Top 10 FAQs About CRM Software

If you're in the market for customer relationship management (CRM) software, you're likely overwhelmed with all of your options. In addition to the many different vendors on the market, there are also countless features to consider.

You've likely heard of HubSpot, arguably the most popular CRM on the market. I’m a certified HubSpot partner and full-stack HubSpot developer and my clients often ask me to help them sort through their CRM software choices.

Here are my answers to the top 10 CRM software questions I get asked most frequently. This will give you a better understanding of what to look for to make an informed decision when selecting which CRM software is right for your business.

Table of contents:

1. What are customer relationship management systems (CRMs)?
2. What CRM software features should I be looking for to fit my company's needs?
3. How much can I expect to pay for a CRM software platform?
4. How would a CRM system streamline our sales process?
5. Which specific sales steps can a CRM support?
6. Will a CRM help segment our current contact database?
7. How will CRMs help track the effectiveness of our marketing?
8. How can a CRM help automate our business?
9. Can I manage my social media posts with a CRM platform?
10. Can a CRM integrate with other financial systems?
11. CRMs are an essential tool for business success

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1: What are customer relationship management systems (CRMs)?

CRMs are customer management tools. They help businesses collect, consolidate in one place, and track their customers, prospects, and leads. This makes it easier to manage customer data, identify sales opportunities, and track progress toward goals.

CRMs also typically include features like contact management, task management, and automation. Sales teams can then be more efficient and effective in their outreach, follow-up, and deal closing.

2: What CRM software features should I be looking for to fit my company's needs?

Depending on your industry and clientele, the features you'll want to look for in a CRM will vary. These three core features, however, are essential for most businesses:

1. Contact management
2. Tracking customer interactions
3. SEO features

Contact management is one of the most basic but vital features your CRM should have. Contact management includes adding and storing contact information, like names, phone numbers, and email addresses. It should also be easy to segment contacts into different groups, like customers and leads.

Another essential feature to look for is the ability to track customer interactions. You should have no problem keeping track of phone calls, emails, meetings, and social media interactions. This history can be extremely helpful in understanding a customer's needs and pain points.

SEO features are also becoming increasingly crucial for CRMs. You need to target the right keywords to attract leads that are actually interested in your products or services. Once you've attracted them, you need to be able to convert them into customers. Look for a CRM that can help you with both of these tasks.

3: How much can I expect to pay for a CRM software platform?

This is a difficult question to answer, as there are varied prices for CRM software. Some CRMs are free, while others can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month.

The price of a CRM will depend on the features it offers, as well as the size of your company. If you're a small business with a limited budget, you may want to consider a free CRM or one with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. However, if you have a larger budget and need more advanced features, you'll likely have to pay more for your CRM.

The top-of-the-line CRMs, including HubSpot Sales Hub, will set you back $50 per month for limited features. The professional plan, which includes more features, starts at $500 per month. And the enterprise plan, which has all the bells and whistles, starts at $1,200 per month.

4: How would a CRM system streamline our sales process?

CRMs can help streamline the sales process in several ways. First, they provide a central place to store customer information and interactions. This makes it easy for sales teams to access the information they need when they need it.

Second, CRMs typically include features like task management. They help sales teams keep track of their to-dos and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. CRMs typically include powerful workflow management features. This allows you to create custom workflows for different departments and teams.

Third, CRMs can automate repetitive tasks. If you manually send follow-up emails after each customer interaction, a CRM can automate that process for you. This frees up time for sales teams to focus on more important tasks, like closing deals.

5: Which specific sales steps can a CRM support?

Sales is typically a multi-step endeavor, including tasks like prospecting, lead generation, and closing deals. Each step requires different information and features from a CRM.

The prospecting stage, for example, requires a CRM with good contact management capabilities. You need the ability to store and segment contacts, as well as the ability to track interactions.

Lead generation requires a CRM with powerful analytics and reporting features. It allows sales teams to track their progress and performance and identify areas for improvement.

The closing stage requires a CRM with automation capabilities. We'll go over this in more detail shortly.

6: Will a CRM help segment our current contact database?

Yes, CRMs typically include powerful contact management features that make it easy to segment your database. For example, you can segment your contacts by location, industry, job title, or any other criteria.

This feature makes it easy to target your marketing and sales efforts and ensure that you're sending the right message to the right people. In the case of segmenting by job title, you can make sure that your sales team is only reaching out to contacts that are decision-makers.

7: How will CRMs help track the effectiveness of our marketing?

CRMs can help track the effectiveness of marketing in a number of ways. First, they provide a central place to store your marketing campaigns and contacts. This makes it easy to see which campaigns are performing well and which need improvement.

Second, CRMs typically include powerful analytics and reporting features. You can use these features to track your marketing ROI and see which campaigns are generating the most leads and customers.

Another way that CRMs help track marketing effectiveness is by providing seamless communication between different departments. If your company uses multiple marketing platforms, a CRM can help ensure everyone is on the same page and that information flows freely between departments.

8: How can a CRM help automate our business?

Many parts of your workflow can be automated with a CRM. For example, you can set up automatic email responses to customer queries, telling them that their issue has been logged and someone will be in touch soon.

Regarding customer satisfaction, you can use a CRM to set up automatic surveys. These surveys can be sent out after a customer has made a purchase or interacted with customer service.

You can also automate repetitive tasks, like data entry and accounting. This frees up your time to focus on more pressing tasks. Automation extends to marketing as well, with some CRMs allowing you to automate your email marketing campaigns.

9: Can I manage my social media posts with a CRM platform?

Absolutely! In fact, many CRMs include social media management features. Salesforce, for example, has a tool called Social Studio that lets you publish and track your social media posts from one central platform.

HubSpot Sales includes a feature called Social Media Management that lets you see all of your social media mentions in one place. And Zoho CRM has a social media monitoring tool that allows you to track your brand mentions and engage with your audience.

Automation once again proves to be a powerful tool in the case of social media management. With a CRM, you can schedule and publish your social media posts in advance and even set up automatic responses to customer queries.

10: Can a CRM integrate with other financial systems?

Yes, CRMs can integrate with other financial systems. This is especially useful for businesses that need to keep track of their finances in one central place.

For example, if you use QuickBooks for accounting, you can integrate your QuickBooks data with your CRM. This way, you can see your financial information alongside your customer information.

You can also use a CRM to manage your inventory, which is useful for businesses that sell physical products. With an inventory management system, you can keep track of your stock levels and even set up automatic reordering when your stock gets low.

Finally, CRMs can also integrate with your eCommerce platform and plugins. If you accept payments through Stripe, for example, you can integrate your Stripe data with your CRM. Your company's financial health and any additional data will be available for you to analyze.

CRMs are an essential tool for business success

CRMs are essential to helping companies leverage the power of automation in order to grow their sales while streamlining operations quickly. The centrality of data and the ability to integrate with many financial systems are two main reasons why CRMs are so important. If your business is not using a CRM, it's time to investigate which one is right for you.

I like HubSpot's sales CRM because it includes a full suite of features, making it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes. You can also use it to build custom web pages optimized for lead conversion, create customizable email templates, and track the success of your sales campaigns.

At my company SaasFast Technologies, we can help you increase sales productivity with our sales acceleration software. Please send an inquiry through my Upwork profile if you need help sorting through your CRM options and implementing a custom HubSpot Sales CRM for your business. We offer a free 15-minute consultation to get you started!