What Is a CRM? Benefits and How to Choose the Right One for Your Business
What is a CRM? Benefits, key features and a simple method to choose customer management software. Try the Liafrik CRM today.
Leads jotted in a notebook, forgotten follow-ups, quotes buried in an inbox. Most lost deals share one cause: the information was not in the right place.
A CRM fixes that. Here is what it is, what it brings and how to choose well.
What is a CRM (customer relationship management)?
CRM stands for customer relationship management. It is software that gathers, in one place, everything your company knows about its prospects and customers.
- Who are they, and how do you reach them?
- Where does each sales conversation stand?
- When should you follow up, and who does it?
The 4 real benefits of a CRM
- Close more deals: a visual pipeline shows where each opportunity stands.
- Never miss a follow-up: reminders and automated follow-ups.
- Forecast revenue: see what is about to sign, and when.
- Align sales and marketing: everyone works from the same information.
The sales pipeline, at the heart of a CRM
The pipeline splits your sales process into stages: first contact, discussion, proposal, negotiation, signature. You move each lead from one column to the next and instantly know where to act.
How to choose a CRM for a small business: 5 criteria
- Simplicity: if the team does not use it, it is useless.
- A visual pipeline: readable at a glance.
- Automated follow-ups: so nothing slips through.
- Contact management: one clean database.
- Scalability: the CRM must grow with you.
Common mistakes when setting up a CRM
- Importing a messy contact list that was never cleaned.
- Not defining pipeline stages before starting.
- Not training the team.
- Trying to automate everything on day one.
The Liafrik CRM: for sales teams, B2B companies and agencies
The Liafrik CRM is made for sales teams, B2B companies, agencies and small businesses. It tracks every lead, nurtures every relationship and automates your pipeline.
Looking for an alternative to a tool you already use? See our HubSpot alternative, Pipedrive alternative and Zoho CRM alternative pages.
Do you manage several brands or clients? Read our article on multi-tenant CRM.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CRM used for?
A CRM centralises information about your prospects and customers, tracks each sales opportunity and automates follow-ups so you close more deals.
Does a small business need a CRM?
Yes, as soon as you handle several leads at once. A CRM prevents oversights and gives a clear view of upcoming sales.
What is the difference between the CRM and Atlas by Liafrik?
The CRM is for sales teams and small businesses. Atlas is a multi-tenant enterprise CRM for groups, franchises and agencies that manage several clients or brands in isolated spaces.
