There is still a doubt why small businesses have a great need for CRM. Their processes are simpler and usually one employee handles and organizes more than one function, providing the needed single-minded view and leveraging the personal relationships with customers and partners. As the company grows, these processes gain in complexity and it becomes harder and requires more energy to keep the established relationships.
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There is a point in time when all those relationships outgrow the capacity of the company employees and require some support. Processes that were done by one employee get split among two, three or more colleagues and some of the competitive advantages are lost. More than one person now interacts with the customers, each one of them having a different set of information about them. And at the end, when a customer calls - his question is supposed to be answered in a minute.
Small companies were very wise accepting the "wait and see" approach towards CRM. They used some of its concepts, but were still waiting for the experience of the larger organizations in implementing CRM systems. Now there are tons of pages written in that field, describing each course of action, threats and opportunities.
But what is the dilemma?
The bad news is that one SME is not expected to have the required time, resources neither the capital for such an extensive approach to CRM. The good one is that small and medium companies don't really need the same approach! They need to achieve the same goals by implementing CRM practices, but can't use the same strategy. The primary need is to establish process consistency, but than again, be sure to be flexible enough to deal with the constant change and growth.
Having this in mind, you can relax. Forget all the figures you have read in the reviews, since your business has many advantages in this field. Here are some of them:
It is easier to establish the required business organization and culture when the company is still smaller, since ones people get used to some processes, they tend to resist change and accepting new ones. When the company still has low experience level it is more likely to embrace change.
Smaller projects are usually simpler. Most of the to-be-done activities are easily identifiable, the uncertainty and risks are lower and the time and resources needed are smaller.
More is not always better for your small business. You can start implementing CRM slowly and properly with realistic expectations, but grow fast as you get the feel of the concept.
There are less legacy systems and data to integrate.
The most important advantage of all is that your business has the entrepreneurial energy and ambition to improve and grow!
There is no rule when it is best time to start using CRM practices. Taking care of your customers' relations is a constant need while working but managing them properly makes your business grow faster and function optimally. It is clear that the sooner you organize around such practices and set the right business culture, the more advantages you will have.
So, let's set ourselves a goal to commit to continuous assessing, improvement and optimization of the processes interacting with our customers. Big companies might have whole departments for customer service, but they don't have the personal approach small ones have. Having access to all the information and building your company on those solid pillars, the growth will take care of itself!
You can send your feedback, questions and comments to Didi on didi@itechcorporate.com
