Nimble is a CRM software that integrates with over 200 apps to ensure that all of your contact data is always up to date. Sync your favorite business apps (such as QuickBooks and Mailchimp) to unify your contacts across all platforms. Amazing, huh?
Customer relationship management is what “CRM” stands for. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. Without software designed to help stay on top of the details, business owners can run themselves ragged trying to keep up. This has firmly established CRMs like Nimble as a must-have for small business owners who want to improve relationships with their prospects, clients, and other contacts.
The sheer volume of data that you can track for each individual user in a cloud-based CRM system is staggering ― and exciting. Let’s look at the details:
CRMs vary in cost and complexity but generally share some key features across the board. The goal of every CRM system is to save teams and solopreneurs time on trivial data entry, build better relationships, and maintain the connections they create with their leads and customers.
It also helps marketing, sales, and customer service teams work better together by leveraging functionalities and features that can help everyone stay on top of important initiatives across departments.
Easy access to historical customer data. Customer relationship management systems allow teams to access client and prospect information everywhere they work. Some CRM solutions let their users sync information across multiple devices, providing the most up-to-date customer information from any access point.
Actionable insights. Most CRM software options are complete with analytics and reporting, allowing users to create customizable dashboards and reports based on customer data. With these reports, people can create segmented lists of customers, track revenue (potential and existing), and manage personalized campaigns.
Marketing teams can use CRM features such as contact segmentation, tagging, and group messaging to effectively engage with highly targeted lists of leads or customers. Customer Service teams benefit greatly from having a 360-view of entire engagement histories with contacts, enabling them better understand what needs to be done to solve an issue. Managers of every variety can enjoy custom pipelines, activity tracking, and a unified repository of emails across teams.
In essence, don’t let the preconceived notion that CRMs are just for salespeople turn you off; they can be used to amplify business efforts and streamline collaboration, no matter what team you’re on.
Application Programming Interface (API): A source code interface that a computer system or program library provides to support requests for services made via a computer program.
Cloud CRM: All the data of an organization resides in the CRM vendor’s servers in a datacentre and is accessed via the internet from anywhere. Therefore it is said to reside in a cloud.
Open Source CRM: The source code of a CRM is available for modifications. An organization can get CRM consultancy to determine what changes can be made in the CRM to align it with its business model.
Workflows: Automatic processes set in your CRM system. They are created to eliminate the need to perform a lot of manual tasks or to oversee a set of predefined actions.
CRMs range vastly in price; some are very reasonable, while others can run into the hundreds every month. This is why it’s so important to find the right CRM for your business; not only would implementing a super robust CRM software with all the bells and whistles cost a lot of unnecessary money, your team might not even use it due to complexity.
Do you work for a multi-million dollar corporation that employs 1,000 people? Maybe a solution like Salesforce is for you. Are you a solopreneur looking for a simple way to manage your contacts? Perhaps Nimble would be a better fit for your needs.
Salesforce is the biggest CRM company in the world. They’re known for having every feature imaginable. However, all of these bells and whistles come with a rather hefty price tag.
Salesforce is more expensive ($35 per month per user) than Nimble ($25 per month per user) and many SMB CRMs on the market, but many smaller companies choose it anyway. Why? It’s become synonymous with CRM software and, as our CEO Jon Ferrara says: “Nobody has ever gotten fired for buying Salesforce.” It’s a well-backed purchase — for the right team.
“For enterprise-level companies who may have large teams, or who wish to integrate multiple departments and multiple applications, or who’s needs are so specific that they require high-level customizations, Salesforce would be an obvious CRM that would be worthy of consideration,” explains Craig Jamieson, Managing Member/Owner of Adaptive Business Services.
Before committing to one particular CRM solution, really take the time to evaluate the needs of your business (as well as your budget) before pulling the trigger.
Best CRM For Real EstateCreate a CRM implementation team – Consider what each teammates’ role in your CRM implementation project will be to help your team adopt your CRM much more effectively. If your team doesn’t see the value of implementing a CRM, they may be very quick to abandon your new power tool or even worse — sabotage its success.
Forecast a CRM implementation budget – Dollars aren’t the only thing you can waste by not forecasting a CRM implementation budget or by integrating too many unnecessary features into your CRM; valuable hours of time can also be lost trying to fit square pegs into circular holes.
Plan for going live with your CRM – This part of your CRM implementation process is a huge opportunity for training and instilling data migration best practices. At Nimble, we often tell teams to agree on a uniform tagging system with their contact imports. You should also prepare for any speedbumps to take a more proactive approach to any issues that might arise.
Measure the success of your CRM implementation project – Identify your targets and track them on a regular basis. Here are a few common KPIs business teams use to track the success of their CRM implementation: system activity, record update tracking, business metrics, and efficiency.
See? CRMs aren’t so scary after all. Armed with the right information to make the best decisions for your business, you’ll be a pro in no time!
Megan Ranger was a former content marketing manager at Nimble. She is an alumna of California State University, Long Beach. She enjoys true crime podcasts, reading, and writing in her spare time.
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Managing relationships with customers is more crucial than ever as the technology boom continues. Enter the world of CRM, which stands for Customer Relationship Management, a necessary component not just in the current digital age but also for business owners to have maximum opportunities to scale growth.
As you explore this article, you’ll uncover the roots of CRM, its significance in modern business, how CRM satisfies customer needs and how choosing the best CRM might just be the secret sauce to propel your business to new heights.
CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a strategy that uses technology to manage and analyze customer interactions from start to finish as a customer works with you and your company. It’s not just a piece of software; rather, it’s a comprehensive strategy that encompasses people, processes and technology to improve customer satisfaction, enhance loyalty and drive profitability.
CRM software and apps enable organizations to collect, store and retrieve vital customer data, facilitating better decision-making and more personalized customer experiences. From tracking customer inquiries to managing marketing campaigns and monitoring sales pipelines, CRM systems serve as a central hub for all customer-related activities.
The roots of CRM can be traced back to the 1980s when businesses began to realize the need for more structured customer data management. Back then, CRM was primarily a manual process, with customer information stored in physical files and Rolodexes. However, as technology advanced, the idea of computerized CRM systems and CRM platforms emerged to help salespeople and sales reps within companies.
The 1990s saw the creation of the first CRM software, which focused on sales force automation. In the early days, systems allowed sales teams to track potential customers, manage contacts and automate routine tasks, laying the groundwork for today’s sophisticated CRM solutions. Over the years, marketing CRMs have evolved to encompass marketing automation, customer service and analytics such as sales forecasting, making it an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes.
In this current business atmosphere, where customers have more choices than ever and their expectations continue to rise, CRM has become an extremely important tool for businesses. Here are some key reasons why CRM is essential in modern business:
CRM systems enable business providers to gather a wealth of information about their customers, including their preferences, purchase history and communication preferences. This data allows organizations to personalize their interactions, providing customers with tailored experiences while also helping businesses eliminate all of the clutter that comes with multiple spreadsheets. As a business leader, you can use a CRM app to help your employees’ efficiency and productivity on a daily basis.
CRM streamlines sales operations by automating repetitive tasks, managing leads and opportunities and providing real-time insights into sales pipelines. This efficiency not only boosts sales productivity but also improves forecasting accuracy for the life cycle of a client.
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