How to Choose CRM for Your Organization
Organizations always prefer a single platform that is able to support all the business needs …
Organizations always prefer a single platform that is able to support all the business needs of the CRM solution. Business tycoons feel the dire need to have a robust CRM solution for their organization when they have to face hard business realities like a dip in sales, service problems, issues in marketing or other inter-related problems that can impact other departments of the organization and the entire business as well. It is preferred that businesses are able to communicate effectively with their customers and cater to all their needs as it the main goal of every organization to achieve complete customer satisfaction, which will be possible only by choosing the right CRM solution for the organization. It is recommended to consider the following points while opting for a CRM for your organization:-
1. Does your business need a CRM solution
One should have a complete understanding of how their business works and it. The start of opting for a CRM means that one should have a thorough knowledge of how processes work, how are they interrelated to each other and how by changing any one of the processes can affect the other processes, unexpectedly. It is always an attractive option to have a single system that can keep track of all the processes and constituents. To meet real-life needs, it is desired to have substantial customization and track all client records.
2. Identify the processes that need to be supported
Once you have decided to opt in for a CRM, the next step is to enlist all the processes and clients that you want to be tracked down. Make a comprehensive list of all your requirements, and know how it is going to be integrated with the CRM solution. Before starting, it is important to identify the main goals one wants to achieve through the solution, be it a departmental solution or customer-centric advantages. Also, check if everything can be integrated easily and successfully. If it seems to be very complex, then it might not be a good solution for your business requirements.
3. Support the individual processes
While selecting the team members for the task, it is important to choose those professionals who are very skilled and efficient to pick-up new concepts and applications. Vendors with different costs and varied level of proficiency can provide support to you but the decision of choosing the right vendor should be made wisely so that you can have a long term association.
4. Knowing the Regulations well
Different industries need to have compliance with different Regulations and satisfy the compliance requirements applicable to their domain. E.g., health care industries need to be in compliance with HIPAA, financial services should support Graham Leach Bliley, etc. Government organizations require a different level of certification and accreditation. So, it is important for the CRM to deliver the services model that is specific to a particular organization.
5. Decide the budget for CRM
Budgetary concerns play a major role while choosing the right CRM solution for your business needs. One needs to play an initial installation cost of the software and then an annual maintenance fee. Integration fee is charged by some solution providers as well. Some organizations prefer to restrict their expenses while others can plan a long –term financial investment for their CRM solution. Earlier, only smaller companies with low budget invested in the cloud, but nowadays even larger companies prefer cloud-based solutions.
6. Vertical Market Requirements
Organizations that have to deal with customer feedbacks and forms should have CRM solutions that are tailored to their vertical industry. Real estate, agribusiness, and non-profits, e.g. have tailored CRM solutions along with ones that have distributors and resellers to sell for them. Even if the business structure does not have different verticals, CRM is effective for horizontally-targeted businesses.
7. Financial Requirements
Once one has decided on the solutions that are suitable for the business requirements, it is time to focus on the financial requirements. The base cost is something one has to spend and is inevitable, but the hidden costs need to be seen and taken care as well. Customization, integration, and support incur expenses and are an essential part of any project but other than this if one feels that any other expense is out of the budget, can be scratched off.
8. Vendor Feedback
It is important to know your vendor well and have genuine feedback about their previous work from other customers. One can be really disappointed if the targets are not met and are not delivered in time by the vendor. Worst case is when the vendor leaves the project in between and runs away. To avoid any of such undesired things to happen with you, it is best to do independent research and know your vendor well in advance.
So, these are some of the very essential points one should keep in mind before choosing a CRM solution for an organization, as your decision can either give a bright and prosperous future or ruin all the money you have earned.
