An effective customer relationship management (CRM) system resolves a lot of growth pains for every business. CRMs store and manage information, automate business processes, and assist in maintaining client relationships while boosting lead volume at the same time.

However, some businesses encounter issues with their CRM that makes it unable for them to maximize these benefits. Here are seven signs that indicate it’s time you need a new CRM:

1. Your data has grown disorganized

A 2014 study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC) discovered significant insights into how workers relate to data they handle. They found that:

• 61% of workers need to access four or more systems to acquire the information they need to perform their tasks.
• 36% of a day is spent looking for and consolidating information across systems.
• Only 56% of the time can workers find the information they need to perform their job.

If your customer data is not located in a centralized source of information or takes a long time to find, these are signs that your sales team is unable to fully maximize the information available to them. Consolidating your data in one CRM system will help you:

• Avoid being overwhelmed by data: Data grows unmanageable if they are spread across emails, shared drives, spreadsheets, post-it-notes, calling cards, calendars and more. With CRM, you will only need to check one place.
• Prevent loss of data: Some workers might not like the CRM you are using and may record information elsewhere. Or the notes they jotted down might suddenly disappear. Outside one central source of information, valuable data can be easily lost.
• Allow remote access: Your team can easily store and share the information they gathered even while they’re out in the field. They don’t have to rely on alternative methods for recording customer interactions, either.

2. You’re unable to track leads and clients

Picture this: Your website is getting a lot of traffic and generating sales leads. However, your CRM acts way too slowly and you end up losing all of these leads.

The primary purpose of CRM is to track leads and clients in order to increase conversions, boost sales, and promote retention. If your CRM is hindering you rather than helping you manage customer relationships, then you need a CRM that’s up to the task.

An intelligent CRM will be able to record customer information, sort and prioritize leads, and assist you in figuring out when follow-ups are needed. It is a tool that guides your lead tracking and nurturing processes by automating your workflow so you can build relationships with these leads.

3. You’re having trouble analyzing and reporting data

One sign of an effective CRM platform is when you onboard a new account manager, they won’t have a problem understanding and synthesizing the data presented to them. If your CRM leaves you confused over the status of your customers, then it’s time to look for a new system.

Moreover, sales team members should be spending their time selling rather than analyzing information. Manual reports are time-consuming and not scalable, so it will hinder your business from growing further.

You need a CRM platform that will allow you to create customizable reports based on relevant company information. With good CRM, you can even automate this process so that you won’t have any trouble analyzing and sharing your findings with others.

4. Your sales reps waste time on tedious tasks

In a study by CSO Insights, they found that salespeople spend 64.8% of their time on non-selling activities. That means only less than half of a sales rep’s time is actually spent on revenue-generating tasks, while more is spent on tedious administrative work. These are signs that your sales team is unable to do what they are there for.

A basic CRM system can be used to automate these time-consuming tasks such as email generation and distribution, follow-up activities, and information organization. More intelligent CRM systems can go even further by filling in missing customer information, removing duplicates, analyzing information accurately, and creating updated reports.

5. You’re providing subpar customer service

Modern customers expect two things when it comes to customer service:

• Personalization: Personalization builds a relationship between a business and their customers. When your employees have access to all records of previous interactions, they have enough information to tailor their service for this particular customer.
• Understanding: Customers expect that their needs will be understood and met on your end. Instead of merely reacting to customer complaints, your team should understand and anticipate what customers require of them.

Having a unified view of your customers through CRM will effectively facilitate communication with them.

Aside from meeting those expectations, communicating outside the CRM platform may result in inconsistent service. You won’t be able to manage these interactions and help your sales team improve. With a quality CRM software, you can house templates for messaging and foster consistent, excellent customer service.

6. Your sales process is unclear

Inconsistencies will cause chaos in your sales process. If each sales rep on your team has their own processes, there is bound to be confusion. Management may not be familiar with the issues that arise from a possibly faulty system, which means they won’t be able to address these problems or allocate the resources to resolve them.

CRM software will help clear up your sales process, as it gives you insights into each step. You’ll be able to check on outstanding deliverables and hold your team members accountable. Aside from that, you need a CRM that can also:

• Allow you to view a history of customer interactions
• Forecast future sales and plan out your sales pipeline
• Manage information flow from the sales team

7. Your system lacks scalability

When you’re relying on spreadsheets and post-it-notes to organize your information, your growth will be limited since you won’t be able to accurately assess your growth. A spreadsheet might be enough if your business is dealing with only a handful of customers, but it will become more challenging to keep this up as your business grows.

It’s also difficult to view your sales pipeline or generate meaningful insights this way. An effective CRM should be able to grow alongside you by doing the following:

• Record and organize information on sales interactions
• Integrate third party applications (e.g. eCommerce, HR, Accounting systems)
• Track sales team performance
• Sync task lists, calendars, alerts, and reminders
• Automate administrative tasks

Commence CRM – The Best In The Business

If your current CRM system isn’t meeting your needs or you aren’t supported by CRM at all, try Commence CRM.

Commence CRM is the leading CRM solution for small to midsize businesses. Our award-winning, desktop computer software enables our clients to capture vital information, manage their sales cycles, forecast and report on their sales activity and so much more.

Take a test drive with Commence CRM, and access our robust and highly flexible CRM platform today.