There are many good reasons for a CRM in small business, most of all it comes down to the one thing that we all need - that is more efficiency, which therefore means more time to focus on the business and in maintaining and creating relationships.  

Some of you may be thinking 'what on earth is a CRM?'. Well, you are not alone I am sure. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and it is a way for a business to not only store and manage customer details but also analyse the details and their interactions.

Many people start out with a spreadsheet of customer details with complicated and sparsely filled columns. In these spreadsheets, information input can become tiresome and difficult to keep track of.

At first, a spreadsheet seems like a great option that is easy and most importantly to some, free to use. But here's the thing - even if you are a start-up or a well-established business, a spreadsheet of your contacts will only get you so far.

Lucky for you there is plenty of affordable CRM software applications on the market. A good CRM software can:

- Store your data on a cloud-based system to ensure retrieval anytime, anywhere.  Preferably also has a phone app for use as well to have access to details when needed.
- Record various customer interactions such as emails, phone calls, notes, and social media.
- Automate workflow such as tasks, reminders, and calendars.
- Enable you to assign responsibility to individuals for specific tasks and allow for collaboration.
- Track the number of leads yet to be converted and conversion rates on projects.

These are the main features to look out for when deciding on a CRM. There are so many on the market, some with more in-depth options available. Having a simple to use system can ensure you modernise your business, creating an effective approach for maintaining business relationships and streamlining processes.

If you are looking for an easy to use CRM some of our recommendations are below:

- Capsule
- Zoho
- Exsalerate
- Insightly

Furthermore, if you are unsure of what path to take or which CRM Software is best for you and your business, get in contact with us today. 

There's a better way to do business.

Paula

The Author - Paula King

Paula is the administration and content manager at Integration Kings. With a university degree in journalism and a keen aptitude for researching, she strives to make sense of complex and technical concepts and create easy to understand content.