Does CRM make sense for a small business?

As you already know from the previous entries, CRM is not only about technology. It is first of all a philosophy of running a business. So should a company’s size be perceived as a factor determining the quality of activities carried out with customers?

When a small company comes up with the idea of implementing a CRM system, it is usually torpedoed, even before it has begun to take shape. There are usually many reasons for this: “it’s not for us”, “too expensive”, “the employees remember everything themselves”, “we don’t have any specialists” or simply “we don’t need it at all”. Sound familiar?

The CRM system is not an expenditure; it’s an investment

Building close relations with customers or designing positive customer experience increases the chances of success not only in the case of recognized brands but also for any company, even the smallest one. Yours too. It is thanks to the CRM system that effective management, efficient marketing and customer service are possible, and as a result, also the continuous growth of sales and harmonious development of your business.

We dare even say that without a CRM system that streamlines many of the daily tasks and is a key element of a long-term strategy, micro-entrepreneurs or small businesses will remain where they are today. And in today’s world, a lack of progress is a setback.

Automation, i.e. efficiency and economy

Until recently, these doubts and concerns of small companies could have been reflected in the reality. Besides entailing significant expenses, the purchase of extensive system also meant laborious implementation, the reorganization of work, and the need for long employee training. Fortunately, this is no longer the case.

For years no, modular CRM systems, such as Salesforce, have been building their position on the market. Their functionalities can be adapted to the profile and needs of your company, as well as its financial capabilities. Their daily operation is very intuitive, and regular and free updates ensure that when it comes to Salesforce you always use the latest and safest solutions.

Salesforce reports show that the implementation of products such as Salesforce Sales Cloud or Salesforce Service Cloud can bring measurable benefits: 26% more leads and finalized agreements or a significant (32%) increase in the level of customer satisfaction.

It is estimated that sellers spend on average 25-35% of their working time on administrative tasks (entering data into many files and calculators, preparing offers, product meetings, etc.). If the salespeople could devote themselves to what they were really created for (and employed for), how many new business contacts could be gained? How many sales opportunities could be created and used?

By implementing innovative cloud solutions such as Salesforce Sales Cloud, your salespeople will gain a few dozen percent more time for active sales. Don’t believe it? Research conducted by Insight Technology Group clearly shows that the companies which successfully implemented CRM system solutions recorded a 42% increase in revenues, their sales costs fell by as much as 35%, and the sales funnel was shortened by 25%.

The sector doesn’t matter

It’s very good news. It doesn’t matter which industry you operate in as there’s certainly room to use the CRM system there. While planning its ecosystem, Salesforce gave its partners the opportunity to create their own applications and share them in the AppExchange “shop” – just take a look and enter the world of unlimited development opportunities. More than 4,000 applications are currently available to extend the standard Salesforce features. The combined architecture of the Salesforce environment means that when you change the data on your platform, all integrated applications – including their mobile versions – will have real-time access to up-to-date data.

Analysis of external and internal data, optimisation of marketing, verification of employees’ activities, observing industry trends, planning and controlling the sales path, improving the flow of information within the organization, and even monitoring and customer service in social media – these are just a few examples of the features and possibilities offered by Salesforce.

This could also be your story

Maybe at this point it comes to your mind that all these numbers and statistics are imaginary visions or marketing tricks. Another article praising the product. Are you sure that’s all there is to it?

By analyzing the history of many companies that have implemented CRM, one can see a certain regularity – all of them recorded a huge growth, and their development exceeded the expectations of the founders themselves.

Bespoke Collection

Paul L. Leary, co-founder of Bespoke Collection, a brand that combines art and the wine industry, humbly admits that CRM was the only way to fully exploit the hidden potential of long-term relationships with customers, which had a significant impact on the development of his business. Thanks to the solutions contained for instance in Salesforce Data Management or Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is supported by artificial intelligence, the company was able to understand the needs of its customers even more precisely, adjust its offer, and effectively build their loyalty. Today it generates millions of revenues, although nobody expected it after it was founded.

Atlantic Diver Supply

The story of Atlantic Diver Supply is even more amazing. From a small diving equipment store offering various courses ADS has become one of the 50 largest contractors of the U.S. Department of Defence. The company cooperates with local and state authorities, supports medical and fire crews. As Business Analyst and Salesforce Administrator at ADS John Scardino admits, it all began by recognizing at an early stage of the company’s development the need to enter the information and data, thus far scattered across emails or handwritten office notes, into a single centralized platform.

That moment started the implementation of innovative solutions that proved to be extremely effective in the long run. In the CRM environment, every aspect of ADS operations has been configured: from logistics and warehouse management, through finance and data management, to the loyalty system and after-sales service. ADS owes its success and vast numbers of satisfied customers to such products as Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce Sales Cloud, whose capabilities allowed the company to operate freely in accordance with its motto “Your purpose, our mission”.

Summary

Has this answered the above question? Decide for yourself. Certainly, CRM is a powerful tool in the hands of small companies, whose dream is to continuously develop and change the surrounding world for the better.

Alvin Toffler used to say that “change is the process through which the future enters into our lives”. Contact us and we will work with you to make your business a better place tomorrow. Let us show you, as we have showed many businesses before, that this is a real promise.