Picking the right CRM software partner is critical for long-term CRM success. The first question you should be asking is what are my business goals. Establishing your business goals will help you weed through all the options available with CRM systems to determine what your business truly needs. Do you simply need contact management? Do you need sales tracking and opportunity tracking? Is customer service functionality important to you? Use your business goals as a CRM litmus test.
The next thing you need to discern about your CRM software needs is do you want to store and host the software in-house or are you comfortable with online CRM systems? Many people are concerned with data security with web based CRM software, but in reality they are very secure and advanced. Another question that comes to mind when choosing between in-house CRM systems and online CRM systems is do you have the IT resources required to install and manage the CRM system? This may make the decision between in-house CRM systems and web-based CRM systems easy.
One other thing to consider when choosing between online CRM software and in-house CRM software is mobility. Do your sales people travel? Do they need to access CRM software remotely? This option is only available with online CRM software. There are many Advantages of Mobile CRM Software.
Other CRM Software Questions To Consider Before You Buy:
•Is the CRM solution set up and implementation process easy?
•Is it easy to migrate data to/from the CRM software?
•Is the CRM solution scalable as your business grows?
•Does the CRM software provide email marketing functionality?
•Is collaboration between sales team members easy with the CRM software?
•How many user licenses do you need? Will you need?
•Is the CRM software vendor stable and credible?
•Does the CRM software provider have experience in your industry or business model?
As you can see there are many things to consider when choosing a CRM software system that’s right for your business. But if you do the legwork upfront you will prevent frustration and CRM failure later!