Do startups need a CRM system?

Things can be more than a bit hectic at startups - to put it mildly. When you are busy juggling a whole range of tasks, while building out your core business and driving growth all at the same time, focussing on the right technology to manage your sales process might get challenging. Customer relationship management (CRM) is rarely a priority for a new business, but this could be a costly mistake. 

Often startups end up with an assortment of sales and marketing applications that don’t integrate seamlessly. Managing this cluttered set of tools eats into precious time and resources that are better spent on fine tuning the offerings and focussing on actual selling. 

A CRM software can go a long way in alleviating the pain of managing so many tools. It centralizes your customer data in a secure and easy to access manner and lets you focus on your customers rather than waste time trying to track down customer data from multiple data sources.

What to look for when choosing a CRM for your startup?

When you are just starting out, your contacts and lead pipeline are arguably the most important data that you have. A CRM software will help you organize your contacts, identify opportunities, keep your communication organized, give you the reports you need, and most importantly save you time and money. 

While choosing a CRM solution for your business, look for simplicity. It can be enticing to go for a tool that gives you access to a wide range of features and capabilities but it is unlikely that you will use most of them. Investing in a tool that has an intuitive user interface, requires zero or minimal training and works well with other applications you already have is the smart thing to do. 

Here is a quick list of filters you can use to identify the right CRM for your startup: 

• Fast setup and configuration: Look for an application that can be easily setup and configured to meet your business process flows and requirements. As a startup it is unlikely that you will have a dedicated IT team. A cloud CRM that can be configured intuitively will save you precious resources. 
• Easy to use and administer: Go for a CRM that offers you an intuitive interface and is easy to for sales representatives and managers to use. When the team cannot quickly achieve the tasks they need to in the tool, it becomes more of an irritant than an asset. 
• Has the right capabilities and features: More is not necessarily better when it comes to selecting a critical tool like a CRM for your startup. The solution you select should have the relevant capabilities that you need, and should be flexible enough for you to add or remove features you need to get the work done. 
• Offers great customer support: Choose a vendor with an established track record for outstanding customer support. You do not want to be in the unenviable situation of discovering how critical this is, when you are unable to access essential customer data and there is nobody to offer you assistance. 
• Can scale with you as you grow: As your business grows, your requirements will change and will become more complex. Sales teams will grow, lead and customer data will increase exponentially and your business processes will mature and possibly become more complex. Your CRM solution should be able to adapt and scale. 
• Should be affordable: Check the pricing details for the CRM with care. Watch out for hidden charges and ballooning costs that increase suddenly when you cross usage or subscription slabs. Don’t just step in blindly because the vendor has a free offering, think ahead about how the next tiers will impact your budget.