The way we see it, technology is an indispensable element for the competitiveness of companies on the market. And here, we talk about all aspects, whether in the technology of your devices or, mainly, in the software used in their operation. Therefore, we created this post to talk about the importance of a good CRM platform.
As you will see during this reading, this is a fundamental tool for optimizing the company’s relationship with consumers. Ultimately, it is through innovation and the investment in applied technology that makes it possible to qualify your services and leverage your results. So, don’t waste time and follow along!
What is a CRM platform?
A lot of acronyms, abbreviations, and technical terms are used in the realm of technology.For instance, the term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is shortened.Consequently, a customer relationship management tool—that is, a panel that streamlines, centralizes, and promotes client interaction—is all that a CRM platform is.
The main objective of this tool is to improve the organization of consumer data, in addition to offering an intuitive and practical way to visualize the main indicators of the operation. It is no coincidence that CRM is one of the most important tools in the hands of the marketing department, as this is the type of technology that empowers your Sales team.
Without CRM, companies aggregate their lead information manually and repetitively into tools that are functional, but not necessarily created for this, such as spreadsheets. With a good CRM, the operation is automated, gaining speed, efficiency and informational intelligence — which is an essential combination for companies data driven.
How to choose the ideal CRM platform?
After learning about the technology’s competitive edge, it’s time to review some advice and best practices to make sure you make the right hire.In our opinion, there are three main things you should think about: the requirements of your business, the tools’ usability, and the possibility of integration.
Considering just these three points, it is possible to guide your decision process, ensuring the choice of a tool that will be compatible and easy to implement in your operation. But, of course, in addition to these factors there are also others that may have more or less weight in its management, such as cost and regionalization.
After all, it is worth remembering that many CRM tools are international, even though there are dozens of high-quality national solutions on the market. Generally, international tools have dollar prices, making them slightly more expensive when compared to national platforms.
Assess the company’s needs
It all starts by identifying the demands of your operation. After all, why are you looking for a CRM? The first answers to this question are the ones that reveal what you should prioritize in your evaluation. Many companies just want to migrate from spreadsheets to a more integrated, but not as sophisticated, solution.
Other companies are adopting a modernization stance, which usually happens when there is a change in management, which is more focused on innovation. Ultimately, you need to answer that question objectively. All the pain points listed in the answers are the features that you should prioritize in the ideal tool.
In a way, all CRM tools available on the market offer the basics, which is a database of records for customers and their information. Technical sophistication, the gap between the worst and the best tool, is determined by issues such as software usability, interface accessibility, additional resources and the possibility of automation.
Check ease of use
This is a tip directly linked to the previous one. Okay, let’s say you’re looking for marketing automation, data centralization and integration of your teams. OK! You need a complete solution. However, this does not necessarily mean choosing the most expensive, complex and sophisticated solution on the market.
After all, it is always good to remember that the main users of these tools will be marketing and sales professionals, who need to operate efficiently and quickly. In other words, choosing a platform whose information panel is dense, polluted and too complex will only hinder management.
Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the different options, effectively testing each one of them in practice. The best way to do this — even for free — is by accessing the trials offered by these companies. Often, there is even support to accompany you onboarding, testing and navigating the tool.
Analyze the possibility of integration
Last, but increasingly important, is the potential for integration. We say this because, as we all know, it is increasingly common for our operations to be digitalized. You may have already noticed the large number of tools we use to solve the entire range of problems during the work.
This is especially true in the marketing, sales, technology and advertising sector. And integration is the quality that allows you to assess whether there is compatibility between the tools and systems you already use with the CRM you intend to hire. Of course, today, most CRMs facilitate the import of data from other software, via API, webhook or direct import of csv, xlsx, pdf, txt and similar files.
Furthermore, it is also important to assess whether there is compatibility between the software that already operates in your management. For example, is your chosen CRM compatible with your email marketing provider? Of course, even when there is no native integration, offered by the developer himself, it is possible to create a script to promote this integration via code.
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