It’s 2019; technological advancements are happening quicker than lots of smaller businesses can keep up with, and you’re wondering if a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system like Salesforce is worth its salt.
Well, do you want to find more customers, close more deals, keep your customers happier, and align your entire company in one fell swoop? I’m picturing you nodding your head pretty enthusiastically right now.
Let’s go through the tell-tail signs it’s time to invest in a CRM like Salesforce, and exactly how it can do all those brilliant things for your business.
Are you still manually inputting data to create reports?
It’s so important to be able to see the health of your business at a glance, but your salespeople should be selling; not spending valuable time entering data. A CRM system like Salesforce makes reporting a doddle with up-to-the-minute reporting and accessible data in one handy location.
Some CRMs can even automatically “clean” your customer data from time-to-time, filling in missing info salespeople might have left out and intelligently removing any messy duplicates.
Are you having trouble locating your customer data?
Do you still have customer data across spreadsheets, emails, and even sticky notes? These dated tools limit your team’s ability to get insight into your customer’s interactions and make informed decisions, quickly.
CRMs get rid of all those extra bits and bobs by putting all your data in one central place that your entire org can access, at any time. This makes it easier and quicker to access, increasing customer retention and driving sales success rates.
[Related Article: CRM integration strategy: Roadmap, Best Practices and Key Considerations].
Are you unable to track your team’s activities?
With Salesforce CRM, you can always track what’s going on with your business. Your team will be able use their mobiles to send updates to your CRM when they’re out and about, so they don’t have to wait to be back in the office to let you know what’s going on. This way, fresh info will be readily available on demand, so you’re not left guessing.
Do you need help managing those valuable, long-term accounts?
As you get busier, you don’t want to start neglecting any of your loyal, long-term customers. Salesforce can automatically send reminders of milestones and important events for your most-valued customers. This helps you send timely, personalised communications so you can better maintain a relationship with them.
Does your customer service team need a bit of love?
If your team is all tied up dealing with multiple complaints, you might need a bit of help managing your cases too. With Salesforce, you can quickly route cases to the right agents and provide them with Knowledge articles exactly when they need them.
You can also create self-help online communities for your customers, so they don’t even have to go through a service agent to get the help they need! This frees service agents up to solve those much tougher cases. Plus, you can manage case flow while giving a full, unified view of your customer, to help service agents feel fully prepared and give amazing service, so they keep coming back to you.
Do you struggle to keep up with lead flow?
If you were to suddenly receive a huge flood of new business, would your salespeople be able to keep up? A CRM can quickly sort and prioritise leads automatically, so your sales team have a clear view of who to focus on next and can respond to them quickly.
Are you prepared for a rush of new business?
One of the most important things to look for in a CRM is the ability to scale quickly as your business grows. You need to be confident that, should you suddenly receive a huge rush of new business, your essential sales tools will be able to continue to handle it with ease. A CRM like Salesforce is totally extendable and customisable, so it can change as your business does, without sacrificing productivity.
As you can see, a CRM system can really enhance your business growth by intelligently storing and managing prospect information, boosting lead volume, and helping your team get faster at closing better deals.
If you recognised one or more of these issues in your own business, why are you wasting time and resources doing everything the old way? With an intelligent, ever-evolving CRM like Salesforce, you’ll win more customers, close more deals, keep existing customers happy, and connect your entire company — in 2019, and beyond.
[Related Article: Exploring the long-term benefits of CRM integration].
About the author
Emily Malone is the Content Executive at Silver Salesforce Partner, oe:gen. The oe:gen blog has been placed in Feedspot’s ‘Top 50 Salesforce Developer Blogs’ list, so check out more Salesforce tips and insights over at www.oegen.co.uk.
