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Current business conditions are dictating the following list of CRM must-haves:
1. Simplicity and ease of integration: There's no sense in investing in CRM technology if you can't get your workers to use it. Nothing hurts adoption more than a difficult to use and difficult to implement application."Simplicity and integration into daily routines are essential features," said Nathan Stewart, CEO of Alkemi International. His company initially used a CRM system that was too complicated, and it killed his team's motivation to use it. As is often the case, "the more complicated the software and the more functionality it had — which usually did not relate to what we required — the more people refrained from using it. What we needed was a simple CRM system which integrated with software that we used on a day-to-day basis."
Daniel B. Scherer, CEO of Secure Health, agreed. "After some trial and error with off-the-shelf CRM solutions, we discovered that the truly critical features to look for in a CRM solution are tracking capabilities and simplicity.".
2. Remote access: A CRM solution that can only be used in the office is no solution at all. Data must be entered into it from all manner of locations — at trade shows, at customer sites, from partners' premises — and remote workers can't be handicapped by a dumbed-down version of the solution.
Another need for remote access is just now emerging. "Increasing the quality of the contact center's talent by utilizing at-home agents is becoming an essential CRM function," explained Chris Tranquill, managing director of ACS' communications and consumer goods line of business. With more than 34,000 agents in 142 customer care centers around the world, ACS employees handle more than one million customer interactions every day in 20 different languages. "Some estimates say there could be as many as 600,000 work-at-home agents by 2019."
3. Mobile access: Remote access refers to the ability to see CRM data on a computer screen; mobile access refers to the ability to see CRM on a handheld device. This is especially important for field sales personnel, who not only need contact information and other basics but who may need access to sales collateral, data from back-office systems and organizational schedules to complete deals. "Companies can no longer afford to take a tactical approach to enterprise mobility," said Tranquill. "Businesses need to look strategically at how mobility can support the enterprise and how it can be integrated to optimize processes."
4. Stronger multichannel support: Primarily because of the need to support mobile access, but for other reasons as well, support must be stronger and available through more than one channel. "A service phone number is essential and not just online help; instant chat lines are good, too," said Jennifer A. Goldman, CFP, principal at My Virtual COO.
5. Integrated analytics: It is not enough to collect data; you must also understand it and what it signifies before you can use it as a basis for action. CRM solutions must provide business users with access to decision-making analytics, both for sales and for marketing. "The best CRM solutions enable the user to select campaigns, target consumer groups, define and apply treatment strategies, measure results across multiple channels (online and off-line) and build results back into the planning process for future campaigns," said Honaman.
6. Campaign management: A CRM solution should provide powerful campaign management functionality, enabling workflow from initial campaign concept through the build, test, deployment, and measurement. "Mobile is becoming an even more important part of CRM solutions as results delivery to handhelds and PDAs is critical," Honaman said. "Also, cross-sell/up-sell functionality is important to consumer-direct businesses operating an online marketplace."
7. List management/master data management: The CRM solution should enable management of multiple lists. "This allows business users to establish lists and also allows for real-time list segmentation and data management," explained Honaman.
8. Flexibility and customization: One CRM aphorism is that every successful CRM solution is customized in some way. Because of that, it's important that the solution you choose is customizable and flexible. "It has to support an organization's processes, or you won't get the full value out of your purchase," said Paul Mabray, chief strategy officer for VinTank, a digital think tank for the wine industry. However, that ability to customize has to come in a simple, straightforward form and apply throughout. "An easy to customize dashboard is critical," said Goldman.
9. Lead generation and follow-up tracking: Relying solely on a sales force to do all the rights things can be a suicidal approach. A CRM strong in lead generation and follow-through, both in automated customer communiqués and reminders to salespeople, can quite literally save the day. "I encountered several resistive sales representatives who ‘knew how to sell' and didn't want to make any changes in the methods they were using," says Chris Spears, general manager of Prestige Auto. "I realized these were the same guys who would allow me to be understaffed and miss calls and walk-ins if it meant they would get one more a day. Most of them were surviving off of the daily fresh-ups and did little or no follow-up. The ones that did would only keep at it for a week or two at best. At the same time, our statistics showed that a large number of people were taking 45-60 or more days to purchase. We were losing a lot of opportunities."
Zoho CRM fits well this features list. Zoho CRM is a user-friendly CRM that gives you a 360 degree view of your sales cycle. Zoho CRM lets you turn any email into a CRM record. This way, when a client or order email arrives into your inbox, you put it into the CRM folder with all of the related client data. The CRM database, pipelines and todo's - everything is available from inside Gmail.
Discover the power of Zoho CRM with our informative blog posts! Continue your journey to mastering customer relationship management and explore a wealth of valuable insights, tips, and tricks. Unlock the full potential of Zoho CRM and streamline your sales and marketing processes. Check out our other related posts and stay ahead in your CRM game! #ZohoCRM #CustomerRelationshipManagement #SalesandMarketing #BlogPosts #ExploreZoho
What is Zoho app used for?
Is there a Zoho CRM app?
Is Zoho app free?
What big companies use Zoho?
Is Zoho a competitor of Salesforce?
Yes, Zoho CRM is considered as a competitor to Salesforce. Both Zoho CRM and Salesforce offer customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to businesses and organizations. However, they differ in their features, pricing, and target audience. Zoho CRM is known for its affordability and user-friendly interface, while Salesforce is known for its extensive range of features and scalability. Both systems have their pros and cons and it depends on the specific needs of your business to determine which one is better for you.
What are the disadvantages of Zoho CRM?
There are a few disadvantages of Zoho CRM that you should be aware of:
- Limited scalability compared to other CRM systems
- Lacks some advanced features offered by other CRM systems
- Not as widely used as other CRM systems, which can make it harder to find support or integrations
- Learning curve can be steep for new users
However, these disadvantages should be weighed against the benefits of Zoho CRM, such as its affordability, user-friendly interface, and strong suite of integrated business apps.
Is Zoho the same as Google?
No, Zoho and Google are not the same. Zoho is a suite of business and productivity apps that includes a CRM system, while Google is a multinational technology company that offers a wide range of products and services, including search engines, cloud computing, email, and more. Zoho and Google both offer apps and services that can help businesses and organizations, but they are not directly comparable as they cater to different needs and have different offerings.