CRM Benefits – Why should I Invest?

• Is valuable company data only in somebody’s head, in somebody’s pocket, on a napkin, or in some secluded Excel file that no one can find?
• Are emails difficult to track because they are located in each individual’s email system?
• Is it difficult for people in your organization to cover for each other when necessary, or to work as a team efficiently?
• Are you using paper-based calendars?
• Are your customer or prospect files always up to date, or is there a filing delay?
• Are reports and forecasts difficult to obtain because they take time away from the important work of generating revenue?
• Do you have a document library?
• Can you easily find customer data?

These are the simplest of questions, but if you struggle with them…consider this..

• A system that ensures that this critical data is captured and owned by the company, even when an employee leaves
• A system that allows you to record or attach emails to customer or prospect records in a shared database (even your Outlook emails).
• A system that allows you to record all of your interaction with a customer or prospect, including but not limited to seeing who said/did what, and when, even if they are in different offices and different parts of the world.
• A shared electronic calendar that allows everyone in the company to see what colleagues are doing, and where they are.
• A system that requires no filing, since all the notes and correspondence are immediately accessible on the contact record.
• A system from which the manager can extract at will the reports he/she needs to see real-time information on the state of the business.

These are just some of the many questions that need to be asked to determine your needs, however, I can assure you there are more. NO attempt is made here to qualify your exact needs or requirements. The real issue here is to ask yourself if these issues can be eliminated, what advantage would it give your organization, your people, and most importantly, your customers? Something to ponder upon!? I assure you they all can be solved.