For companies without CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, systems, the additional expenses and labor required to implement such a system seems unnecessary. But ask any company who’s added a CRM system to their business and you’ll always hear the following statement.
My CRM system makes my business more money.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Can one business tool make such a difference? In one word, absolutely. But if you need a little more convincing about why you need CRM, keep reading to see exactly how not having such a system is costing businesses a fortune every day.
What Is a CRM System?
A CRM system helps businesses manage customer data. When used to their full potential, such systems support sales management, deliver important insights, and improve team communication. Most systems are integrable with other software services or platforms like social media. CRM systems track customer interactions so businesses can provide authentic and personalized service that today’s consumers expect.
Say your company acquires a new prospect. Let’s call him Jim. Jim’s interested in your services but he’s not ready to move forward yet. He tells your salesman (let’s call him Mark) to call again in a few weeks. Mark puts all the information into the CRM system and goes about his day.
Days later, Mark is notified by the CRM system to give Jim a call because he’s back on the website. After their last conversation, Mark made notes about Jim’s kids and love of golf. After spending a few minutes asking about how Jim’s kids are enjoying the summer and if he’s been able to make it to the golf course lately, Mark delivers his sales pitch. Jim’s thankful Mark took the time to follow up and he’s impressed with his genuine interest in his well-being. Jim quickly becomes a customer.
How Much Does a CRM System Cost?
It’s a valid question. How much does a CRM system cost? There are several initial and ongoing costs to consider.
First, the cost of labor while selecting a service should be taken into consideration. You’ll likely have team members look into a dozen or so providers, schedule demos with a select few, and then discuss the pros and cons during a meeting to determine a winning contender.
The cost of implementation and training will be the most expensive, but these are luckily one-time costs. Finally, there’s the cost to keep the system running, like subscription fees, to consider.
For most companies, the typical cost to implement a CRM system needs to be considered against their overall budget. But at the end of the day, the answer is always the same for every business in every industry. No matter what it costs to implement a CRM system, it will always cost your business more not to have one.
4 Ways Not Having a CRM System Is Actually More Expensive
This is important enough to say again. Not having a CRM system will always cost your business money, no matter how small or organized you think you are. Here are four reasons why not having CRM is dangerous for your bottom line.
No accountability
CRM systems are transparent, allowing sales leads and management positions to monitor information and actions by teams or by individuals. Without such a system, it’s not difficult for an employee to say they’ve made their contact calls and follow-ups without actually having done so.
With a CRM system, it’s easy to see which employees are keeping up on their responsibilities and which are letting opportunities slip through the cracks. Unless you’re able to monitor every moment of every employee’s workday, you could be letting a substantial percentage of your prospects fall out of your sales funnel due to inactivity by employees.
Inefficiency
It takes five follow-ups to secure a sale, at least 80% of the time. With CRM systems, it’s simple to track and monitor where a prospect is on their potential journey to becoming a customer.
Trying to track follow-ups without a sophisticated system can be frustrating and inefficient. Not only could sales teams be losing track of leads, but they could also be wasting time searching for information.
Inability to measure ROI
Because CRM systems provide detailed customer profiling and real-time data, it becomes easier than ever to know what marketing strategies are paying off and which are less than effective.
Without a CRM system, you could be wasting valuable resources on marketing campaigns that just don’t work. Sure, you’ll eventually find out that it’s time to switch gears but with CRM data, you’ll know much sooner.
Lost information
On average, an employee will stay with your company for 4.6 years. If you have an employee who leaves on good terms, they’ll most likely leave behind contact information for their clients and leads, setting up their replacement for success.
But everything they know about a client on a personal base goes with them. And should an employee leave on bad terms, you could lose all their lead and client information for good.
Think back to past employees. Do you think it’s possible that some of your top-performing employees took clients with them to their new employer? Even with a non-solicitation agreement, you may never know if a few got away.
CRM software enables you to nurture relationships with people in every stage of your sales funnel. The system also provides precise customer data to help you discover helpful insights to improve your marketing, deliverability, and business overall.
Stop losing leads, resources, and the potential for growth by operating without a CRM system. For more information on CRM systems and their benefits, get in touch with NYB Creative, a marketing agency that can help you get the most from your CRM tools.
