8 features you should expect in your CRM

Are you trying to find a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool that fits your business needs? With dozens of options in the market, it can be a difficult choice to make.

Businesses can start by trying out Sales CRM systems in the market. Every CRM plays to its own strengths and has a distinct target audience. But these 8 features are must-haves in any CRM:

1. Simple user interface: It makes no sense to spend a week figuring out how to get started with a CRM. The CRM needs to be intuitively designed and ready for use on signup.

2. Built-in phone and email: Imagine the amount of time you can save by making calls and sending emails from one tool!

3. Clear pipeline view: The various stages of your pipeline need to be set out in a visual form (preferably from left to right), so you can grasp all the info you need with a single sweep of the eye. Stages as basic as New, Follow up, Under Review, Won, and Lost are a good starting point.

4. Lead scoring: Lead scoring is a data-driven feature for effective management of relationships with your customers. Each lead in your list is assigned a number, based on demographic information and activity on your website/product. Your hot, warm and cold leads will now have numbers to help you identify them.

5. Analytics: When you’re dealing with the multitude of leads in digital, you need analytics to tell you what a particular lead is doing on your website/how they’re using your product. Real-time updates, like when a lead opens your email, are crucial if you want context to power your conversations.

6. Reports: Let’s get the basics out of the way—a CRM should let you create bar graphs, pie charts and tables on demand. Some CRMs have templates you can use right away; they also let you create custom reports specific to your use case.

7. Mobile CRM: There’s got to be an app version of your CRM—it’s a no-brainer in today’s mobile-first world. Just having a namesake app won’t cut it either; you’ve got to be able to access deals, leads, set up meetings and quickly share notes for effective customer relationship management from any location.

8. Dedicated support: Many CRMs are neck and neck in terms of features, but how do their support reps respond to your queries? Do they offer email or live chat support? This can often be the deal breaker when you’re evaluating similar CRMs.