Now customer relationship management (CRM) software is a must-have for most businesses. Companies increasingly realize the need for CRM. Without one, it’s more difficult than ever to compete and grow your business.
However, some businesses still do not feel the need for CRM and have not adopted this game-changing technology. If you fall into this category, this article is for you.
The need for a CRM
When we look at the facts around CRM usage and benefits, it becomes difficult to dispute the importance of CRM—particularly for small businesses.
Here are 10 facts that will convince you of the need for a CRM
CRM continues to grow
CRM is the fastest growing software market today. It was a $14 billion industry in 2010 and is expected to reach $80 billion by 2025. That’s nearly a 600% increase. (Source Grand View Research)
CRM solutions are not just for large enterprise businesses anymore. What was once a cost-prohibitive technology has become affordable for any business, no matter the size. Bootstrapped businesses can even acquire free CRM software.
Rapid growth and fierce competition have driven prices down and improved functionality and ease of use. And the CRM industry will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
CRM is now a necessity
91% of businesses with 10 or more employees now use CRM software. (Source CRM Magazine)
As mentioned above, it’s nearly impossible to remain competitive today without leveraging a CRM solution to automate processes, improve alignment between teams, streamline data storage, and form better customer relationships.
Companies that use CRM solutions to the fullest of their capabilities will be the ones that survive in the future. Those that don’t will fade into obscurity.
CRM provides great ROI
A recent survey revealed that for companies that use a CRM, the average return on their technology investment is $8.71 for each dollar spent. (Source Nucleus Research)
Why does CRM produce such a high return on investment (ROI)? Because it streamlines and automates manual processes so your team can spend less time on time-consuming processes like data entry and instead focus more attention on forming a strategy and interacting with customers.
In other words, your team can spend more time focusing on delivering a stellar customer experience and building brand loyalty. That is difficult to do when an endless list of busy work leaves your team swamped.
Mobile CRM rises
Research shows that, on average, 65% of salespeople who adopt mobile CRM meet their sales quotas. Only 22% of salespeople who don’t leverage mobile CRM meet their quotas.
Sales reps must be as available as possible to be successful. They travel often, work from home, and are not always in front of their computers. By using mobile devices to access their CRM solution, they can engage prospects and customers whenever they receive outreach.
Mobile CRM allows interested prospects to reach sales reps at any time of the day or night. This results in more deals won and faster, more sustainable revenue growth.
Great customer experience
A survey of CRM users reported that the most exciting opportunity users cited for acquiring CRM technology are the ability to improve the customer experience. That ranked higher than content marketing, mobile access, personalization, and social CRM capabilities. (Source SuperOffice)
This isn’t hard to believe. By 2020 the customer experience is set to overtake product and price as the main driver behind consumers’ purchasing decisions. People will increasingly pay more if you treat them well. That’s why the customer experience is so important today.
Growth in sales and productivity
Businesses that leverage CRM software sees sales increase by 29%, sales productivity increase by 34%, and sales forecast accuracy increase by 42%. (Source Salesforce)
Why is this? Because high-quality CRMs provide sales enablement tools, process automation, CRM reporting, access to loads of personal customer data, and built-in project management capabilities. All of this allows sales reps to more easily form relationships with prospects and engage them in a personalized way that is always relevant to the individual prospect.
Increased conversion rates
Using CRM software can increase sales conversion rates by up to 300%. (Source Cloudswave)
Because a CRM automates so many processes and frees up so much time for sales reps, they can spend more time focused on closing deals. They can devote more time to forming and nurturing relationships, building trust, and understanding what each prospect needs.
Then, they can use that to illustrate to prospects that their product is the best fit for the prospect’s use case.
Customer retention and satisfaction
A recent poll of CRM users found that 47% of respondents say CRM usage has a substantial impact on customer retention. An equal percentage say that CRM usage helped them increase customer satisfaction. (Source Capterra)
Increasing customer satisfaction is critically important these days. Unsatisfied customers can easily leave you for a competitor with so much competition saturating every industry.
Satisfied customers are more loyal and stick around longer. This leads to higher levels of customer retention, which is vital for the health of any business.
Data accessibility
Because CRM software greatly improves data accessibility, sales reps at companies using a CRM are able to shorten their sales cycles by 8 to 14%. (Source Nucleus Research)
The best CRM solutions out there give sales reps access to loads of personal data about customers and prospects. With 360-degree contact views, they can quickly gain deep insight into a prospect before they ever reach out, allowing them to more quickly form rapport and close deals faster.
Ease of use
A recent study reported that 65% of CRM users consider ease of use to be the most important requirement when selecting a CRM solution. (Source Inside CRM)
CRMs with a shorter learning curve allow users to come up to speed quickly and increase overall CRM adoption. Ease of use—i.e., an intuitive interface—is considered more important than scheduling and project management, and the ability to maintain a clear view of the company’s results.
Conclusion
There has never been a greater need for CRM. If you still use spreadsheets to manage data and manually enter data, it's time to begin searching for a CRM that streamlines your processes and automates tasks so your team can achieve more with time.
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