Do I need a CRM

Here’s a short introduction to what a CRM is, who needs it, and how to find one for a small business.

Let’s first take a quick look at some of the most common challenges small businesses have.

Problems

  • Disjointed client historyContact info and emails are all over the place
  • Forgetting to follow upNothing prompts you to get in touch with a contact
  • No repeatable processesNo templates, manual and time-consuming processes
  • Lost meeting notesLack of focus, too many apps that are not integrated
  • Out-of-sync teamClients repeat themselves to different team members

Poor results

  • Missed sales opportunities
  • Inefficient workflows
  • Low customer retention
  • Slow growth or stagnation
  • Stress and burnout

Organizing client information in spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are easy.

They are a simple-to-build, low-cost, and familiar solution.

But here’s the catch.

Once your business starts to grow, so does the number of rows and columns in your spreadsheet… up until the spreadsheet bursts at the seams.

At some point, your business becomes too big for a spreadsheet. That’s when you need a CRM.

What is a CRM?

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool is a contact database that has all the important information that can be used to build and nurture business relationships.

A good CRM doesn’t only store and organize client information. It encourages you to put it into action and get tangible business results.

Three main CRM features

Database storage and management

Relationship-building functionality

  • Remind you to follow up.
  • Encourage regular client interactions.
  • Promote personalized approach.

A unique built-in methodology

For example, the Next Action principle or Inbound Marketing.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs beside the three CRM features: data storage and management at the base, analysis and mobile in the middle, methodology at the top

Which CRM does your business need?

With thousands of CRMs on the market, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Here’s a simple classification that will help you narrow down the number of choices. To find the best CRM, you need to know if it’s admin- or action-focused.

Small business

Action-focused CRM

  • Client-centric
  • Simple functionality
  • No training required
  • Starting from $9-10 per month

Enterprise

Admin-focused CRM

  • Process-centric
  • Multiple features
  • Training required
  • Starting from $99 per month
The difference between an action- and an admin-focused CRM, and why small businesses all over the world are choosing the action-focused system.

The Action Stream is the most notable feature of an action-focused CRM

Although it might seem similar to a spreadsheet, there’s a powerful functionality behind this simple interface.

The Action Stream turns a client database into a color-coded to-do list with follow-up reminders next to every contact.

Every contact in the Action Stream has an individual page with all details, notes, emails, sales deals, and even document attachments.

The Action Stream: every contact with its Next Action, colour-coded by when it is due

How to choose the best CRM?

You need to identify where your business stands.

A scale from too complicated to too loose: Salesforce at the top as expensive and hard to set up, OnePageCRM in the middle as action-focused and simple, a spreadsheet at the bottom with no structure

The CRM you’ve been looking for

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