How To Set Up Your CRM

What Is a CRM?

Are you wondering how to set up your CRM?

First off, you should understand what a CRM is. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a software tool that helps businesses manage their interactions with prospects, leads, customers, and clients.

CRMs allow companies to store and organize customer data, track customer interactions, and automate specific marketing and sales processes.

However, not all CRMs are created equal. Some are very elaborate and require months of data gathering, extensive imports, data mapping, custom fields, and ongoing customization.

The adage that everything is customizable comes into play here. However, if you think about it differently, there is a hack or shortcut to cutting out much of the work.

Let’s look at essential versus having it all. But first, let’s look at what a CRM does.

What a CRM Should Do

CRM systems have become an essential tool for businesses of all sizes because of their benefits.

Companies can gain a competitive advantage using a CRM system by providing personalized customer experiences, improving customer retention, and increasing sales revenue.

When a CRM is set up correctly, it should automate most of your daily tasks related to customer acquisition, customer retention, and education for customers and staff. The result should be that your entire team is focused on the customer experience.

Key Differences In How To Set Up Your CRM

When setting up a CRM system for your business, the first step is to choose a CRM that fits your business needs. Many CRM options are available on the market, each with its features and benefits. Some popular options include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho. The list goes on and on.

However, I think it’s essential to have diligence here. The first decision you must make is self-hosted vs. hosted by one of those above.

Self Hosted CRMs

If you currently have a WordPress site and want to add a CRM to keep it all in-house and away from big tech, then self-hosted is an option. The one caveat is that either you or one of your staff will have to install and configure your new CRM.

Self-hosted CRMs are becoming more popular and are a solid choice for many small offline and online businesses. Since no CRM comes out of the box ready for your business, the only disadvantage to self-hosted is the installation and configuration.

The advantages include controlling contact fields, segmentation tags, and custom fields. This includes metadata, email configuration, SMS texts, broadcasts, funnels, and more.

Often, you may wish for customizations that go beyond what your self-hosted CRM can do. In these cases, there are talented people out there who can jump in and make those modifications for you. Some of them are available for a modest cost.

Hosted CRMs

Hosted CRMs are those for which you pay a monthly fee to host your CRM. These companies come in many shapes and sizes. Most of them tout that their CRM is made just for your business. In reality, even if that’s the case, you will find that it only does some things you envision for your company.

All CRMs, including even the best of the hosted variety, will require a fair amount of setup and configuration. The setup for hosted versions varies greatly depending on the complexity of what you want your CRM to do.

In terms of customizing your CRM to be how you want it to be, hosted CRMs can be troublesome. The company you choose may or may not offer those types of customization. And even when they do, getting what you’re after may become very expensive.

Next Steps in How To Set Up Your CRM

Once you choose your CRM, you must either set up an account or perform the installation. This typically involves providing basic information about your business, creating a username and password, or installing a plugin. Depending on your chosen CRM, additional steps may be involved in setting up your account or finalizing the configuration.

Accounts and Customer Data

After setting up your account, the next step is to import your customer data into the CRM. This includes contact information, purchase history, and communication preferences. The process of importing data can vary depending on the CRM you choose, but most systems provide an easy-to-use interface for importing data.

Customizing How To Set Up Your CRM

Once your data is imported, you can begin customizing your settings. Depending on your chosen CRM, you can customize various settings to meet your business needs. For example, you can create custom fields to track specific customer information. This customization can help you tailor your CRM system to your business needs, providing a more effective solution for managing customer relationships.

Training The Team

Finally, training your team on how to use the CRM effectively is essential. This can involve training sessions or creating user guides for team members to reference. A well-trained team is crucial in getting the most out of your CRM system and improving overall customer satisfaction.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, implementing a CRM system is essential for businesses looking to improve their customer relationships. By choosing the right CRM, setting up your account, importing your data, customizing your settings, and training your team, you can effectively manage your customer relationships and gain a competitive advantage in your industry.

Suppose you are looking for a CRM for your business and would like some insight; please feel free to book a call.

If you have already chosen your CRM and would like some help setting it up properly, please book a call with me to talk about your options.