Choosing the Best CRM Software for Small Businesses

Every small business aspires to grow by cranking up its sales, introducing new products lines, enhancing its reach to more targeted customers, and taking many other steps for its overall growth. For managing their growing sales and marketing activities, owners of small businesses are vehemently going in for best CRM software, which definitely assists them in their pursuit of growing their business to higher levels.

Hitherto CRM was meant for large corporations and enterprises, as their marketing and sales could not be managed manually. But fortunately over the last few years, many software vendors have designed functional CRM systems for small businesses too, which can be used by companies employing even 10-15 employees. While planning to go for one, owners of small businesses should take into account the following aspects for buying the best CRM software in the market:

Ease of Use

Since the CRM is to be used by employees of a small business enterprise who may not be too tech savvy, its functionalities and ease of use should be ascertained. The dashboard of the CRM should be customizable, giving all quick reports on various aspects of the business, like number of leads on the current date, total number of leads, status of various leads, further action etc. Moreover, a simple navigation system is a basic requirement of a simple to operate CRM software.

Seamless Contact Management

A good contact management system provides a 360 degree view of a customer’s profile. Besides the complete contact details of the customer like name, address, phone numbers, email ID, it should furnish his/her activity history too. Detailed information of the communication between the sales team and the customer should be stored in the system, which can be accessed to get insights into the customer’s behavior, helping the sales personnel in chalking out their further strategy.

Opportunity Handling for Lead Generation

The CRM should be equipped with tools capable of converting prospects into sales opportunities. The software should assist in taking smart marketing decisions by tracking the customer behavior right from the origin of interaction. Moreover, it should allow sales personnel to create detailed quotes according to customer needs like quantity, price, payment terms, delivery information, and email it to the customer directly from the CRM.

Forecasting and Reports

Based on the priorities and behavior of the prospect, the CRM should be able to forecast the expected sales in the present and future times. Real time reports regarding the sales, contracts, values, quantities etc should be generated by the CRM, which can be reviewed by senior members of the sales team, who can help sales personnel in closing deals and achieving their sales targets.

Expansion of Core Functionalities

As the CRM is designed for unique needs of your business, it should be fully capable of expanding its core functionalities by integrating with third party software and apps, including marketing management systems, outlook integration, sales management etc. Moreover, the system should be seamlessly accessible on all devices including mobile phones as most of the field staff is always on the move.