The downsides of managing customers without a CRM

Running a business without a CRM solution is like running a race without your sneakers on. You have the required skills, but you cannot perform well without the right tools. There are many downsides to managing customers without a CRM. Let’s see what they are and help you get your business back on track in order to win the race in which everyone is participating – how to provide quality service to your customers!

All of your data is on multiple platforms

Collecting and working with data is the backbone of every company. However, managing that data is not always the easiest thing to do. An average employee spends 30%-40% of his work time looking for a piece of information necessary to do the job. One of the downsides of managing customers without a CRM is that all the data is spread across multiple platforms. For example, one department prefers to use Google Drive, while a different department uses OneDrive. Some people prefer to write in Word documents, others like OneNote.

That can result in creating data silos, huge piles of information on different locations. When someone needs a piece of information, they need to dig through these documents in order to find something. That spends a lot of time.

By implementing a CRM solution, you are getting a single platform to manage all of the data. All departments have access, and everything is in one place. Just how this will be a huge benefit for large corporations, CRM is very useful for small businesses planning to grow big one day.

No ability to create manageable customer profiles

Average consumers evolved over the past decades. Strategies that were used 20 years ago became obsolete. Today, all companies focus on customer demographics as a source of reliable information.

Because of the downsides of managing customers without a CRM, your business will be at a big loss. A CRM system has an abundance of versatile features that allow you to create a customer experience strategy.

You can build a detailed profile for every client, gather essential data, and update it as needed.

No access to flexible analytics and reporting features

Analyzing data and running reports are two pillars of managing a business. Without them, the entire company will crumble. One of the biggest downsides of managing customers without a CRM is that you cannot use amazing reporting features. A CRM solution has a well-developed reporting system that allows you to create charts, compare data, and visualize all the processes of any department.

Lack of control and transparency

When you don’t use a tool like CRM, it is not possible to have insight into every customer-related process. Furthermore, you cannot track the task completion and see if your employees are struggling with something or not. A CRM system gives you not only transparency but full control over assignments.

It is much harder to spot a mistake

Without a CRM system, tracking mistakes becomes much harder. If you don’t have standardized processes for gathering data, you won’t even notice the mistake until it becomes too late. Furthermore, it can also happen that you have inconsistent data. You can customize every part of a CRM solution and build forms with required fields. As a result, it will be difficult to define customer demographics and focus on the right type of people.

Data entry becomes a long and tedious process

Another item on the list of the downsides of managing customers without a CRM is definitely the tedious process of manual data entry. Your employees will be stuck for the most part of their shift manually entering data for every customer. A CRM system allows you to automate processes and substantially reduce the time spent on data entry.

Lack of accessibility

Let’s say you have a very important client, and you need to look at their contact details, contracts, previously closed deals, or any sales. You are not at the office, so you need to call someone who is. Now one of your employees must put everything he or she is doing on the side, to find that data for you. That’s a long process. If you use a CRM system to manage customer data, you will have access at all times, wherever you are. CRM is also accessible from a mobile phone.

Customer satisfaction may stagnate

As we saw, there are multiple downsides to managing customers without a CRM. Since this software is such an important piece of your business, not using it will affect the overall level of customer satisfaction. Even if you had a good start, your customers will want to see improvements after some time. If you are not making a step towards providing a better service and experience, they will look for someone else.

Since you are not using a CRM platform to manage the communication with your business clients, you will have a hard time without its fantastic features to create a strategy that will help you go the extra mile.

The downsides of managing customers without a CRM explained

Let’s do an informative summary to help you get a full picture of why using a CRM solution is a must for any business:

• Without a CRM you will struggle with multiple tools and platforms to save your data;
• Customer profiles will be disorganized and scattered across multiple files;
• No analytics and reporting options;
• Lack of control, accessibility, and transparency when it comes to accessing and using customer data;
• It is harder to spot a mistake since there is no unified and standardized system;
• Manual data entry is tedious and time-consuming;
• The absence of a CRM solution will affect customer satisfaction in the long run;

Understanding the downsides of managing customers without a CRM tool is the first step towards improving your business. Make it better for yourself, so you can make it better for the clients as well! For any additional insight you need, feel free to contact MoversTech and let us give you the best solution to take your business to the next level.