Customer relationship management software

Customer relationship management software: What’s holding you back?

Adopting customer relationship management (CRM) software could be transformational in how businesses manage clients, but they still aren’t being used by many SMEs. Digital Growth Programme consultant Martin Broadhurst (pictured), the Chamber’s CRM and automation expert, shares some interesting findings on why this might be – along with advice on overcoming some of the barriers companies face when trying to adopt new technology.

Asurvey conducted by

Capterra, a software review website, found only 31% of UK SMEs have a CRM system in place. This result, while not surprising, did leave me wondering what is preventing SMEs from adopting CRM technology.

After all, CRM systems make the process of managing sales and retaining customers simpler and more effective. So what’s holding businesses back?

ALTERNATIVES TO CRM?

The same study asked business owners about how they manage and track customer data. The most popular response was spreadsheets (32% of respondents), with a CRM (24%) coming second and email clients, such as Outlook or G Suite, placed third (20%). Surprisingly, 15% of respondents still use pen and paper to track this information.

While all these methods can, and evidently do, work, for many businesses they simply aren’t effective for supporting sustainable growth. Some of the methods, such as paper and pen, as well as Outlook or G Suite, are restricted to one person – only the person in possession of the paper, or with access to the Outlook address book, can see the customer data.

This presents a challenge for ensuring data accuracy and visibility throughout the business. For any growing business, with a need to retain customer accounts and bring on board new customers, the complexity soon outgrows the capability of paper and pen or Outlook address books. Even spreadsheets will struggle to keep you on-track of sales and account management at a certain point.

BENEFITS OF A CRM SYSTEM

Every new employee in your business, and every new customer that you service, adds to the level of complexity in your business. Trying to understand your customers becomes increasingly difficult. This is where CRM software can help.

By providing a single view of the customer – as well as details of all the companies, contacts and deals that your business is currently engaged with – CRM software provides full visibility of the information that matter to all your employees. In fact, the Capterra study found that 79% of respondents said their CRM system helped them to better understand their customers well or extremely well.

BARRIERS TO ADOPTION

What has stopped businesses adopting CRM? A common issue is cost. CRM has historically been perceived as an expensive piece of software designed for enterprise organisations and a “nice to have” for SMEs.

When asked how much they would be prepared to pay, many respondents said they would only consider free software (24%) or they would pay up to £10 per user each month (33%).

While I would agree that CRM was once the preserve of enterprise organisations, there has been a shift in recent years towards lowcost, or even free, CRM systems that can greatly improve sales and marketing performance.

For example, there are a raft of free CRM systems that provide all the basic functionality a growing business needs. Options such as HubSpot, Zoho, or Bitrix24 all have free cloud-based CRM options that scale as your business requires.

If you’re interested in which free CRM is best suited for your business, read this blog: zapier.com/blog/best-free-crm.

In 2021, there really is no reason not to have a CRM system in place. Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a sales director overseeing a team of sales professionals, a CRM is an essential product to help your business thrive in the years ahead.

To hear more from Martin, join the next Digital Growth Programme webinar on Setting up a CRM on 9 June. To book a place or to see the full schedule of digital themed workshops, visit www.leicsdigital.co.uk/events

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE

If you’re a business looking to invest in a CRM system and need digital advice, you may be eligible for one of our technology grants and support from one of our digital business advisers. For more information, contact our events and engagement officers on Kam.Atker@emc-dnl.co.uk or Collette.Degia@emc-dnl.co.uk

The Digital Growth Programme is designed to help SMEs located in Leicester and Leicestershire to improve productivity and growth using digital technology via themed action planning workshops, grants and digital advice. It is part-funded by the Chamber, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Leicestershire County Council. Visit www.leics-digital.co.uk

Businesses based in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire can access similar support by visiting www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk

High-growth businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire can access knowledge and investment support to scale up through embracing new technologies via the Digital Upscaler programme, part-funded by the ERDF. Visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/digitalupscaler