How to choose the right CRM for a business

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a customer and account management software that allows you to manage all the contact phases of a company with its customers and potential customers or leads. More than that, it allows a 360º management that integrates the management of your customers with other areas such as marketing, sales, customer service, and after-sales service. 

In practice, the CRM stores information about current and potential customers - name, address, phone number, email, among others - and their activities and points of contact with the company, including visits to websites, and interactions by email or telephone, among others.

That's why CRM is so useful: it gathers all relevant information about customers and leads in one place, and integrates all important customer data, such as personal information, purchase history, and preference, making it an indispensable tool for sales and marketing teams. CRM also helps to improve external and internal communications and to ensure good experiences at every step of the customer journey, among other benefits.
 

Does my company need a CRM?

Are you wondering if your company requires a CRM? Here are some factors that may indicate the need for one:

• Teams work together, even if they are at a distance;
• Teams travel several times;
• It is difficult to find customer data to make decisions on the spot;
• Information is everywhere and it is difficult to close deals;
• The company is growing faster than expected;
• The company wants to improve the customer experience;
• The IT department is overwhelmed with maintenance requests.

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How to choose the right CRM for my company 

There are several CRM systems on the market and, therefore, when choosing which is the ideal software for a company there are some topics that should be considered by the team:
 

• Identify the needs of the company

Companies are not the same way and what may work for one, may not work for another. Therefore, the first thing to do before choosing a CRM is to analyze the sales and marketing processes and understand what the company wants to simplify and improve. 
 

• Define the purpose of the CRM software

After identifying the needs, the next step is to define the objectives of the CRM system. The more you know about the goal you want to achieve, the easier it will be to choose the best CRM. Examples of objectives:
- Manage relationships:
- Increase productivity;
- Increase sales;
 - Monitor the sales team;
- Analyze the development of opportunities.
 

• Customization of the system

A good CRM allows you to customize the software to be able to implement different strategies for different leads and customers. Customizing the system based on the company's needs is essential for the CRM to work well.
 

• On-premise or in the cloud 

There are cloud-based and on-premise CRM systems. The on-premise CRM solution is hosted on a local company server, while a cloud solution is hosted on a remote server and can be accessed via the Internet. 
 

• Access to the CRM

Nowadays, it is really important to be able to access the CRM from anywhere. In addition, the sales team uses various devices such as mobile, tablets, and computers, so it is important that they can access the CRM at any time, whether they are in an office or visiting a customer. 
 

• Integrations

One of the benefits of CRM is to simplify a company's tasks. So for a good CRM, integration with other systems must be part of its features. Microsoft CRM allows integrations with Outlook and Microsoft Teams, for example. 
 

• GDPR compliance

Nowadays, data is valuable and companies must comply with rules to protect customers and prospects. Thus, a CRM solution must be GDPR compliant.  


Once you have analyzed all these points, you will be one step closer to identifying the right CRM software for your company. The best CRM will be the one that best suits your needs.

At Hydra IT you implement a CRM solution that meets all the conditions to be the right CRM for companies, whether it is a large industry or a small business. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM you will be investing in the right software for your sales team.

Make the right decisions through data analysis, be always present thanks to automation, and win even more customers. Schedule a free demo and make big deals.