As your company grows and gains momentum in leads, you’ll inevitably lose the ability to effectively track and manage all of your vital business activity through manual methods such as paper documents, spreadsheets, or email folders.
These manual methods make sense, especially for businesses that are just getting started because they are cost-effective and manageable. However, when you reach the point where manual data storage and tracking is just too cumbersome or is leading to lost, damaged, or incorrect information, it is time to consider investing in budget Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
Budget CRM software can help you centralize and streamline all of your business communications, and leads, and even track sales information for you. While the benefits of implementing a budget CRM into your business are numerous, it is very important that you budget properly for this large business purchase and its integration.
It is quite easy to overspend on such a purchase, so as you make your decision, you should consider how to work a budget CRM software implementation into your budget. You will also want to think through all of the features you need to improve the efficiency of your teams and company overall. This will help determine what business requirements a budget CRM software purchase will fulfill.
How to Select a New Budget CRM Software
Budgeting for a new budget CRM software is a necessary first step to determining how much you can afford to invest. To accurately plan for what you can spend on purchasing a new CRM system, you should consider aspects that impact your current and future profitability potentials such as costs, time savings, efficiency, and productivity.
Costs
The cost of CRM systems should be the first thing you should become familiar with as you work a CRM into your company budget. Make a detailed list of all your monthly expenditures and compare those costs to your sales and profits over the past six to twelve months. This will give you a solid baseline of your profitability and help you see how much you can truly afford to spend on budget CRM software.
Once you have an idea of the amount you have to spend, you can begin researching budget CRM solutions and do a CRM software comparison of features and costs to see what makes the most sense for your company financially. It is always a good rule of thumb to overestimate how much a budget CRM system will cost initially cost to set up but it will pay off in the long run if you do end up choosing the right budget CRM system for your company.
Time Savings
Your profit potential cannot be fully estimated on sales and cost of data alone. When you are budgeting for powerful and time-saving software like budget CRM software, then you will also need to consider how much time the new tools will save you and build that into your bottom line. After all, time is money and the time you save with a great budget CRM system is time you can use to grow.
Efficiency and Productivity
While planning for your new budget CRM, you should also spend time evaluating what activities your team is spending the most time on each day. If your company has experienced recent growth, there is a good chance that your valuable team members may be spending the majority of their time on paperwork rather than working toward bigger strategic initiatives in your company. The right budget CRM system can streamline all things related to customer relationships. It can improve customer retention and thus drive sales growth.
The CRM Features You Should Consider
In addition to crunching the numbers in your budget CRM software, you should also consider the product details and features that will be the most beneficial to your company and employees. If you have a good understanding of what you need, you will be better prepared to make an informed decision as you select which CRM software option to buy. This step of the planning process will also help you avoid purchasing too much software filled with options you don’t need or won’t ever use.
As you plan your budget CRM purchase, ask yourself the following questions to evaluate the most important budget CRM features for your business:
- How can this software simplify lead generation, tracking, and follow-up?
- How easy will it be to integrate this budget CRM system?
- Can this system be accessed remotely or from mobile devices?
- How difficult will it be to customize this budget CRM software to my business needs?
- What kind of support does this budget CRM software offer?
- Does this budget CRM tool offer user-friendly and accurate analytics?
How to Factor Business Needs into Your Purchasing Budget CRM Decision
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, you will need to factor your unique business needs into your budget CRM software purchasing decision. Do a thorough analysis of the things that may be holding back your company’s growth, and then address whether or not a budget CRM tool can help heal some of the pain points that are prevalent in your company.
Some of the budget CRM business needs you should factor in are:
- The target audience of your company
- Customer retention and churn rates
- Success with meeting sales goals and strategic objectives
- New client or customer acquisition
There are two deployment models for budget CRM systems: cloud-based and on-premise budget CRM. Both come with their own benefits but what sets them apart is cost; hence, if you know what exactly your business needs, you can select the right type of budget CRM system that is within your company’s budget.
Completing an in-depth analysis of your business and effective budgeting will help you understand your business needs and growth challenges. You can then use this vital information to select a budget CRM that best fits your needs and your budget, as well as discover even more ways you can position your business for growth and success.
Use our guide to compare CRM solutions for their features and price to determine which budget CRM system is right for your company’s unique needs and expectations.
