5 Things Growing Businesses Need to Look for in CRM Software

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1 CRM Buying guide 5 Things Growing Businesses Need to Look for in CRM Software Innovative businesses seeking to take control of the total sales cycle through innovative interactions and value-driven platforms will leverage customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. For the growing business, there are five key attributes to demand in CRM software, including scalability and flexibility, an intuitive user experience, dashboard reporting, the potential in hosted solutions, and an understanding of the business requirements. Scalability and Flexibility Scalability should be a key focus for any growing business. The selected CRM solution must be able to change along with the needs of the business, growing along with the business itself and the associated activities to support that growth. The market can rapidly change, demanding more from the CRM platform at any given time. The software application and the supporting hardware or hosting solution should provide optimal performance in times of growth and in times of stagnant performance. The right CRM platform should also be easy to configure according to the needs of the business. CRM solutions are put in place to help streamline sales and marketing efforts, improve the customer experience and increase the overall effectiveness of the product support teams. No two environments are alike and without the right solution features to address the challenges within the organization, the CRM platform could create more chaos than it was meant to prevent. Sales reps have a lot to do in the course of a busy day. While CRM tools were designed to help improve sales performance, they can easily be resisted by the sales staff if they 2011,. All Rights Reserved. P. 1

2 lack flexibility or are difficult to use. Customization of the product is key to ensure it fits the needs of the business and this customization must be easily done with an intuitive process that does not rely on IT support. Intuitive User Experience or Usability Anything introduced into the sales reps workflow is bound to be met with resistance, no matter how much benefit is promised. This is especially true when the new platform or tools required extensive training. Sales reps view anything added to their day as time away from their core competencies. If they understand the benefits the platform was designed to provide and can immediately start to use it with ease, the organization immediately benefits. Within the sales department and for that sales rep particularly, an intuitive experience not only ensures a shortened learning curve; it also means the sales rep can leverage a solution that will begin to adjust according to the sales rep s use of the platform. Settings used regularly can be placed on the desktop; tasks can be automated according to the preferred time of day or week; and reports can be scheduled according to the rep s preferred data entry completion time. An intuitive interface is one that is best catered to the specific user. Features may include one-click dialing from a customer s contact information, account management for the individual rep, calendar personalized to the rep, but also viewable by others, opportunity management, lead scoring, lead nurturing and activity management capabilities that are easy to find, schedule and integrate into other related activities. Siebel CRM SaaS has a reputation in the market for offering an intuitive, channel-enabled interface. Sales reps gain access to streamlined sales and service, can drive more revenue per deal, lower the cost of completing the deal and drive higher customer satisfaction. Siebel also promises to improve key performance metrics while supporting agents in their key business objectives. P. 2

3 Dashboard Reporting for Management The small business, no matter where it is on its growth path, presents challenges to the overall management. Any more than two reps identifying leads, scoring opportunities and closing deals can make the data management task overwhelming when conducted manually. CRM solutions that provide for a dashboard view of all reports makes information easily accessible for management, while providing a great incentive point for reps who can measure their performance against others in the company. Custom reporting is essential for all businesses leveraging CRM platforms as it is critical to capture that information that truly drives successful sales activities and identifies potential opportunities. Robust CRM platforms have the ability to capture a wealth of information from each interaction, market data, user input and more. Not all of this information is relevant to measuring the potential of closing that sale, however. As the business grows, the need for customized views of specific data will also continue to grow, putting more pressure on the CRM platform to perform. The scalability and flexibility mentioned above prove positive in reporting scenarios. Keep in mind, the growing business still needs the dashboard view to access all pertinent reports, but these capabilities will expand as well as new market segments and new products are introduced into the mix. Benefits to Dashboard Reporting Dashboards are a popular element within the sales department as it delivers significant benefits when integrated with the CRM platform. Four specific benefits to dashboard reporting focus on visibility capabilities to the optimal flow of data: Customization: there are many different levels within the organization that need to access sales information for a variety of reasons. Providing too much information can complicate projections, while too little information can skew results. Dashboards allow P.

4 for customization according to the level of management or employee accessing the information, as well as the specifics within the sales process for that company. Drilling Deep: surface information is great when sales reps need to report to upper management, but it doesn t help to identify problems in a process or a weakness on the part of the rep. Dashboards allow managers to drill down into the details to get to the meat behind the summary details to identify key performers, major accounts and even weak links. Trends: summary information plays an important role in enabling sales managers to identify trends over a specific period of time. Armed with this information, company leaders can make better decisions and proactively address issues before they become problems. Data Flow: dashboards are driven by current data captured in real-time to present the most accurate snapshot of the current data and status within the sales cycle. This constant flow ensures visibility is accurate and trends are captured in near-real time. NetSuite offers a powerful CRM platform that delivers all of these benefits, as well the ability to capture and measure customer satisfaction, monitor lead conversion and track metrics from the corporate website. Consider Hosted CRM Software In the move to implement a robust CRM solution within the enterprise or small business, business leaders have a wealth of solutions and delivery models from which to choose. The hosted delivery model enables the organization to access a CRM application hosted on the provider s servers for a set subscription fee. This delivery model significantly reduces the initial costs of implementing the CRM solution, while also eliminating some of the barriers to entry for the smaller business. When leveraging the hosted CRM solution, the organization has nothing to purchase or P.

5 download. The application runs in the cloud, accessible through a Web browser. Information is captured into a database, also hosted on the provider s server, yet managed by the company subscribing to the service. Little to no IT infrastructure is needed to access these applications, and the scalability and flexibility of the solution allows the company to easily add users and make adjustments to features to support future growth. Business Requirements Before implementing a CRM system, it is important for an organization to understand why the need or desire exists. Is the goal to gain more customers, identify more leads or manage customers more effectively? Perhaps the goal is to secure better management of the sales process, keep sales reps on track or simply create a platform for capturing and monitoring information. Once management has a clear understanding of why a CRM system should be implemented, it is important to develop a strategy for solution selection and implementation. This includes outlining the appropriate time-frame for implementation and training. For instance, implementing a CRM solution during the peak sales quarter is not ideal. Instead, it s important that the system is implemented and long-since adopted by the sales team before that quarter hits. A Look at the Features CRM solutions come with a whole range of solutions that can benefit the sales department, or simply take up space on the host server. Before implementing a CRM system, it is important to identify those features that are needed and those the organization can do without. Clearly defining both lists will ensure the optimal control over the cost of the solution, whether it is hosted or implemented in-house. Sales force automation can alleviate many of the tasks involved in the sales process that can bog down the sales team. Robust CRM systems automate order processing, information sharing, contact management, order tracking, inventory monitoring, sales P. 5

6 forecast analysis, customer management and employee performance evaluation. Marketing automation can deliver many of the same benefits of sales force automation in that it automates many of the marketing activities your sales reps would normally perform to identify leads and qualify opportunities. Contact management often serves as the primary CRM tool for a number of companies that support manual processes on the part of the sales reps but still want to capture as much information on the customer contact as possible. This feature focuses on the contact s name as well as any other information that can help close a sale. Customer service features can also extend out the value of the CRM platform, supporting the sales reps in all customer service activities. This includes capturing information on a customer support issue and scheduling follow-ups to ensure the customer is satisfied or identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Social features are certainly the newest addition to the CRM system, yet play a very important part. Consumers today are using social media platforms to interact with companies, research product and service information and share their own experiences. Companies need to invest in a CRM platform that integrates with key social platforms, monitoring mentions and enabling easy responses to improve the customer experience and support the positive promotion of the brand. Conclusion By taking the time to look at the five key elements within any CRM system, the growing business can better position itself for growth, enjoying the measurable benefits afforded in a robust system selected and implemented to fit the needs of the organization today and into the future. P.