Cloud supported management systems are establishing themselves more and more as a part of the day to day business. But not all businesses take this route. There are still small, and medium-sized businesses (
SMB) that are quite hesitant when it comes to using the cloud. But especially for
SMB, CRM systems come with plenty of advantages. They don't only profit from price advantages, but also from competition advantages over their competitors. There are lots of reasons for using cloud CRM.
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The customer is in the center of business activities.[/caption]
- An Overview of the Most Important Reasons for Cloud CRM
- Quick Introduction
- Easy to Use CRM Solutions in the Cloud
- Location Independency / Mobility
- Profitability for SMB
- Simple Scalability
- Better Integrability
1. Quick Introduction Without Any Ado
For people responsible for IT, the introduction of new systems is always a big challenge. Parts of the business IT have to be newly projected, and a smooth transition has to be organized. The daily business has to keep going, and the effect of the new introduction should be as little as possible. Even with proper preparations, this often doesn't work completely smoothly, as there's a short-term lack of staff resources. Experience reports when it comes to the introduction of cloud CRM often show that this doesn't have to be the case. The CRM software can be implemented in the SaaS model (Software-as-a-Service) relatively quickly and can be used productively from the get-go. This is simply because most businesses don't have a uniform solution for marketing, distribution, and customer service. Often, the different sections work with island-like sub-systems. Data redundancies and inconsistencies are the norm. In many cases, the exact same tasks are done multiple times by different sections, because there is a lack of comprehensive structures. With a cloud supported
CRM system, however, everyone immediately sees the advantages that it brings to their own section. Cloud CRM systems are optimally designed for SMBs.
2. Simple and Modern CRM Solutions in the Cloud
I don't think anyone wants to make mistakes in customer service, to avoid the risk of losing clients. But unfortunately, this is common practice. Often, working space is full with post-it notes on tons of different processes, as there's a lack of options to systematically capture and follow them all. Workers get lost quickly. CRM solutions in the cloud were developed for practice, and are orientated towards common tasks in day to day business of customer service and distribution. Of course, the distribution agency plant, and the marketing area are also tied into the workflow. This way, marketing workers can systematically capture qualified leads, and forward them to the distribution. After the first contact with a distribution worker, this lead can be taken into his contact management. It’s important for your customers to contact you easily, so adding a
click to call widget might become real handy. This makes sure that the business doesn't lose any more prospects. Cloud CRM solutions have clearly structured, and easy to use user interfaces that match the standards of modern web applications. Thus, users learn to handle the software quickly. In the end, this results in a higher acceptance and shorter training periods for cloud CRM.
3. All Services Are Location-Independent and Usable on Mobile
One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based CRM system is in the location-independent usability. No matter if you are in a branch of the KMU, or any other place with an active internet connection - a user can basically access the data of the cloud CRM from anywhere around the world. This includes mobile usage on the go via tablet computers and smartphones. For field service workers, this is the fastest way to inform themselves about all activities regarding a customer, or real-time developments in a sales region. Teamwork also becomes possible over larger distances.
4. Cloud CRM Solutions Also Save Costs
Aside from the improved business communication and the better information quality thanks to real-time data, the main reasons for using a cloud CRM are economic. Not only the relatively low entrance costs in comparison to on-premise solutions are positively noticeable, but also the fact that there are no IT costs. As a SaaS system, cloud CRM is maintenance-free. The business that uses it does not have to get any hardware or software for cloud CRM, and doesn't need to take care of the system's administration either. All backups are created automatically.
Programs and data are stored on the cloud provider's servers, who also secures the CRM system's availability, including the business data saved in the cloud. The SaaS concept for cloud CRM comes with another, completely different, merit as well: Updates and upgrades are permanent, so there are no inconvenient migrations. The workers always have the newest version of the CRM system available to them.
5. Cloud CRM Solutions Can be Adjusted to Any Need
With typical CRM systems, new users for new task fields mean lots of work for an administrator, who has to integrate them into the system. In contrast to that, cloud CRM lets you unlock new permissions for the customer and contact management, and integrate new users into work processes in just a few mouse clicks.
Aside from the Ad-hoc set up of new users, the easy scalability is one of the main advantages of cloud computing, because services can be adjusted to your needs dynamically. When businesses grow, additional features and modules can easily be added at any time. Still: the user only uses the functions that he really needs, and the provider bills by the rate of use: depending on the amount of users actively working with the CRM, the number of used functions, and the used storage. This way, the business only pays for what is really uses, and nothing more.
6. Better Integrability With Other Cloud Solutions
Another major reason to use cloud CRM is that professional office software like Office 365, or popular email marketing tools, like Mailchimp, already run in the cloud as SaaS solutions. Cloud CRM is more integrable with other cloud solutions than with on-premise implemented CRM systems. Cloud-based systems among each other have access to real-time data, so they are always up to date. To start an email campaign, for example, no tedious data transfer is required. The annoying duds, caused by outdated data and other inconsistencies, are a thing of the past.
Conclusion
Cloud CRM offers plenty of advantages to small and medium sized businesses, with mobile and location-independent work becoming increasingly more important to them. Using Cloud CRM, workers can now work together even more efficiently, by sharing documents and coordinating their tasks and deadlines much easier than before. Always having a full overview on all current customer activities makes for more transparency, increases productivity, and boosts the efficiency in customer service and distribution. Last but not least, using Cloud CRM allows you to lower the IT costs significantly, as the business only pays for what it actually uses, and doesn't have to invest in quickly obsolescent hard- and software.
Featured image by coffeebeanworks on Pixabay 
