Five Considerations When Evaluating CRMs

Finding a reliable, intuitive and powerful Contact Relationship Management (CRM) tool shouldn’t be challenging. Especially not when the instrument itself is designed to make running your business smoother. Throughout the years, CRM software has kept up with technological advancements and design, making them more agile and flexible. They are user-friendly and easy to learn, implement and manage.

A quality CRM is a one-stop-shop where businesses can provide marketing services, maintain contact data, and manage relationships between many stakeholders, including clients, prospects, vendors, partners and more. CRMs also offer businesses an opportunity to scale, grow and drive profits – so how do you find the perfect match for your business needs?

Some CRM software companies will try to sell you on bells and whistles, but just because something is sharp and shiny doesn’t mean you need it to be successful. You’ll want to make sure the CRM software you choose is:

SCALABLE

When evaluating a CRM, think about how your organization will leverage the tool not only today but in the future. A comprehensive CRM that enables a company to follow the life cycle of a prospect’s journey will most likely be the best long-term solution for your organization. Find a CRM that is scalable and aligns with your prospects’ and clients’ journeys.

AN INTEGRATED SOLUTION 

It is time-consuming and costly to invest in software that requires you to manage all of your business tools separately. To avoid this, ensure your CRM is either an integrated solution or a good communicator and can speak to products you’re already using. For example, suppose you're using a tool for email communications, such as Emma, or a project management tool such as Asana or Basecamp. In this case, you'll want to ensure your CRM allows you to search, pull data and run reports from these software tools, and it is also compatible with any Google or Microsoft products you already leverage.

Alternatively, you can look at an integrated CRM that offers database management, marketing and sales in one system. Leveraging a sophisticated tool will eliminate costs, create time efficiencies and reduce the risk of system integration errors.

INTUITIVE

We said it before, and we’ll say it again: a CRM is meant to make business operations smoother. Selecting a CRM with a simple, easy workflow is paramount. Many CRMs today have easy to navigate interfaces and a comprehensive reporting library for you to leverage. Report creation tools can be cumbersome, so ensure you do a deep dive into what is entailed in creating a custom report before purchasing a CRM. Luckily, most CRM software providers offer a free trial. Take advantage of this opportunity.

DESIGNED FOR TRANSPARENCY

Transparency is crucial to running a successful sales and marketing program. Therefore, it is beneficial to have access to customizable dashboards and robust reporting to provide you and key stakeholders with the information needed to make informed decisions. 

Transparency is also necessary to understand the habits of your clients and prospects. This allows you to make the decisions that will shape your marketing program and product offering.

COST EFFECTIVE

Cost is extremely important to consider when selecting a CRM. The spread between a simple, off-the-shelf solution and a fully integration institutional tool is wide. Take your time when evaluating a CRM paying attention to what your business needs are and trying not to be swayed by the fancy “bells and whistles.” 

We offer this advice from our own experience when selecting a CRM partner. After a lengthy diligence process, we chose HubSpot as our marketing and contact management solution. It is a comprehensive and intuitive tool that offers flexible sales, marketing and contact management solutions. In a future blog post, we will talk more to HubSpot’s capabilities and how the tool helps financial services companies scale, reduce costs and increase their win rates.

Reach out to a member of our team if we can help you navigate the complexities of evaluating the the right CRM for your business.