Chapter 2

Does my business need a CRM system?

 
Maybe you've heard about CRM systems but you're not sure if your business is really ready to make the jump. There are many business scenarios that highlight why CRM matters and is important for business. If one or more of these situations apply to you, the right CRM could make your job a whole lot easier.

1. You have no single source for customer information.

Does your company have customer and order information in more than one location? If the answer to that question is “yes”, then that's one glaring reason why a CRM is required.
 
A CRM system brings together all of your customer data from sales, service, and marketing. So you can access, track, sort, analyze, and take action on it instantly, from anywhere.
If you have customer details in spreadsheets (or sticky notes), then your sales team — and everyone else who interacts with your customers — is at a disadvantage. When information changes in one system, it isn't automatically updated in the others. There's no complete, single view of every customer’s contact info, orders, and interactions.

2. You have little or no visibility into customer interactions.

Do you lack a complete, single view of customer information? Then you also lack insight into what your salespeople and customer support teams are doing. If you’re not sure what the sales or service teams are doing, it’s harder to help them be successful — and keep them accountable.

3. Reports are tedious and painful.

Do you and your team go through the cumbersome process of creating reports manually? If so, your performance-tracking capabilities can probably be described as “slim to none.” Ideally, you should be automatically generating reports and analytics of your sales team’s monthly progress against their quotas.

4. You’re losing valuable customer data.

Is it hard for you to schedule follow-ups with customers and prospects because you’re not sure what you’re following up on? If your customer interactions aren’t being tracked, important details get lost — especially if an employee leaves your company.

5. It’s hard to stay in touch on the go.

When your sales reps are out in the field can they quickly find the resources they need to close a deal? And when they are meeting prospects and discovering valuable information, does the rest of your company ever get to see it? Data stored in handwritten notes and on personal computers is an untapped gold mine. 

6. Every customer is treated the same.

Are you sending the same types of offers and messages to all your customers and prospects? If so, you’re missing many opportunities. To make the most of every interaction, you want the ability to target prospects based on their industry, geography, stage of the buying process, and value to your business.

7. You lack a plan to scale fast.

What if your company grew from 20 to 200 employees this year? Are you confident your business processes could scale as quickly as the demand? Don’t let your own processes be the obstacle to hard-earned success.
 
Winning new customers and growing your business is great — unless you’re using a solution that’s not built to scale.
 

Demo Video

What is Salesforce CRM? See how the #1 CRM can help you grow your business.

Getting Started with CRM

Overview

What is CRM?

Chapter 2

Does my business need a CRM system?

Chapter 3