Why do you need a CRM?
One of the most crucial aspects of the business throughout the history of business has been a customer relationship. The importance of CRM cannot be overstated. There are many reasons why we use CRM Software. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.
Though the term is self-explanatory, nobody would skill to try to it right without some guidance. CRM not helps in making your task but also does supportive tasks like assigning tasks, taking some actions when the leads become inactive. Maintaining a healthy and productive customer relationship is the best way to ensure a bright future for the business.
Organizations need a CRM solution because:
• Creating a bond with the existing customers ensures that you won’t have to work on getting them again like new traffic.
• Having a bond with customers increases the chance of making numerous purchases so a bulk of that first-time buyers is not limited to just that before perishing.
• When you make your customers feel welcome even after the purchase, they too start feeling some loyalty towards your brand.
• Since the brand image is already created before all this even begins, customers will have something to relate to or look up to when they make multiple purchases.
• When you maintain a strong bond letting the customers know they are valued, the customers become your friend.
• With prolonged good customer relationship management, customers feel obliged or happy to advocate your brand to others and that’s how your business rises to success and permanence.
Cloud vs on-premise deployment
With a Cloud (Software-as-a-Service/ SaaS) solution, you don’t need a server or technical expertise on your side. You simply log into the cloud-based CRM in your Internet browser and you’re able to go. All information resides on the vendor’s server.
However, you must be online at all times. If your Internet connection fails, you'll not be ready to access your data.
With an On-premise solution, you own the software and it's hosted physically at your location. Thus, you'll have direct access to the servers if you would like to integrate with other customer applications. Moreover, you won’t need to deal with recurrent subscription charges.
However, you'll need to have in-house IT personnel and buy the required hardware and software, as well as incur higher upfront costs.
Here is a summary of the pros and cons of each platform:
Features required to decide on a CRM
Though there are many features that a CRM solution provides but there are a few features that are very necessary to decide on a CRM Solution. They are:
• Ease of use: The content management shall comprise of clients’ contact information and history of interaction in a single place. The information includes documents, emails, tasks, follow-ups, pipelines, etc. This way searching for contacts takes no longer.
• Customization: A CRM should satisfy your business needs and its aesthetics. It should allow you to choose some basic features like the color scheme and reminder settings. As the system works with the strategic plans of your specific business, the work progress is going to be more efficient.
• Calendar: A calendar is critical to remind every task and event so that you can make every follow-up successful and cannot miss any deadline tasks. Also, check if the calendar is in sync with the calendars you have already got.
• Email communication: A CRM should be designed in a way that the mailbox is integrated with the software. So, you can check the mails, send a reply to the mails from the software itself. Additionally, you'll convert the e-mail into a task and assign it to the team.
• Pipeline system: By listing all the leads and existing customers in a pipeline system, you can track the current stage of all your business processes. This system is a perfect reporting tool i.e., you'll easily identify the number of leads that are closed up or the deals which you continue to have to follow up on.
• Customer Support: The chief role of CRM software is to retain customers by delivering a customer experience. The software should allow you to send reminders and customers acknowledgments of their inquiries and messages. This makes customers feel more valued in the business.
How VTiger provides an all-round performance?
CRM plays a critical role in any business’s success. No matter the dimensions of your company, it’s always an honest idea to map what your needs and requirements are alongside your budget to seek out the proper solution. VTiger helps companies of all sizes to implement a strong customer experience strategy. It is the ultimate solution to all your CRM needs. With VTiger you get every feature you will ever need. And the best part is that it is fully customizable according to your organization's needs. VTiger can adapt to your needs. We, at Tetra, provide the full range of VTiger with both the deployment options.