How to choose a CRM that’s right for your business needs

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are an essential digital tool for businesses to stay on top of communication. Once you choose a CRM and get everyone in your team used to it, it’s much harder to change, so you want to get it right. 

But with so many systems out there, it’s hard to pick a CRM that works for your specific needs. If you’re looking to implement a system that works effectively for your team, you’re in the right place. 

Having worked with many clients to make this decision and implement CRM systems, we understand it’s an overwhelming choice – and we love helping people to choose which option is right so they can start implementing a tool that saves time, money, and stress. 

Keep reading to find out how to choose a CRM that works for your business.

How do you choose the right CRM for your team?

As we’ve already mentioned, there’s a huge range of CRM systems available, so it can be hard to know where to start. Most all-singing-all-dancing platforms shout about shiny features – but do you really need them? 

Each business has its own needs for a CRM system. For example, some businesses need basic customer communication and email integration, whereas others require complex multi-channel systems for a large number of users with high-tech order processing. 

Your answers to the following questions will impact the CRM system that’s best for your business.

What does your day-to-day customer communication look like?

You want a system that will improve customer experience, so it’s important to recognise what you already do in terms of customer relationship communication.

• Volume and regularity: Do you send lots of automated emails or is it more bespoke and manual? 
• Channels: Are you managing phone calls, live chat, or social media messages?
• Customer interaction: Are customer queries primarily support-based, sales-focused, or service-related?

What CRM features do you need?

All CRM systems come with different features to improve your internal and external communication. Which are important to your business needs?  The most common are: 

Customer support features

• Customer contact management: Store essential information such as name, address, email, phone number, location, past purchase history, etc.
• Customer support features: Such as ticket management and tracking service cases from initiation to resolution
• Integration with tools: Email marketing platforms, VoIP systems, or e-commerce platforms to provide effective customer support.

Internal lead generation and sales features

• Pipeline tracking: See where leads are in the buying journey 
• Lead scoring: Pre-qualify potential customers and conduct targeted, personalised marketing 
• Automation and workflows: Streamline repetitive tasks 
• Task management: Assign team members tasks, set reminders, and centralise internal communication 
• Reporting and analytics: Track sales performance and customer engagement
• Custom dashboards: Visualise your CRM data and progress in a way that suits you
• Mobile access: So remote team members or frequent travellers can access the system.

We recommend all businesses look for task automation, workflows, and integration with your chosen email tool as a minimum, as these benefit you no matter your company set-up.

How will your needs change as you grow?

Plan for the future – choose a CRM that can scale as your business expands. Consider:

• User limits: Will you need to add more users soon?
• Data storage capacity: Can the CRM handle increasing data as your business grows?
• Pricing model: Does the CRM offer flexible pricing as your team size and requirements change?

Look at what your current numbers are and predict where you expect them to be in a year or even two years, so you aren’t choosing a CRM that will become redundant. 

For example, some growing businesses start with a specific CRM system because they offer a low-cost subscription for their current database size. However, in a few months, they might realise it’s no longer suitable as their audience increases. 

In this situation, they can either be stuck with a hefty price increase or choose an alternative CRM that offers a better option for their needs and they then have to move across to another platform (which can be a headache). 

Does this CRM system suit your industry?

Certain industries come with specific needs unlike others, so industry-specific CRM systems can be useful. For example, Clio is specifically for legal professionals and Shopify offers CRM features for e-commerce businesses.

Additional considerations when choosing a CRM system

Here are a few more things that could help refine your CRM selection:

• Ease of Use: Is the system intuitive enough for your team to adopt quickly?
• Customer support: What kind of support is available if you face technical challenges?
• Customisation: Can the CRM be tailored to fit your specific workflows?
• Security & compliance: Does the CRM comply with data protection regulations like GDPR?

Once you’ve worked out what’s important to your business, choosing a CRM system that’s right for your needs is far easier.

Our top CRM system recommendations – and who they’re best for

Over the years of working with our client’s CRM systems, these have come out on top:

ActiveCampaign

This powerful tool provides handy email marketing automation and CRM features in one place. ActiveCampaign* is perfect for many SMEs, including both service- and product-based businesses. It’s great if you want to manage complex user journeys and focus your sales and marketing efforts. This is the one we use to run our business, Virtually Priceless.

HubSpot

This platform combines CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service tools in one central hub. HubSpot is ideal for growing businesses that need an all-in-one solution for managing leads, nurturing prospects, and streamlining marketing campaigns. It’s particularly suitable for B2B service providers, startups, and enterprises looking for scalable features and strong integration options. This is a popular option with many of our clients.

Salesforce

Salesforce offers a CRM platform with advanced customisation and automation capabilities. It’s best for larger businesses and enterprises that need a CRM to handle complex sales pipelines, manage customer data, and automate workflows. It’s particularly valuable for industries like finance, healthcare, and tech that require in-depth analytics and multi-channel support.

Hire a VA to choose a CRM system and implement it effectively

Now you know how to look for a CRM that’s right for your business and not get carried away with flashy features you don’t need. But if you still need help, get in touch. 

After learning about your business, we will help you to choose a CRM system that will save you time, money, and stress. And to make things even easier for you, we can also set up the system and implement it within your team. 

With Virtually Priceless, there’s no more worrying about which system is the right choice or figuring out how to start using it – we take it all off your plate so you can focus on providing excellent customer service and improving your internal comms.

*Please note, some of these are affiliate links, meaning if you click and make a purchase, we may receive a small reward. We only ever recommend tools that we use in our business, or have personally tried and tested.