Sometime ago, last year to be exact we wrote an article about CRM 101 – the basics. If you haven’t read it yet you may do so here.
In the article, we concluded that the best way to tell when to begin using a Customer Relations Management (CRM) System is when you don’t have a clear view of your customers and their needs or being unable to predict what those needs might be throughout their lives.
The features of a great CRM can help you to better answer these questions through the data it aggregates over time. Here are some key features to look for when choosing your CRM:
- Contact Management
- Leads and Lists Management
- Content Management
- Campaign Management
- Opportunity Tracking
- Group Collaboration
- Reporting and Analytics
- Simplicity and ease of use
- Remotely Accessible
- Mobile Access
- Multi-channel Support
- Social Integration
Having these features in your CRM will help you to see your customers in a way you might not have before.
Here are some CRM systems to consider for your small business. These are open sourced systems in that they are generally free with no technical support.
- SuiteCRM – Delivers actionable insights into customers, boost conversions, increase sales, bolster customer care and innovation. It even automates and streamlines business operations.
- vTiger – Rank the #1 opensource CRM, vTiger offers a wide array of features including billing, inventory tracking, and project management capabilities all together.
- Zurmo – Mobile, social and gamified is what Zurmo is all about. This CRM is new and may lack some features but will ultimately come together at some point.
- HubSpot CRM – This is a 100% free CRM and has some cool data gathering capabilities like contacts and companies, deals and tasks and integrates with HupSpot Sales.
There are quite a few CRM systems out there which made the above list by no means complete.
If you would like to implement a CRM for your business, feel free to contact us. MI Group can help you get started with our Hosted and Non-hosted CRM Solution where we provide installation, setup and support for our clients.
Feel free to let us know which CRM you are using.