How to Choose CRM software and CRM service Provider for your startup

Customer Relationship Management can work wonder if set up well with detailed planning and proper execution. If you dont know what is CRM please Go through out previous articles

1. What-is-crm/
2. How-crm-works/

There are two step in going ahead and setting up your CRM software, first one is to find what all features that you will require in your CRM software. And second is to find the best CRM service provider who suits to your requirement.

How to choose CRM software for your business

Make detailed plan on how your company is going to use the software.

• Every business has its own different business process that it follows and every business has its own target customer. Therefore, it is must to analyze business workflows and processes before choosing a technology platform, You may have to slightly modify the software to suit to your needs. You need to find out what types of information from the customers are most relevant for your business. ex: if you are a luxury car maker, then customers household income is at-most important factor for winning your customer.
• The software should be easy to use by your employees and simplify the process instead of making it more complex.
• Your CRM should help you to reduce resources and give you a calculated tangible Return on Investment
• Workflow logic should be very simple and easily adopted by the staff, failure of this may cause losses.
• The CRM software should be flexible and can be molded easily from a default to customized version and vice verse.
• Make sure software is very intelligent to understand your dumbest employee.

How to choose CRM service Provider

Many CRM vendors have started offering Web-based tools (cloud computing) and software as a service (SaaS), which are accessed via a secure Internet connection and displayed in a Web browser. These applications are sold as subscriptions, with customers not needing to invest in purchasing and maintaining IT hardware, and subscription fees are a fraction of the cost of purchasing software outright. But it will catch up in future when internet penetration deepens in India. Below are some pointer you need to take care while finding a CRM vendor for your startup

• Ask your vendor to explain to you how their CRM software works, if you don’t get a clear and simple answer then don’t buy it.
• As mentioned above you should understand very well the requirements so that you can explain them to the service provider clearly.
• You may be starting small but keep long term vision when buy this software which should be easily scale-able and modifiable.
• Once your requirements are understood and given to service providers, get the quotes from all the service providers and compare and look for any hidden charges
• Once you finalize on the vendor, ask them come and give a demo at your business place and see if the process is runnig smoothly with your staff involved
• There are many tools available online for comparing CRM based on feature and pricing, you can use them before closing the deal and get a better bargain.
• Even after implementation you should keep and open eye and keep check the value add the CRM has given to your business. In case it is not working for your specific business, don’t hesitate to look for other better solutions.

To conclude, always keep in mind that CRM is not a replacement for the business work flow but a value add to increase efficiency.