Written by Kaia Vincent
If you’re an SME you’re likely to fall into one of two camps when it comes to CRM.
I’m too small, I don’t need one; or I do need one, but can’t afford it. Regardless of which camp you’re in, CRM solutions can add value to SMEs by supplementing your sales and marketing functions.
CRMs, when used to their full potential, can streamline and improve your sales and marketing functions. Like the name suggests – customer relationship management – a CRM is a platform that helps you learn about your prospects and customers, keep track of them and their interactions with your business – all with the aim of helping your sales and marketing staff to develop the best ways to engage with them.
The biggest benefit of using CRM software is that you’ll get to know your customers and prospects better. Not only does a CRM help you manage your customers and leads, but it’s also a vital tool if you’re considering looking for investment or building the business up to sell in the future. A CRM system adds credibility to your business processes and shows investors that you’ve got the infrastructure in place, know your market and have a handle on who your customers and leads are.
A snapshot of the benefits:
What’s the best CRM for SMEs?
One of the most important things to consider when investigating your options, is that a CRM solution doesn’t always mean SalesForce or HubSpot. Yes, these are great tools with a lot of functionality. But they were designed for larger businesses, with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of contacts and leads. As a result, the pricing reflects that. While HubSpot, for example, does offer a free version, functionality is limited and to get the most out of the platform you do need to pay for add-ons. And, because platforms like these are developed with the larger business in mind some of the processes can be unnecessarily complex for smaller businesses, or just unnecessary.
The solution? What about using a CRM that was developed specifically for SMEs.
Introducing Constant Contact – the ideal SME CRM solution
As an SME ourselves, we understand the need to balance your business, watch your budget and make sure every element of your business is working in the best, most efficient way possible. In addition to our marketing services, we are also a CRM agency, offering CRM consultancy to our clients and our solution of choice is Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM – which was previously known as SharpSpring. Constant Contact is the ideal CRM for SMEs because it was designed especially for them; it’s tools and features all created to help your business grow. It is a feature-rich, intuitive platform that can be used by both your sales and marketing teams, and offers a host of features that will make your life easier, and your lead generation activities run smoother. And it’s competitively priced.
Why Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM?
What about marketing automation?
Constant Contact is both an SME CRM solution and a marketing automation platform, enabling you to manage the customer journey from start to finish – identify your leads, send them the right information at the right time, convert them, and retain them. It integrates with Microsoft Outlook to simplify account management and provide easy visibility to all lead communications. From the automation side of things, it has the in-built functionality to reduce manual tasks and ensure you don’t miss any opportunities by scheduling emails and offering reminders for follow ups.
The cost of SME CRM software
Like most software-as-a-service businesses, those that sell CRM platforms charge for use of the platform, often on a per-user or per-seat basis. There are also charges for bolt-ons and extra functionality, and the dreaded set-up costs.
Constant Contact on the other hand is reasonably priced, with options based on the functionality your SME needs. More than that, as Gold Partners of Constant Contact, Brevity Marketing can offer discounted pricing on the platform, as well as help with set-up and training as you need it – to ensure you get the most from your SME CRM software.
Talk to us
We’re a Gold Partner for Constant Contact which means we have the in-house knowledge and expertise to make sure the solution is working for your business – optimised to help you make the most of opportunities and get the best out of it, from set-up and training, through to use and management.
Book a demo today or get in touch with us to have a chat about your CRM requirements.
