. All the information you need is readily available for you to evaluate and consider.
We’ve even integrated Tacklebox AI, our AI virtual assistant, into the processes. It transcribes conversations, instantly creates reports, provides live insights, automates scheduling, and more.
If you’re interested in our CRM options, book a demo with us or set up an appointment, and we will walk you through every feature and how Hooked can enhance your process.
