 CRM Software – Nice to Have or Need to Have?
By
Heather Peeler
Senior
Consultant, Community
Wealth Ventures
CRM
(customer relationship management) applications have been a staple of sales programs for many years.
However, not everyone needs dedicated software to be effective in sales.
The essential functions of CRM software are to collect and manage data
on current and prospective customers, including purchase history,
contact information, demographic information, and recent communications
activities. CRM software can also produce reports on your sales
activities, opportunities with prospective customers based on customer
profiles and overall sales performance. Whether these functions need to
be automated depends on your business and customer base.
For some, the decision to invest in a CRM is obvious. If you are
managing hundreds of customers and contacts, are spending an inordinate
amount of time producing reports, or have multiple people in the company
contacting the same customers, acquiring a CRM application is essential.
However, for others, the cost benefit is less clear.
If you are considering whether to make the jump to CRM software, here
are a few things to consider:
1. Determine what you would like the system to do.
- What information do you want to track? How will you use it?
- What functions are most important?
- How many people will be using the system?
- How many prospects/customers do you need to track?
- How will your future needs be different from today’s?
2. Evaluate software you already have, such as Excel, Outlook Contacts,
or Access in addition to new software solutions. If your needs are
simple, they might be easily addressed by common programs and
applications.
3. Determine your budget and timeline. Often the biggest expense is the
cost of implementation, including learning the new software. You will
also need to account for how long it will take your colleagues to adopt
and use the new software.
There are a lot of resources available to help you weigh the pros and
cons of investing in CRM software. Start first with your peers – what
applications are they using? Do they like it or not? Why? The following
online resources may also be helpful:
The CRM Conundrum by Jamie Bsales
TechSoup.Org: The Technology Place for
Nonprofits
CRM-Daily.com
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