The last few years have seen an increase in the demand for CRM software solutions with an equally major increase in the demand for CRM consulting services. Most CRM advisory brochures will advise you about the three different types of CRM softwares out there but only few will guide you right about choosing the right one for your business.
The three types of CRM softwares areas follows,
- Collaborative CRM System
A collaborative CRM software specializes in ensuring that all concerned teams in an organization have access to the same updated data. For instance, in a call centre not only customer support has all the data as collected by marketing and sales teams but agents have updated data on customer interactions over email. This integration between teams and channels saves customers from the frustrating experience of repeating themselves everytime they speak with a new agent. Instead each agent they talk to can conveniently pull up their customer details and records of past interactions.
- Operational CRM System
Commonly operational CRM systems provide automation features like marketing automation, sales automation and service automation, leaving your employees plenty of time for the more creative and personal aspects of their jobs. According to most CRM advisory blogs, it also leaves new companies plenty of opportunities for providing top-notch services.
- Analytical CRM System
As the name suggests, analytical CRM systems allow users to analyze customer data for gaining vital insights. There are plenty of tools out there that make collecting large quantities of data easy but converting the data into something useful for your business is something only an analytical CRM system can help you with. In fact, research suggests that almost half of the data collected by companies are never used which would mean companies have been investing in areas with little or no returns. An analytical CRM system can change that.
How to Choose the Best One for your Business?
CRM consulting services will always tell you opting for a CRM system is a great alternative and they are absolutely correct. However figuring out which one best fits your needs is the tricky part. To make things simple, here’s what each system is perfect for!
- Collaborative CRMs are good for companies with multiple teams constantly struggling to keep everyone on the same page, including businesses that have multiple locations and also provide omnichannel support. If your clients have ever complained about being moved from department to department then a collaborative CRM system is exactly what your business needs.
- Operational CRMs are good for companies that want to get more out of the customer information they possess, while making processes convenient and easy for their employees – simply put businesses that want to maintain a high-level view of the entire customer life cycle and improving processes for departments involved with customer support.
- Analytical CRMs are good for companies that have either collected or are in the process of collecting a large amount of data and naturally do not know how to effectively use all the data under discussion.
