Did you send your CRM a Valentine’s Day Card?Most companies take for granted their CRM.
As long as it works they spend little time thinking about it. Only when they need something or it has a glitch do they realize its importance. In any relationship – ignoring your partner will in time cause you significant issues. So it goes with your CRM. Failure to realize its importance – failure to pay it attention and you end up in trouble. No – it won’t be like ending up in Divorce Court – but it could end being just as expensive.Today, top businesses across all industries understand the importance – the need – for their CRM to perform multiple functions. But not all companies recognize the need to give it the support and attention it deserves to stay current. CRM’s no longer just deal with sales issues. Operations, Marketing, Customer Service, Accounting, etc. all know how important a robust CRM is to their ability to simplify their processes. Efficiencies gained translate to bottom line dollars. Profit drives decision making in every company. Finding opportunities that translate to the bottom line are priceless.So today – the question you must ask yourself – how well are you treating your CRM? Is it a happy, positive relationship or have you failed to give it proper maintenance (love)? Does it support multiple departments or focused on just one? Does it integrate seamlessly or are you finding the need to create workarounds to accomplish tasks? Does it provide the information everyone needs to assess how they are performing? Are some groups or individuals prevented from accessing certain areas? Do you have the right fields to capture data? The list can go on and on.Technology that is available today allows a CRM to perform flawlessly for any user within a business. Remember how I said earlier that profit drives decision making? Are you short changing your business if you are failing to allocate the dollars necessary to have the CRM you need? Just to hold down costs and drive more dollars to your bottom line?I assume there are people who would love to own and drive a luxury automobile believing that a vehicle like that makes the driving experience worth the cost. In reality – regardless of the cost of a vehicle – if all you are concerned about is getting from Point A to Point B, it makes no difference what car you drive. The luxury vehicle or the economy car will get you to the place you set out to drive to. So it may not be necessary to own that luxury automobile if all you want is to get to your destination.But CRMs’ are not like automobiles. The low cost choice of a CRM may not get you to where you need to go as a business. The same can be said for the “luxury” versions of CRMs’. The cost of a CRM does not necessarily equate to superior performance or features. A real analysis of your business process determines just how robust a CRM you need which allows you to decide – do I have the right CRM?AppShark has worked on over 250 projects to successfully help businesses determine which kind of CRM they need as well as customize it to make it work flawlessly for their needs and drive dollars to the bottom line. So this Valentine’s Day – should you not give the gift to your CRM of a thorough analysis? Show it you care by giving it the attention it deserves with AppShark’s FREE Healthcheck program! Contact me at thomas.jodis@appshark.com to know more!