What kind of CRM system does your company need? Are you asking yourself that question? As important as the debate is, there are more important questions to be asked about your perfect CRM. What are they? You are about to find out!

1. Free,SaaSorEnterprise?
You’reaskingthewrongqueson!
Polcode'sguidetopickingtherightCRM system.

2. Whatarethey?
WhatkindofCRMsystem
doesyourcompanyneed?
Areyouaskingyourselfthatqueson?Asimportantasthedebateis,thereare
moreimportantquesonstobeaskedaboutyourperfectCRM.

3. Beforewegettothat,let'sstartwithafewfacts:
CRM systemsisafast-growingfieldwithaprojectedyearlycompoundgrowthof14.8
percentthrough2017.
SaaSCRMsgrowparcularlyfast,takingamarketshareof50%.
Backintheday,onlylargecompaniescoulduseCRM systemstohelpthemimprove
theirsalesprocesses.
Today,accesstoadvancedfunconssuchasautomatedmailingoroneclickreports
iseasyforanykindofcompany.

4. ThethreetypesofCRM systemswhenitcomesdistribu on:
Free–so wareyoudon'thavetopayforinordertouseit.
SaaS–so waredistributedonthewebandusuallypaidforonamonthlybasis.
Enterprise–self-hostedso wareforcompaniesthathavetheabilitytostoredataon
theirownITinfrastructure.

5. ArefreeCRMsathing?
Yes!ThetwomostpopularwaystouseCRM systemforfreeare:
touseafreemiumSaaSCRM that
chargesonlyforsomeextrafeaturesand
largercapacity(Bitrix24,App vo)
ortouseanopensourceself-hosted
CRM system(SuiteCRM)

6. Isitreallyfree?
Whenaprogramisfree,therehastobeanotherwaythatthecompanymakesmoney,whichmay
includea emptstomone zetheclientcompany'sdata.
Companiesthatarenotabletomone zetheirso waremaygooutofbusiness,leavingaclient
companywithalotofproblems,suchastheneedtoretrievedataandmigratetoanotherso ware
provider.
Whenthenumberoffreeusersincrease,thequalityofcustomerserviceoffreemiumcompanies
maydeteriorate.
Therearevalidreasonswhysomecompaniesarewaryoffreeandfreemium
CRM systems:

7. SaaStoleveltheplayingfield
Inthepast,onlygiantcompaniescouldaffordtodevelopsuchso ware.
Today,one-size-fits-it-allSaaSsolu onscanbeaccessedviawebbrowser.
Whilelesscustomizable,theysllgiveyoualltheexpectedCRM featuresandarealsoeasy
tolearn.
TheemergenceofSaaSCRM systemsmadeiteasierforsmall-andmid-sized
companiestocompete:
SomeofmostpopularSaaSsystemsincludeSalesForce,NetSuite,OnContact,SalesNexus,
InfusionSo andthepaidversionofSuiteCRM –SugarCRM.

8. Enterprise-levelCRMs
Itrequiresthecompanytouseitsowninfrastructuretohostdata.
It'susuallyquitecostlywithexpensivelicenseschargedperuser.
Implementaonmayentailfurthercost.
Learningcurveissteep.
Enterprise-levelsolu onsarehighlycustomizableandgivecompaniesfull
controlovertheirdata.Butthatcomesataprice:
Popularchoicesinclude:Oracle'sSiebel,SAPCRM andMicroso CRM.SugarCRM andSuite
CRM canalsobeself-hosted,buttheircapabilityismoresimilartothatofSaaSsolu ons.

9. Fivemostimportant
quesonstoask
YoumayalreadyhaveanideaaboutthekindofCRMyouwant.Butbefore
youmakeadecision,stopthinkingaboutthedistribuonmodelandfocuson
whatkindoffeaturesyouwantyoursystemtohave.

10. Doesitallowmetoeasilykeeptrack
ofallcustomers?
allowsdifferentaccesslevels
providesaclearbig-pictureoverviewofallcustomersandtheirvariables(leadsource,typeetc.)
hasfeaturessuchasapowerfulsearchandtheabilitytoimportandexportdatabases
Pickasystemthat:

11. Doesitintegrateseamlesslywithmyemailaswell
asotherservicesimportantforme?
allowsthemtosaveemailconversaonswithcustomers
integrateswithotherso waretheyusesuchasMagentoorcalendarand
invoicingappsyouuse
Mostofthe me,clientsneedasystemthat:

12. Isitconvenienttouseonmobiledevices?
freemobileapps
convenientwaystosaveandtypedataonmobiledevices
attheveryleastaresponsivewebapp
ThebestCRMsprovide:

13. Doesitmakeiteasytocoordinateeffortsonboth
theindividualanddepartmentlevel?
theabilitytosetgoalsandno ficaons,assigntaskstoothers
aneasywayforsalespeopleorcustomerserviceemployeestoinput
informaonontheflyforthemarkengdepartmenttofind
Thebestratedsystemssimplifycooperaonbetweenvarious
departments.Someexamplesmayinclude:

14. Doesitincludemarke ngandsales
automa oncapabilies?
targetmulple customers atonce with scheduled communicaon thattakes into
consideraonthesalespipeline
trackgoalsintheformofmicroandmacroconversionsyoucansetup
easilyandautomacallygeneratereportsfromallthedata
Thesearesomeofthemostinnova venewfeatures.Theyhavethepoten alto:

15. MakeyourCRMobeyyou,
nottheotherwayaround.
ConsideringhowincrediblyhelpfulCRMsystemsmaybetoyourorganizaon,youshouldn’t
makeyourdecisionbasedonthedistribuonmodelorpriceinmindasthefirstpriority.
Pickonethathasjusttherightfeaturesyouneedandnottoo
manyofthoseyouarenotplanningtouse.

16. by
Thanksforreading!