Part 5: So which CRM is right for me?

When a business is looking for a good CRM (customer relationship management) solution it is a good idea to think about what the business actually needs from this solution.

 Doing this will mean that choosing the right CRM solution for your business will be an absolute breeze. Many business owners fail to actually think about the various processes that go together to create a regular working day within that business - and this can lead to the wrong CRM solution being purchased. One good way of avoiding this is to ask certain questions about the business, such as:

• Does the business regularly contact its customers? If so a CRM solution that will enable users to put details of all customer contacts as and when they happen should be looked into.
  
  
• Does the business create invoices and quotes from various departments? Today a great deal of businesses actually do this and do not leave it down to the accounting department. If you answered your business choose a CRM solution that will allow your employees to create and send out invoices and quotes to customers at the click of a button.
  
  
•  Does the business use various forms of marketing to attract new customers? If so you would you want to choose a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that will enable you to analyse certain sales figures and trends with the aim of creating targeted marketing. Getting marketing campaigns right can be a real pain, especially if you don't have any facts and figures to highlight the target market. When you use CRM you will be able to identify these trends and be able to get the most out of each and every marketing campaign for your business.
  
  
•  Would the business benefit from streamlining its software? All too often businesses will take on many different types of software in the belief that they are individually worth it and helping the business. In actual fact the only things that having several different types of software will do is cross the business a small fortune each year in renewing the licenses and confuse employees who are new to the business and learning how to work that software. By using one single CRM solution a business can drastically cut back on time spent learning different software packages and using them.
  
  
• Does the business have a CRM solution in place already? Sometimes a business will want to have a CRM solution and will go for the cheapest option, which is not always pay dividends. If your business already has a customer relationship management solution which is not working, think why it is not working and don't make the same mistakes next time.
  

Choosing the right CRM solution can seem quite difficult, but if you spend a little time thinking about it you should be able to find the right one for the business. So weigh up your options and decide what you want from the relationship management that way you will always make the right decision.

In Part 6 - CRM 2.0 - more than CRM software