Five CRM Myths Debunked For Small Businesses

Companies of all sizes may consider implementing a CRM, but some myths and misconceptions surrounding CRM prevent small, medium-sized companies from full adoption. In this post, we dispel five of those myths.

1. CRM is too expensive

In the early stages of CRM, this might have been true with on-premise installation, licensing, hardware cost, etc. Today, many CRM options such as Salesforce are cloud-based, saving on hardware and installation costs. The price for any company depends on its size and how they plan on using the CRM.

The truth is, if you are a small team with a small budget, you can still find a CRM solution that fits your needs. Salesforce Essentials, for instance, is an excellent option created with small businesses in mind.

2. CRM is for large enterprises 

Businesses large and small all want similar things:

• Insights into their customers

• To create the best experience for them

• Efficiencies in their processes.

Consider a CRM built with a small business in mind. One that allows quick and easy access to all of your information provides detailed insights to help you understand and support your customers and help improve business workflow. A CRM built for small businesses can provide an incredibly valuable service that helps companies manage their growth and keep track of critical metrics. It can remove the time-consuming and repetitive manual processes in your business, freeing up time for you to focus on other tasks. Therefore regardless of the size of the business, any company can benefit from a CRM. The key is finding a CRM that suits your business’ needs. 

3. CRM is not easy to set up and costly to maintain

Implementing a new CRM system in the absence of a clear objective or plan can be expensive. However, if you’re clear about what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it, there’s no reason why you can’t implement a new CRM system with minimal costs. For a small company that doesn’t have many complicated requirements, you should be able to get started with Salesforce Essentials, a great option if you’re looking for a low-cost, low-risk solution. Consider a Salesforce implementation partner with experience and expertise to get your company up and running as quickly as possible for larger projects. In this post, we discuss some things to consider when choosing an implementation partner.

After you implement a CRM, you will only see your CRM’s full potential if you keep your data clean. A CRM is only as good as the data that it holds. Establishing best practices such as routinely checking for duplicates and ensuring your data is clean and accurate are critical in ensuring you maintain a clean CRM and get the most out of your investment.

4. CRM is only for the sales team

While CRM is a powerful tool for sales teams, it’s not the only team that can benefit from a CRM. With options such as Salesforce Customer 360, a powerful tool in connecting sales, marketing, and other internal departments under one platform, companies have one centralizing place for all customer interactions, allowing unprecedented efficiency and time savings levels.

5. CRM is too complex/hard to learn

One of the big reasons people avoid getting into CRM is that they think it’s this big, scary thing that requires a lot of work and a lot of in-built knowledge. While that may have been the case in years past, today’s CRM platforms are very user-friendly and intuitive. Salesforce, for instance, is keen on providing a user experience that is fun,  accessible to everyone (even if you’re non-technical), and one that is easy to integrate into your workflow and business processes. The best CRM systems are easy to learn and easy to use to spend less time on data entry and more time growing your business.

Final Thoughts

While many companies are hesitant to implement a CRM because of the initial setup costs, the cost of ongoing maintenance, and the perceived complexity of managing a CRM system, don’t let these myths prevent you from taking full advantage of the benefits a CRM can offer to elevate your business.

If you are considering a Salesforce CRM implementation or have some myths you would like us to debunk, get in touch with us here.