The relationship with the clients of any company, large or small, can no longer be done in an analogical way, if we want to move the business forward. Whether we are setting it up or digitizing it, one of the key tools will be the CRM or Customer Relationship Manager. In other words, that piece of software that is going to become the database and, at the same time, the manager of communications with the users of our service or product.
Whether we like technology more or less, we must consider choosing a CRM for our company in the same way that we choose leasing if we have a fleet of vehicles or the agency that is going to keep our accounts.
One problem less: a CRM does not have to be expensive
Fortunately, something that we should not worry about is the cost of a CRM, it is no longer a factor that we should worry about from the beginning. It is true that there are numerous solutions in the sector, but we can even have a complete operation with free options like Zadarmasince its virtual switchboard – which is also free – that allows you to manage the company’s incoming and outgoing calls in a professional manner, has a complete and effective CRM integrated that can do everything that we are going to comment on below.
CRM and switchboard, an indivisible marriage
Communications are the main element to evaluate within a CRM. It is necessary to have someone capable of managing both telephone calls, which continue to be the main channel for customer relations, and those that arrive through new channels such as instant messaging or email, an option that has been added precisely recently to the aforementioned.
And it is that, although the CRM and the virtual switchboard are two different elements, they are intrinsically linked. We can choose a joint and free solution like the one offered by Zadarma, which only requires us to recharge the account for calls every 3 monthsto have everything in the same place by porting our phone number or creating a new one or, if another CRM solution convinces us, connecting the switchboard to any of those on the market.
Scalability, the magic word
A company and a business are “creatures” that change not only over time, but, for example, within the same year. There are times of more and less work, so it is essential that our customer management system is able to maintain the type both when times of greatest saturation and those of least pressure come. And it must even be possible to deal with unexpected situations such as the need to have more people on the phone because, for example, a batch of products has been defective and, overnight, a refund campaign or repair.
tools as a virtual switchboard 2.0 allow us, in minutes, through functions such as Zadarma’s visual editor the possibility of setting up new call scenarios and equipment in minutes that, from the CRM manager that integrates, they are capable of responding at any moment or crisis situation.
Needless to say, it doesn’t have to be always because it’s something just for emergencies. It is possible to have these scenarios saved to activate them, for example, in campaigns such as Christmas or Black Friday in which a specific need is foreseen, such as an increase in sales or claims.
A CRM must serve for the “now” and for the future
Another essential element of our CRM must be versatility. There are not the same needs that a business has when it starts, for example, it needs a management based on attracting customers and when it already has a base of recurring users, it is necessary to focus more on loyalty. In these times of such rapid change – something the pandemic has taught us – we must constantly be reinventing ourselves and betting on new lines of development. It is very important, therefore, that our CRM is able to connect and trigger actions on other platforms that we can discover or use. for any idea that comes to mind, such as newsletter managers, ad managers, chat or office applications, etc.
And since software cannot be connected to absolutely everything, there is a solution on the Internet: workflow managers or chain of actions. One of the best known and most professional is Zapier and they work as simply as setting an action that occurs, for example, in the Zadarma CRM that triggers another in a different application – and there are more than 5,000 to choose from.
For example, if we have a web development company, it would be possible from the CRM itself to record a request from a client who calls us because they have detected a bug on their website. This client can be directed to a voice menu that, by pressing one of the options, will generate a ticket for the team of programmers to enter a call queue after which to speak with the technical support that, before picking up the phone, You will already have the necessary data to respond effectively to your request.
And finally, why use a single CRM?
It is quite common for a company to have different businesses for which they need a particular CRM operation in each case. Although the switchboard may be the same, why can’t we have several integrations of our telephony in different systems? In this case, we must again recommend Zadarma’s solution which, in addition to integrating its own CRM, so we already have one ready to use for free, it is possible to activate various integrations with it.
To make a comparison, it would be that, by the same road, the telephone, the clients would arrive each one in their car that we could direct to their corresponding exit and that on some occasions it would be managed by the CRM of this company and in some case, because we have a partner or partner that uses another solution, take it to another system.
In short, when choosing a CRM, first of all, let’s not worry about the price because, both to start and to change the one we have and save, there are 100% functional and free options. Also, you have to look for one that is compatible with the virtual switchboard that we use, scalable, versatile to work with any application that we want to use and capable of working in parallel with others if we need it.