10 Essential Questions for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Investment Decisions

Introduction

The most confused CRM buyers come from SMBs. So, I would put certain measures to help the SMB segment to purchase the right CRM. Right CRM defines the right features that suit their wallet as well as their needs during the growing phase. Big Fishes in the market lives on the investments of small and medium business segments. Just to avoid that trap, you need to educate yourself with the most essential touchstone.

Let's figure out the most rated FAQs to stop thinking about the necessity of a CRM for your organization.

1. Why do I need a CRM?

If you and your team want to track inquiries/ leads that come from different channels like email, calls, social media, meetups, etc. Once you receive these enquiries, you start qualifying them to discover if it is a prospect or opportunity and you turn those into revenue. Just to gather all this track history commonly needs a CRM in place.

2. Do I have any data leakage threats from my employees?

As you know, data protection is a must for any small or large organization. So, if there is a threat of data leakage, then before sharing with your associates you need to protect the same, using the data accessibility setting. Many leading CRMs allow data-sharing options to shield the data within your organizational structure.

3. Do I generate sufficient inquiries that need a proper system?

Unless you have sufficient data, it is not worth putting a costly CRM to manage the same.

4. Can Notepad and Excel sheets suffice my needs?

If you have a fistful of customers, then you can manage the CRM using an Excel Sheet or even a notepad.

5. Is my team educated enough to use a CRM?

If your sales and services team does not understand mobile or web apps then there is no meaning to provide them with a CRM but what you can do is to assemble the entire data of your own using a CRM/ Excel sheet.

6. How much should I invest in CRM?

This depends upon your budget and degree of requisites. So, to start with you need to key out the number of CRM users. Some CRM companies comes with limitless users. That would be a better option for start-ups if they hesitate to invest in bulk.

7. What will be my expected ROI after using CRM?

Return on Investment (ROI) is directly related to the invested sum, returned revenue, and adoption score. However, you can calculate the same using the formula:

"ROI = Net Profit ÷ Invested Amount ✖ 100".

8. What are the required features that bound me to go with a CRM?

This question might be answered once your vertical and standard operating process is identified. However, let me list down must-haves and good-to-haves featured at the bottom of this FAQ.

9. Which are the low-cost CRMs, I should value first?

You can explore the low-cost CRMs available in the market using your preferred search engine. The keywords to help you search for those will be as follows:

• "CRM for Small Business"

• "CRM for Startups"

• "Sales CRM to start with"

• "Low-cost CRM for Small and Small Medium Business"

• "CRM Solution Providers"

10. Is there any hidden cost and implementation cost associated?

The answer is always "Yes" for the cost associated with Software Implementation or adjustment. The hidden cost might be the required add-on. Like additional storage, useful paid features, support fees, etc. So, before purchasing any CRM you should book a demo and if required you can enroll yourself for a FREE POC/ Trial Pilot. I was associated with many CRM software companies in the past. And, I have noticed 80-90% of companies are misled by the marketing trap. So, I would suggest you go through a proper valuation process before you invest in a CRM.

Required Features for SMB CRM

As promised above, I am adding here certain Must-Have and Good-to-Have features for your convenience:

• Must-Have Features: ☑

• Good to Have Features: ✔

Inquiry/ Lead Management Module

1. Multiple Lead Channels (Lead Auto Capture) ☑

2. Email Channel (Sales Email Alias) ✔

3. Social Media (Like Facebook Ads, Google Ads, X Ads, etc.) ✔

4. Webform (Website Contact us) ☑

5. Other Marketplace (IndiaMART, Justdial, etc.) ✔

6. Mass Lead Import (using .csv, .xls files, etc.) ☑

7. Lead Assignment Rule (through Automation) ✔

8. Lead Filtration ☑

9. Lead Reports ☑

Deal/ Opportunity Management Module

1. Deal Pipeline (Sales Cycle) ☑

2. Deal Assignment ✔

3. Deal Qualification Q&A Section ✔

4. Deal Reports ☑

Contact and Company (Account) Modules

1. Create Contacts and Companies ☑

2. Creating new deals by tying in a Contact and/ or Company ✔

3. Account and Company wise MIS/ Reports ☑

Activity Module - Task, Call and Meeting/ Events

1. Log/ Schedule Task, Calls and Meetings ☑

2. System reminders ☑

3. Activity Report to quantify the engagement of the employees ☑

Products and Services Module

1. Product/ Services Details ☑

Quotation, Sales Order and Invoice Module

1. Quotation Module ☑

2. Sales Order Module ✔

3. Invoice Module ✔

Vendor Module

1. Vendor Creation ✔

2. Purchase Order Creation ✔

Reports

1. Dashboards for different profiles ☑

2. Custom report creation ☑

Integration/ Marketplace

1. Open APIs to allow 3rd Party Integration ✔

Communication

1. Email Integration ☑

2. SMS Integration ✔

3. WhatsApp Integration ✔

4. Promotional Email Application integration ✔

Mobile Application

1. FREE Android and/ or iOS App to work from anywhere ☑

Conclusion

Within the market, numerous CRMs offer free editions with feature limitations. If you prefer to explore without financial commitment, you may opt to continue with these options. Narrow down your choices to 3-4 applications that align with your organization's requirements, then select the most suitable solution for purchase.

If you're experiencing challenges with your current CRM system, don't hesitate to schedule a call with me to address your concerns. Please note that consultations exceeding 1 hour will be subject to a fee. To schedule, kindly visit the contact page to reserve your slot on my calendar.