Working with clients is one of the most difficult and important tasks in business. Constantly maintaining contact, identifying problems in a timely manner and meeting emerging needs – all this requires a significant amount of time and effort. Almost all of this work can be delegated to CRM software. In addition, such a system is also useful in marketing strategy.
A suitable free CRM for your business will help you attract a large number of customers, which is crucial for sales growth. Overall, choosing the right CRM comes down to one basic rule: its features should suit your type of business.
Why do you need a CRM system?
The main task of the system is to optimize work processes within the sales department. Using the program allows you to establish work with clients, employee control and sales analytics, which has a positive effect on the quality of service and transaction conversion.
Opportunities after program implementation:
- Data collection and formation of a client base – the program combines all data into a single structured database, where information about the client is recorded in cards. This is more convenient than maintaining a database in Excel – the data is protected from theft and is immediately loaded when completing a transaction.
- Full control of the sales department – all actions of the enterprise are recorded: the manager can track the work of managers, evaluate the effectiveness of the funnel and collect data for analytics. This eliminates the risk of sabotage in the company and allows you to control the work of each employee.
- Automation of document flow – all documents are stored in cloud storage and created from templates as the transaction progresses. Managers only have to select the desired template and approve the document – information is never lost, and paperwork no longer takes a lot of time.
- Management of company managers – the program helps to build a funnel and implement scripts for managers, which simplifies guiding the client through the stages of the transaction, and the reminder algorithm will not allow employees to forget about an important client.
A CRM system for free is a functional tool that simplifies sales department control and customer relationship management. Without using the program, the quality of the service provided is noticeably reduced, and the development of the company slows down.
Which CRM to choose?
When choosing the right CRM system for your business, there are several key factors to consider.
Is CRM right for your niche?
Each CRM system is aimed at working with a specific type of business. Some specialize in the beauty industry with appointment records, repeat visits and data on the client’s favorite procedures within the database, some are aimed at the restaurant business and table orders, and some work according to a simplified scheme with shops and retail trade. Make sure the CRM system you choose has the necessary features for your niche.
Price and budget
Price is one of the key factors when choosing a CRM system. It is important to consider the cost of the system itself, as well as additional costs associated with its implementation, updates and support. When forming a budget, you should take into account that the cost of a CRM system may depend on the configuration, type of license and the need for modification, the number of employees and branches that will use it. In this matter, you should immediately consult with the sales department and find out all the intricacies of working with your specific business.
Integration with other systems
When choosing a CRM system, it is worth considering the possibility of integration with other business systems that you already use. Integration with email, project management systems, social networks and other tools can greatly simplify and improve your work.
Ease of use and learning
A CRM system should be intuitive and easy to use. It is important that your team can quickly master the system and use it in their daily work without major difficulties. Make sure the CRM system offers a user-friendly interface and training materials for staff.
Good CRM systems that suit most companies
Let’s talk about two universal CRM systems that may suit your business.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a whole range of tools for business development, one of them is its own CRM.
Test period: no, but there is a free plan.
Work in the cloud: there is a cloud and boxed version.
Integration: quite a large selection of integrations due to the popularity of this program.
Document management services: creation of invoices and invoices, document templates through a special service.
Personnel management: you can create a plan for each employee and analyze sales, there is a chat for employees, there is a differentiation of access rights to CRM.
Price: there is a free plan, then there will be a fixed payment per month when purchasing the cloud version for a year. The boxed version is usually purchased with 12 licenses at once (this is more profitable).
Pros:
- convenient mobile application;
- large selection of tariffs;
- there are ready-made CRM systems for business sectors – for online trading, law firms, wholesalers, etc.;
- online store designer with built-in CRM;
- free online chat for the site;
- sales tool through social networks and instant messengers;
- data exchange with 1C;
- there is an API for connecting third-party services;
- customer rating – for closer work with regular customers and those who bring the most profit;
Minuses:
- quite difficult to use, it will take time to learn all the functions;
- too cumbersome for small businesses, more suitable for medium and large businesses.
amoCRM
AmoCRM is suitable for businesses with a systematic sales cycle and clear stages of bringing the client to purchase. The system can systematize the work of companies with a large and extensive sales department. Well suited for B2B and B2C market companies with specialists working remotely. Any device with the Internet can be used to use it.
However, amoCRM is not suitable for freelancers and companies that are not focused on mass sales – it has too many functions for them. Also, amoCRM will not be suitable for large players, since it will not be able to automate all their business processes. It is not enough to work with employees, manage production and product development.
Pros:
- The system is highly specialized. It is aimed at payment and completion of the transaction. All complex, long transactions with several stages are its advantages.
- Simple and clear. There is no need to specially train employees to work with AmoCRM. Just by reading the instructions, everything will become clear. Fast and easy training AmoCRM significantly saves working time.
- Safety system. The level of protection for the client base is very high; it almost completely eliminates the possibility of leaking information to competitors.
- Proven and refined sales system. Since 2009, the developers and partners of the system have begun mass implementation of AmoCRM in various sales departments. Therefore, today all users of the system have experience not only with proven, but also refined and verified AmoCRM.
- Well-established integration system. At the moment, it is difficult to imagine a highly developed business without an established integration system. AmoCRM implements integration with all the necessary services for running a business (social networks, mailing lists, IP telephony, landing pages). Also installed AmoCRM API for creating your own integration widgets.
Minuses:
- First of all, this is weak functionality outside of sales. AmoCRM is designed purely for working with clients and sales, so other business processes in it are poorly developed. This problem can be solved by adding widgets and integration with third-party services. The standard system does not provide any other functions.
- The second disadvantage is analytics. The system itself has 6 counting elements: sales analysis, summary report, employee report, list of events in CRM, calls and goals. These items are set up quite well and show reliable information, but the drawback is that you cannot add your own elements or edit existing ones.
