In this article, I’ll outline the process you should go through to make an informed decision on what CRM system is right for your business. After years in the tech space, implementing all the major name brands, our choice at Tamayo Technologies is clear – Zoho CRM and Zoho’s suite of products. When Zoho is not enough to cover all the bases, we use its open platform to connect and use 3rd party software to complement the required solution.
What do we base our choices on?
Choosing a CRM is much like choosing what car you buy. Should it be an 18 wheeler? an SUV? a Sedan or maybe a motorbike? If it’s an SUV, should it include a sunroof or not? Should I buy a Toyota, Mercedes, or some cheaper make? Should I take the maintenance plan included or hope for the best? All these come into play when you want to make an optimal decision. Luckily for most people, choosing a suboptimal car for their requirements will not break them or ‘the bank’ so these decisions tend to be more emotional. No one ever bought a Porsche based on cold hard facts. As business owners, we can’t afford to buy a suboptimal system. They are usually more expensive than a car, their maintenance & licensing costs are higher and we can’t change them like we do our car. Furthermore, our employees will not hesitate to give us a piece of their mind and refuse to use a system that hinders their work efficiency.
So how do we move on from here? Zoho CRM offers vital solutions
So how do you choose? Well, here is an openly biased guide to picking the right CRM for your business and how to implement Zoho CRM once you choose it.
Create a weighted list
Each system, as with Zoho CRM, has its features and we need to first rank these by importance. So take this bulleted list and sort it by importance to your business and ignore the nice-to-haves – they shouldn’t influence your decision.
Mobile Access? Zoho CRM has it!
Sales reps need to be equally effective both inside and outside the office, so the ability to access deals and contact information from any device is crucial. Your CRM should offer reliable and easy-to-use native iPhone and Android mobile apps without sacrificing desktop features. Zoho is a Mobile-first company – this means that each app it develops is launched as a mobile app first.
Internal team communication
Your CRM must allow sales reps to share information with other employees outside their department. Zoho CRM’s ability to manage sales, marketing & service all in one place plus its in-app chat capability puts this power in the user’s hands.
Fast, simple setup
Don’t choose a CRM that requires extensive training or an external admin to run it for you. It’s OK if you need an external admin for setup and maintenance but you should be able to carry out day-to-day tasks by yourself – ‘ease-of-use is the most important feature of any organizational software. Zoho CRM’s intuitive user interface, 28 available languages and more than 70 million users across the globe are testament to it delivering this to its customers.
Sync your apps
Having to manually input data suck the time (and life) out of your employees. A good CRM must reduce time needed for entry, accept data entry from external sources and sync your email, calendar, and other data sources. Zoho CRM’s native integration with O365 & GSuite allows you to focus on what’s important to you while accessing your data from everywhere.
Integrations made easy with Zoho CRM
Users having to go to other apps every time they need to send an email, check their calendar, and dial a contact kills productivity and reduces the usability of your CRM. Zoho CRM’s seamless integration with your apps allows users to stay in their CRM and have a single source of truth on their customers. Their sales processes, calls, related tasks, meetings, support tickets and any other interaction you had with your customer – all in one place.
Sales tools
A structured pipeline, quote automation, workflows and approval processes, and reminders, all help in managing a fluid process with your customers. A good CRM makes reps more effective and organized. Zoho CRM’s Deal pipeline, customizable workflow rules, process blueprints and reporting tools let you where things stand at every point in time while providing reps the tools to prioritize their tasks and focus on closing more delas.
Value
In your business, every dollar counts. CRMs with massive feature lists usually come with massive per-user costs, lock-in contracts and nickel-and-dime charges for standard features. You’ll find Zoho CRM’s pricing affordable, Zoho does not lock for the long term and doesn’t practice wallet fracking. It includes all the features your sales team will use, right out of the box.
Free support
If a CRM provider charges extra for the honor of live support, they’re ripping you off. Your CRM’s support should be a team of actual human beings, who are available by phone, email, or online chat. Zoho CRM provides all three to its customers.
Team adoption
According to Gartner’s research, CRM adoption rates are under 50%! And many implementation projects fail to see the light of (go-live) day. This is very bad news. Make sure the system you choose and the partner you choose have a proven track record. Zoho CRM’s global reach of 250,000 businesses, 70 million users in over 180 countries and a system translated to 28 languages is proof of its high adoptions rates.
Development tools
Everyone is special, no two businesses are alike so your CRM should not only be an out-of-the-box software but also provide you with the tools to develop tailored solutions to your business. Zoho CRM provides you with all the development tools to tailor a solution that is just right for your business. Zoho also offers Zoho Creator – a leading low-code development platform.
Now that you have a list of bullets:
- Step 1: Ascribe a weight to each bullet (0 to 10, 10 representing ‘very important’),
- Step 2: Compare the available systems and give each system a score by a bullet (0-10, 0 representing no support of the requirement)
- Step 3: Multiply the weight of bullets by the score and choose the systems which received the highest overall score while remaining within your budget.
Even if the final result is a tossup between two systems, you’ve made the right choice.
Good luck, and if you have any CRM Implementation related questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!