Three workforce demands to consider when comparing CRM

Putting a CRM system in place is all about enabling your workforce to be far more efficient and as a result, boosting the performance and profits of your business.

With this in mind, it makes sense to look at workforce demands when comparing CRM systems as failing to take them into account sufficiently may result in a system that simply does not do what you need it to do.  Acquiring the right CRM solution will boost your customer service offering, improve customer retention and enable you to cross-sell and up-sell far more effectively so it is well worth getting it right.

Here are three workforce demands that you need to consider when comparing CRMs and shopping around:

1. Scalability

Your CRM will enable your business to grow, enhancing your performance and efficiency.  You therefore need to be sure that as your organisation grows, the CRM does too.  Ask yourself:

• Will the CRM cope as operations increase?  
• Will it grow with you easily or will you have to purchase expensive upgrades? If so, what will they cost?  

Look at the depth of features provided by the CRM and ascertain just how flexible it will be when it comes to scalability.  Consider things like sales features and customer service options; pick apart every single aspect of the CRM software package and ensure that it will do all you will need it to do going forward. If it won’t, don’t go ahead with the purchase but look elsewhere for something far more elastic in its ability to grow with you.

2. Mobility

It is likely that your workforce are far more mobile than they used to be, continually moving around and working from different locations, including on-site and from their cars.  

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Your CRM therefore needs to be equipped with full mobile capabilities providing functionality across both desktop and mobile versions of the system.  Other ‘must haves’ to look for are offline features and automatic sync capabilities.  They might not sound like much now but they really will help to increase your team’s productivity a great deal and with that comes increased profits for your business as well as an improvement of your customer offering.

3. Features

Did you decide what features your business was most in need of before looking around for a suitable CRM vendor?  

If not, take the time now to look at the demands of your workforce and your current processes.  What tools are most used by staff at the moment?  How could their efficiency be improved if additional tools were provided and what would they be? You don’t necessarily need to go for the largest and most sophisticated CRM, particularly if you are a smaller business; why pay extra for features you may never use?  However, you do need to make allowances for sufficient features.

The secret is to be very aware of your workforce demands and go for a CRM that will be flexible enough to move with you.  Things like being able to use the system across any operating system is always a good box to tick as transitioning between them will not then cause delays or hiccups.  If you would term yourself a ‘small business’ then looks for packages that are marketed as Small business CRMs; these provide all of the basic features without it costing you a fortune.