Every business wants to see continued growth, but for startups and other companies going through a major expansion phase, achieving effective and sustainable growth can sometimes be easier said than done. CRM features can play a key role in helping your expanding business effectively manage the challenges that come with growth.
But which CRM features can have the greatest impact for your growing company? The following features can provide some major benefits for companies of all sizes. The more effectively you use these features, the better your company will be able to succeed in its growth efforts.
Sales Management
For many businesses — especially B2B companies — managing a large swath of clients who are in various stages of the sales funnel can prove to be exceptionally challenging. This challenge can become even greater as your company goes through a stage of rapid growth.
CRM sales management tools enable you to track key pieces of information regarding current customers, leads, and those who are somewhere in the middle of the buying cycle. CRM software allows your team to easily store key pieces of information, such as when a particular lead was last contacted, or whether a current customer is due for a reminder email about ordering a new shipment of your product.
Sales management tools also enable your team to identify and prioritize key opportunities, as well as assign leads to particular members of your staff. The improved management and efficiency offered by these CRM features allows your team to build stronger relationships with leads and current customers and better prioritize their efforts to deliver cost-efficient growth. Even more importantly, an organized sales management system ensures that none of your leads will slip through the cracks.
Inventory Management Integration
Another key feature of modern CRMs is the ability to integrate with your ecommerce and sales management platforms. This sometimes-overlooked element is essential for healthy business growth by keeping you fully aware of inventory levels, order status, and more. Seamless management of these key business areas will ensure that you will always be able to deliver superior service to your customers.
Utilizing CRM features to remain up to date on inventory status will help you know when you need to order more stock. CRM features can even utilize previous sales and inventory data to create accurate forecasts, alerting you to particular times of year when you are likely to need to order additional stock.
Inventory management features are also able to scale with your company, ensuring that you can still effectively manage your inventory and orders to deliver a quality customer experience. A well-managed supply chain can make all the difference in your ability to keep your customers happy and maintain sustainable growth.
Data and Analytics
One of the most valuable elements of CRM platforms is their ability to collect large swaths of data regarding your key performance indicators and generate reports that allow you to make use of this information.
Regardless of how large your business is, having adequate data on-hand is key to being able to make informed decisions that will lead to healthy growth. In addition to the previously mentioned sales forecasting features, CRM platforms use in-depth data points to help you identify key trends, problems, and opportunities your business faces.
Being able to receive reliable data to inform your decision-making process is vital if you wish to achieve sustainable growth. Data provided by your CRM system could help you identify key flaws in your lead generation methods or help you determine which product and service lines are generating the most profitability.
When your data is able to paint a clear picture of your company’s financial situation, you’ll be far better equipped to take the proper steps to streamline your growth efforts and manage your expenses.
