As its name implies, customer relationship management (CRM) software focuses on nurturing great relationships with customers and clients. And that’s essential for businesses of all sizes, particularly small and medium companies, which typically rely on customer retention and loyalty to stay competitive. But that’s only a fraction of what the right CRM can do. Before we get into what this software can do, let’s take a quick look at the market.

While it might seem like CRMs are a new thing, they’ve been around since the 90s. In the early days, CRMs were filing cards that had customer details written on them. Since then, CRMs have expanded — not only in size but also in their offerings. That might be part of the driving force behind what’s now become one of the hottest trends for startups, small, medium, and large businesses.

In 2017, the market for CRM software officially became the largest software market with a total global revenue of $39.5 billion according to Gartner. What’s more, the leading technology analysts also predict that CRM software will continue growing in 2018 to become the fastest growing software market, with a growth rate of around 16%.

Those are some pretty impressive numbers. Even so, many smaller businesses have shied away from adopting CRMs, perhaps because they’re concerned about the potential costs and the complexities of setting up CRMs. But here’s some good news: It doesn’t cost as much as you’d think, and when you choose the right CRM, implementing it is a breeze. Even better? Research suggests that — when used and integrated properly — CRMs can generate a return on the investment ranging from $2.50 to $5.60 for every dollar that a business invests in the platform.

Better Organization

Before CRMs, small businesses had to attract new clients and customers by sending out individual emails, tracking them in a spreadsheet and keeping meticulous records of all outreaches and responses. That could get messy with multiple representatives inadvertently contacting the same prospect and multiple attempts to contact a prospect over time. Follow-ups and tasks would be handwritten on sticky notes or desk calendars where they could easily be missed.

Today’s CRMs make it easier for sales, marketing, and customer service reps to perform their tasks more efficiently with a single, streamlined platform that houses all the necessary information. What you want is a single solution that minimizes the number of programs you have to log in and out of so you and your team can spend more time getting down to business.

Better Customer Service

With the traditional method, as calls come in, reps have no idea who they’re talking to or the history that customer has with your company. This increases the chances that reps could damage the customer relationship inadvertently. But, with a CRM, lead records are pulled up as calls come in, and the details and history are right in front of you. Additionally, with integrated calendars, notes, and real-time visitor tracking, you miss fewer tasks and follow-ups, enjoy better records and have more insight into your customer’s interests, which lets you connect in a more meaningful way.

Better Reporting

In addition to poor organization, the traditional method gave managers little information to go on when evaluating their reps’ performance because they didn’t have a detailed view of what was in the pipeline without asking for the information directly. With a CRM, business owners and managers can access all the details they need to evaluate how their employees are performing without having to ask for spreadsheets and notes. Everything gets stored in a CRM, from calls to sent emails to text messages to the number of times a prospect visits your website — it’s all right there. With available metrics, call recordings and detailed files, the reporting process are seamless.

Bottom line: A CRM adds efficiency. In turn, that increases performance, satisfaction and — ultimately — your profits.

How a CRM Benefits Different Departments

CRMs aren’t just for one type of business or one department. They are a game-changer for all kinds of businesses and for people in all kinds of roles.

Customer Service

• Helpdesk tickets allow representatives to track issues from the time they come in until they’re resolved.
• Reps can track past helpdesk tickets related to each prospect for insight into their history.
• Access to detailed prospect or customer information and files allows representatives to provide targeted, personalized service.

Sales

• All interactions between a prospect or customer and your business are stored on a single platform.
• All documents — completed and drafts — are stored in the database within each lead page.
• Assign tasks to prospects right in the system for follow-ups you’ll never forget.
• Seamlessly hand deals over to other representatives as needed — all information and interactions are recorded in the CRM for everyone to see.
• Send and receive emails and SMS text messages right in the system without having to log into a separate account or use a personal phone for SMS.
• Click to dial allows representatives to quickly make calls right from their browsers.

Marketing

• Automate the inbound sales process with call queues and email scheduling.
• Email and SMS metrics allow marketers to make important decisions about the aspects of campaigns that are working best, and the information is in real-time.
• Visitor tracking information provides insight into what prospects are looking at on your website, allowing marketers to reach out at the best time with the most appropriate messaging.

Without a CRM, day to day tasks is much more difficult than they need to be. With a CRM, even the smallest businesses can operate with enterprise-level efficiency. Additionally, when you choose cloud-based CRM software, implementation is easy and fast, and there are minimal upfront costs. At least, that’s how it should be.

Meet CRMDialer, the Single Platform Solution You Need

The CRM marketplace is competitive, and there are many options out there. But most of them don’t include everything your small to mid-size business needs and wants on a single platform. As a result, you might need to integrate multiple platforms, which ends up costing more than you want to spend, taking longer to implement and being clunkier to learn and use.

That’s where CRMDialer shines. This white label power dialer CRM is fully customizable and loaded with amazing features. The team behind CRMDialer believes strongly that the fewer systems you have to log into, the more successful you can be. That’s why it’s packed with tools to simplify and streamline your business. A few standouts include:

• Lead management and a database to contain all essential customer and prospect information
• Power dialer with click to call, IVR, voicemail drop, call waiting and call recording
• Whisper and barge functionality that lets managers listen in for training purposes or to help out on challenging calls
• Real-time visitor tracking that gives you details as they happen so you can have meaningful conversations with prospects and customers
• Quote generation, task setting and an integrated calendar to simplify sales, appointments, and follow-ups
• E-signature allows contracts and other important documents to be created and sent right from the lead page, signed and returned electronically and uploaded to be stored in the CRM
• Seamless handoffs — just assign a new representative to handle the lead
• Inbound call support so you can pull up customer information when they call
• An integrated helpdesk helps your business resolve issues quickly and efficiently
• Email metrics provide valuable information about the emails sent along with A/B testing that lets you make sure you’re using the most effective email templates available
• Chat to help build an incredibly collaborative environment

Not having a CRM can be complicated. Not having the right CRM can also overcomplicate things. CRMDialer is one of the most revolutionary white-label CRMs on the market today. It’s committed to providing a single solution with all the tools necessary to manage and grow your small or medium (or large) sized business. It’s all about being more productive and working smarter. And even better, this platform offers awesome scalability.

For more information on how CRMDialer can help your brokerage improve your customer management, streamline your inbound sales process, and close more policies, schedule a guided demonstration or start a free trial of the full platform.