Running a small business is no easy task. You need to evaluate how to increase revenue and build customer relationships while keeping operational costs low. Balancing these elements can often get tricky, but like many small businesses have learned, the solution lies in adopting CRM and ERP tools.
These small business software solutions have helped companies streamline their business needs and improve productivity without too much of a hassle. To understand how they work, here is a preview detailing the benefits of each and how they simplify everyday business operations.
CRM for Small Business
CRM for small business is software designed to help companies to improve their relationship with customers. Customer Relationship Management tools achieve this by collecting and managing customers’ information. Listed are the various ways that small businesses benefit from CRM.
1. Helps Businesses to Stay Organized
CRM for small business begins by collecting customer data for every transaction that takes place. This then facilitates record-keeping, allowing small businesses to do away with the physical records of their customers. As time goes by, this small business software becomes a storage system for all company data regarding meetings, revenues, marketing details and client conversions. So, rather than businesses dealing with tedious spreadsheets for customer information, CRM helps businesses stay organized, ensuring operational efficiency.
2. Time Saver
Another advantage of CRM is the automation that comes with it. This small business software is an overlooked tool that helps businesses to cut back on manual processes. Whether your business needs an email automation process to reach out to customers or employees, CRM for small business is the missing puzzle to simple business operations. CRM allows businesses to program their software based on current needs, such as email notification, with triggers that pay attention to company needs. Therefore, companies can take advantage of the time saved to focus on pressing matters rather than waste time on mundane issues.
3. Better Internal Communication
Communication is crucial for every business and often dictates how quick or slow companies scale up. With CRM, companies can cater to their communication and collaboration needs without much effort. CRM for small business integrates chat tools for its employees, allowing open communication channels between various departments. Due to this, significant lags in information reduce, especially those related to product development cycles. Different departments no longer have to slot in fortnight meetings into their calendars, allowing for flexible business operations due to the fast flow of information. The result is more business profitability due to better teamwork, and businesses can get back to their customers within short time frames.
4. Facilitates a Better Sales and Marketing Process
CRM for small business also comes with enhanced customer integration tools such as interactive voice response systems and website interactions. With such features, sales representatives get direct access to their customers, providing direct communication throughout the entire sales funnel. Therefore, small business software provides a direct communication channel for customer inquiries in real-time, developing trust in customer relationships. Businesses can also track customers’ needs as they come to various business sites, increasing their chances of conversion. Rather than having sales rep on the ground for such matters, this small business software factors in what customers need and helps businesses achieve it.
5. Facilitates Targeted Revenues
Targeted customer outreaches may have been impossible for businesses to develop, but with CRM, it is now a reality. The CRM for small business software makes it possible for companies to coordinate their marketing campaigns with specific audiences. Say, some customers are yet to make purchases on some websites. Instead of bombarding existing customers with the same message, CRM software helps businesses approach specific clients with targeted packages based on data collected. This makes it possible to offer the right incentives based on search histories, allowing more conversions that lead to increased revenues.
ERP for Small Businesses
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is another tool designed to simplify everyday processes by optimizing operations. This second small business software provides solutions in areas such as inventory management, accounting and analytics. When combined with CRM for small business, it yields the following benefits.
1. Improved Analytics and Reporting
Big data and analytics may be a specialty for large businesses, but that does not mean that small businesses should not share its benefits. With ERP small business software, newcomers can also benefit from the unified reporting system that it brings. ERP tools can be integrated across different organizational departments to generate reports and compare what is working and what is not.
For instance, it can generate financial reports of cash flow statements to evaluate where the strengths and weaknesses of business operations lie. With this, departments lagging can utilize different approaches to improve revenues, such as adopting more customer-based strategies. Instead of the usual trial and error development phases that eat into resources, the ERP small business software can help companies cut costs and adopt better resource management techniques.
2. Improved Customer Satisfaction
Like CRM, the ERP also provides a streamlined process for those looking to keep in touch with customers. ERP tools allow companies to have a centralized system to track consumer insights and interaction. As such, businesses can tailor their products based on such data. Most ERP systems also come with eCommerce integration platforms, which bring the companies closer to customers. Companies can use such platforms to create more tailored engagement, such as customer deals for peak and even off-seasons. With ERP, businesses can also predict future customer behavior, putting them at the front line against their competitors. Better customer-driven approaches mean increased market share and revenue, so why not adopt this small business software.
Are you looking for cost-effective solutions for your business? We provide functional CRM and ERP solutions to boost your workflow and scalability for the long term. Our tools focus on business customization and reducing operational costs, meaning your requirements will be met. Give us a call today to consult on ERP and CRM for your business.
