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CRM for SMEs: Why Should You Take the Plunge?
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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world are the main drivers of current economic growth.
They represent 60% to 70% of employment and 55% of GDP in developed economies (source: “World Trade Report 2016: Leveling the Trading Field for SMEs”, World Trade Organization, 2016). And, even more than for any other business, finding, winning and retaining customers is the key to success, but, 53% of SME managers (source: “Small and medium business trends report”, Salesforce, 2019.) feel at a disadvantage regarding other companies concerning customer expectations. So, how to reverse the trend? By investing in the right tools.
CRM is the # 1 investment priority for SMEs.
Speaking of budget investment, SMEs identify a top 3 of their priorities:
- CRM Software(31%)
- Financial Software (31%)
- Computer Software (28%)
However, this is a drastic fact: 73% of French SMEs do not use a Customer Relationship Management solution. And if CRMs adapted to SMEs exist, they are still not much used. Unlike large companies, they have understood the challenges of CRM software. So, how do small and medium enterprises do?
Current panorama of customer relationship in SMEs.
Since only 17% of French SMEs use customer relationship software, it’s good to ask: how do SMEs organise themselves to do prospecting? To lead marketing campaigns? To measure the performance of their actions? To facilitate the sharing of information? Or, simply, to manage their contacts?
According to the Capterra study, a third of respondents are satisfied with a traditional messaging system to keep track of interactions with their customers. These simplistic files with limited functions often materialised by Excel spreadsheets, represent 24% of respondents.
It's time to take the lead: SMEs, equip yourself with CRM software!
CRM challenges for SMEs.
Of course, the challenges related to Customer Relationship Management are relevant to all businesses, small, medium and large. Below we’ll share with you specific challenges of CRM for SMEs.
1. Optimise prospecting.
The priority for salespeople: focus on their core business. To sell. In other words, they have to put their energy on lead detection, creation, and maintenance of trust, up-selling, cross-selling, and so on. In short, they have to bring money.
And what about the CRM in this area? It is the ideal tool to accompany them, even in mobility. To automate lower value-added tasks, access information in real-time, have a 360 ° view of their customers and prospects. Bonus: CRM interfaces with their everyday tools (messaging, office, calendar).
2. Develop marketing.
In order to gain brand awareness, an SME must develop marketing actions. They should focus on email campaigns, events, visibility on social networks.
And what about the CRM role in the marketing world? Thanks to the marketing module, CRM is a tool capable of supporting marketing and sales teams, from the detection of a lead to its transformation. And to go even further, the CRM can even control its ROI.
3. Share information.
In a SME, employees often have much larger job portfolio than in a large company. It is therefore necessary that the information is accessible to all (in any case, to all those who have access rights), and updated in real time. The sharing of information is at the heart of the stakes for SMEs.
And the CRM in all this? Beyond Customer Relations, the CRM tools best suited to SMEs also offer document management solutions (DMS). This is convenient because all documents are centralised in a single place, and are easily searchable.
So, dear readers, SME actors, do not hesitate: equip yourself with a CRM solution perfectly adapted to your needs. Discover how we could help you by clicking here.
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