What is a CRM System and How Do You Know Which One is Best for Your Small Business

If you run your own business, chances are good you’ve heard colleagues or peers talk about (or complain about) their CRM system. In the modern age of social media, it sounds like another one of those “in-the-know” acronyms and, yet, when you hear it coming from fellow business owners, you may get curious about what the fuss is all about.

What is a CRM system? How would you define CRM?

If you’re wondering, “Okay, what does CRM stand for?” the answer is “customer relationship management.” The CRM definition, according to most sources, is an approach to manage a company’s interaction with current and potential customers. As you know, the word “relationship” when it comes to business is generally transactional – the business provides a good or service and the consumer purchases this product from the business. However, in order to secure this direct line of communication, there are several expectations to meet to convince someone your product or service is worth his or her money.

It is much more expensive to acquire new clients than it is to retain loyal customers. Ads and sponsorship take time, effort, creativity, design, etc. According to KPMG, the highest revenue driver for business is customer retention. The question is, how do you retain loyal customers?

It might help to understand why customers leave in the first place. According to superoffice.com, while there are extenuating circumstances which cause a customer to leave, from finding a friend to provide the service to simply leaving the market, larger percentages of customer loss are attributed to a competitor convincing a customer to choose their service. The largest percentage, a whopping 68%, is attributed to customers believing the business doesn’t really care about them or their needs.

Customer relationship management tools arrange a number of functions together to optimize efficiencies within a company to better satisfy their customers’ needs.

An easy-to use CRM system will provide your business with the tools to fulfill the essential components of what is a good business relationship. When keeping tabs on who among your customers is looking to leave, a CRM system will have detailed reports on their purchasing patterns. This offers an opportunity to open a dialogue before the customer simply leaves without notice. When you have this chance to identify what makes the customer unhappy, a CRM system makes it possible to follow up with a special offer or a reassignment of a service employee. This is how you show a customer you care.

How do you evaluate the best CRM system for your business?

Considering a CRM system is supposed to help you make more money, there are a couple of important things to look for when evaluating the best CRM system for your business.

Take a look at the features a CRM system offers and verify if they meet the needs of your business. For example, if you run an installation business, you may want to have GPS tracking on your employees so you can more readily inform you customers when they should expect service.

Figure out the costs of a CRM system and make sure to consider what features are included with the package. Many online CRM system providers have various different packages which include some, but, not always all the features available. After choosing what you need to run your business to your customers’ satisfaction, look at the package which best suits your needs and decide whether or not the monthly or yearly cost is affordable.

CRM Runner is one of the best CRM systems that help generate sales.

CRM Runner includes a variety of useful features for small businesses from reporting of daily work completed to chatting options with employees and customers all in one simple to use mobile or desktop app. CRM Runner has come to define CRM with higher efficiencies making both companies and customers happier.

With all the information of a day’s work included on a simple app, from schedules to conversations with staff, it becomes much easier to manage customer expectations and waste less time in the minutiae of calling staff members to find out where they are or helping them get the contact information for where they should be going. Managers are free to personalize their follow up with customers and focus on these relationships, as the CRM meaning suggests, and keep a loyal customer base.

CRM Runner provides reporting to assist with where corners should be cut. For example, the inventory feature will demonstrate what products are most frequently used as well as the opposite. See the trends of sales with the click of a button in order to stop draining resources in unpopular items as soon as possible.

Find out what CRM software can do for your business with a free 30-day trial.

Start your evaluating process of how the CRM Runner customer relationship management system will help you generate more revenue with a free 30-day trial. You’ll have the opportunity to test drive which features work best for you and your team. Sign up here and learn the affordable monthly and yearly costs ahead of time to determine which package the features you need while fitting your budget.