Jul
26

By CommenceCRM

CRM Software Now an Unavoidable Investment

In today’s fast paced on demand environment if you are not able to address customer inquiries quickly and efficiently you’re out of business.

Organizations big and small need to efficiently manage customer relationships and they can no longer do it with a spiral notebook or an Excel spreadsheet. You need to be agile, social and prepared to engage your customers. The only way to effectively do this is to have one central database where you can capture, track, manage and share customer information with people throughout your organization. This is the promise of CRM software.

For those who have invested in implementing this technology, it has proven to significantly improve sales execution and customer service. But people need to understand what I mean by investment.

CRM software is often viewed as a commodity or a tool like a hammer that simply provides value on its own. It doesn’t. There is a human being on the other end of that hammer who needs to be trained how to use and realize benefit from the tool. The training aspect is just as important as the software you select.

There are some pretty good CRM solutions out there and even the most basic ones can provide you with an account and contact database and store all communications and history about your customers. These systems are easy to use and affordable so there is no excuse for not making this investment.

You may even find that you will want to do more. While the basic low cost solutions can be a bit limited in their functionality, most mid-market CRM systems offer the ability to manage sales, automate marketing, and track customer service issues via a help desk ticketing system. If you plan to do this or grow into it, look for a solution provider that offers not only training in these areas, but best practices for the proper implementation and use of their software.

You’re going to have to invest in the technology and training if you are looking to become a more efficient sales and service organization. Make sure the vendor you select has the resources and value added services you need to be successful with their solution.

Photo Credit: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot/freedigitalphotos.net

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