CRM helps businesses streamline the sales process, improve interdepartmental collaboration, and maintain business relationships. Many startups have been integrating it into their marketing stack for its powerful features.
However, there are certain myths that have mushroomed over the years about CRMs and their use. Such myths have hindered business owners from benefiting from such high-end business tools which led to many facing negative impacts on their growth.
In this article, we will be discussing certain myths about CRM software that have been affecting CRM marketing for a long. But, before let us have a brief know-how on what a CRM solution actually does. So, let’s get going.
• Collects customer data from multiple sources and applications and stores that in a centralized location.
• Automates repetitive sales, marketing, and customer service processes.
• Tracks prospective customers through their purchase journey.
• Identifies up selling and cross-selling opportunities.
• Promotes interdepartmental collaboration.
With so many functions to offer, CRM should have been accepted in every field but unfortunately, there are certain myths associated with it which will be learnt in the following paper. Let’s take a look at the misconceptions that are popular in recent times.
In this section, you will find 5 common myths that when entertained are going to cost you sales.
Well, this was somewhat true when CRM tools were initially launched. Back in those days, licensing a single CRM software meant a huge expense, usually thousands of dollars. Apart from licensing, there was the piling expense for installation, setup, hardware, and training costs as the basic investment cost before you could actually use a CRM.
This scenario changed with the entrance of cloud technology in the early 2000s. It helped save a lot in hardware and maintenance which is fundamentally the IT cost behind a business. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of cloud storage solutions changed the entire game in the CRM software market. It made CRMs available to even small and medium businesses where the resource budget is low. In the current state, it literally takes $0 to use a CRM. You may find many offering a free version of CRMs that are perfect for certain types and sizes of businesses.
Earlier, only large organizations could afford a CRM solution because of the costs involved, as mentioned in the previous point. It gave birth to another misconception that a CRM is only ‘required’ by large organizations. But, as the scenario has changed to a more cost-effective one, the myth has almost diluted making way for startups, and small and medium-scale businesses.
If you are still hesitating thinking about its cost and utility for your business, then let us put it like this – you want better communication with your clients and better sales, go for a CRM! Still not convinced? How about software that automates repetitive tasks and takes care of all your manual tasks enhancing your overall business productivity? Well, that is an enterprise CRM for you.
In the late 90’s when the concept of CRM was making its way through businesses, many found it difficult to comprehend. None to blame, early CRMs were not really in a structured form and thus lacked user-friendliness. Also, they needed extensive training for first-time users and in case of any technical issue had to rely on IT staff to get them fixed.
However, as technological advancements happened and CRMs got better in terms of usability and clarity, the concept that CRMs are complex stands null and void. The user-friendliness, intuitive UI/UX, and browser compatibility of modern-day CRM solutions make them highly approachable and beneficial for the business.
Not to mention some additive features some CRMs have, such as the on-boarding process of a customer in the initial stage of engagement.
This misconception goes around for cloud technology in general. With frequent news of data breaches and security compromised, many business owners are showing concern aboput adopting cloud technology. But, CRM users need not worry much as developers go to great lengths to secure CRM software. They have several security measures such as security certificates, firewalls, and data encryption that are high-tech and 100% trustworthy.
Further, such safety measures help business owners with a deeper level of data protection by helping to decide on CRM vendors, employees’ training methods, and monitoring activities of CRM.
It was true in the yesteryears but no longer is. With every day the digital world going through numerous technological advancements, CRMs have developed to a great extent. Currently, we can call it a suite of features that encompasses almost every touchpoint with a customer. The sales and marketing operations are particularly benefited from it but the other teams existing in an organization can also make use of it to their advantage.
With new enhancements and integrations happening every day, some CRMs have turned out to be excellent marketing automation systems. From email marketing, and landing page creation, to automation of ad campaigns, these CRMs perform various activities that make them full-service SaaS applications.
Certain businesses follow unique personalized consumer processes and do not want to engage with software that resorts to generic systems. CRM systems are in no way at par with generalization. They are highly customizable and efficient customer interaction management systems. They can also be termed as business process management software as they are highly flexible to support several integrations at a time.
Though there are varying degrees of customization offered for different CRM solutions, a well-designed solution can offer any kind of customization fit for your business. They are capable of handling the overall business operations that go around an enterprise. Often, it has been seen that flexible CRM software engages minimum resources, allowing the company to save on costs.
In a nutshell, these are just misconceptions and do not hold much value but can be highly misleading. If you want your customer relationships to be taken care of, then there can be no better alternative than CRM software. From efficient customer service, improved customer interactions, and streamlined sales pipeline, to data security, competent CRM solutions such as ConvergeHub is the right choice when it comes to overall business growth.
