When it comes to swapping over to a new free CRM, you should have cognizance of the enormity of the stakes involved. In point of fact, changing over to a new CRM can be fairly difficult keeping in mind the aspects of sizeable time consumption and integration outlay. However, as your business grows and technology evolves remaining with your old CRM can force you to contend with lots of operational problems and causing business inefficiency. There are several key factors that indicate it?s time to move on from your failing legacy system.
Read on to learn 5 of them that provide the much-needed signal to gear yourself up for a potential CRM switchover.
1.You need a CRM that?s bang up to date
With the growth and expansion of your business goals the capabilities of your company also grows simultaneously. An old CRM that fails to deliver in providing the following new functionalities is something you need to throw on the scrapheap.
- VoIP or IP telephony for initiating calls right from your free CRM
- Scripts to put workflows and consumer-centric business processes into automation
- Live chat option to establish real-time communication with your customers
- Incorporation of special apps to facilitate the use of digital signature
- Integrated web forms for seizing high-quality leads
- Interactive dashboards to obtain in-depth business analytics with ease and accuracy
If your free CRM software system is bereft of the aforementioned functionalities, you experience:
- Its database structure becoming highly outmoded
- Its functional capabilities going downhill
- Its consolidation with ultra-modern SaaS applications (especially meant to improve sales and marketing strategies) becoming unfeasible
And the most unfortunate part is eventually you either create tiresome workarounds or simply fail to cash in on the latest technology.
2. You need to deploy new features and increase ease of access
Over time, as your company evolves and flourishes, the need for more technological flexibility becomes imperative. You?re more at risk of trailing behind the competition as far as your system?s efficacy and service speed are concerned.
These days, the need to carry out the following activities is of utmost significance.
- To increase or decrease the number of active CRM users effortlessly
- To overhaul your existing free CRM framework with loss of no productivity
- To opt for a mobile responsive CRM and gain its access while on the go and on a number of devices
- To choose the functionality needed to accomplish certain business operations
For instance, assuming that your company boasts of several international branches, it?s important that you have a cloud-based, free CRM software solution in place. Such a system will allow all the users to get into the same database simultaneously and in real time.
Furthermore, given that your salespeople are often required to go to and work in the field, it becomes a necessity that they use an intuitive mobile version of your CRM when it comes to easily accessing and updating tasks, customer details, sales opportunities, appointments, etc. regardless of the location and time they?re in or the devices they work with.
3. You need better support from the CRM vendor
One more sign that can upset you no ends is when you fail to receive adequate support from your CRM vendor. In the event that the vendor is unavailable to set up fruitful consultations, or stays away from providing reliable customer service, the overall productivity of your business may get severely impacted.
Firstly, you need to make sure that sufficient, all-inclusive training is imparted to you as well as your employees while you go ahead and adopt a new free CRM system. So, it?s important to settle on a CRM vendor who offers training and support that are highly comprehensive and interactive in nature. Secondly, on the off chance, a bug or a malfunction makes your system inoperative you have to be sure of receiving prompt help and support from the vendor. After all, your job has to continue and unwanted technical glitches shouldn?t bog you down from running your business efficiently.
In addition, you shouldn?t get in a fluster when it comes to offering your system with well-timed, trouble-free upgrades or executing complex integration processes. You have to make sure you can ask for and receive services from a consultant of the vendor company should you require further customization, expansion, or integration of your free CRM software architecture with the most recent features and programs.
4. You need to make your CRM features less complex
Having plenty of features isn?t always a good thing in so far your CRM is concerned. Time and again, companies do the mistake of overvaluing the needs of certain CRM functions. In consequence, either the majority of such features are left unused or unnecessarily lead to more complications thereby making your important tasks of sales, marketing, contact management, or customer service more convoluted and problematical.
As per the latest research carried out by Apptivo, it?s often the CRM?s built-in complexities that make companies unhappy with their current CRM system and contemplate the idea of changing over to another much-simpler system. Thus, it?s more meaningful to grab hold of free CRM software that comes up with dedicated user plans comprising only a few relevant features essential to accomplish a particular job.
This implies you?ll be able to arrive at the following major objectives.
- Your salespeople would work with lots of advanced tools and functionalities aimed at improving sales
- Your marketing team would focus more on the preparation, launch, and analysis of their marketing campaigns
- Your customer service team would benefit from an eclectic selection of service-related functions intended for them to provide comprehensive and well-timed support
5. You need to enhance your CRM systems UI and UX
Case in point is the fact that massive, old-fashioned, non-responsive CRM systems that run with too much sluggishness, complexity are fated to be vetoed by users across the board and eventually will fade into oblivion.
At the present moment, every customer doesn?t just crave for a product/service but also a worthwhile user experience. And each new headway that?s being made with the gradual evolution of CRM?is oriented?towards bringing in improved user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
A recently conducted survey with over 1000 companies giving their valued feedback shows that nearly 86 percent of prospects refer to the level of user-friendliness being a major factor to choose a free CRM system. The survey also points out to the ?ease of use? factor as crucially influencing an effective CRM adoption.
Of course, the survey findings come as no big surprise.
Because there can?t be anything as bad than grappling with the comprehension of a system that?s tailored to simplify your everyday activities and aid you in multitasking. It isn?t productive to invest substantial time to decipher features and fields or get perplexed in a tangle of unfounded, unexplained steps. So, given that your team dismisses your currently established CRM because of its looks and operability, it?s time to go for an overhaul.
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
