Which CRM suits your business?

Are you looking for a CRM? And do you want to know what the possibilities of CRM systems are and which CRM suits your business? Then read this blog now.

• What is CRM?
• Different types of CRM
• CRM features
• CRM met projectmanagement features
• CRM met leadmanagement en sales features

What is CRM?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and helps companies manage relationships. These are, for example, customers, suppliers or other collaboration partners. The aim of CRM is to have an overview of your entire customer portfolio and to have insight into what is going on with a relationship.

Different types of CRM

There are several types of CRM, which makes it sometimes difficult to choose which is suitable for your company. A company that logs hours or works project-based, for example, needs a different CRM than a company that sells fixed products or subscriptions. The industry you work in ultimately determines which CRM suits you best.

Integrating CRM with your accounting software

Integrate your CRM with your accounting software for an efficient business process. Integrating software means connecting two or more software systems with each other to exchange information automatically without you having to do anything. This can save a lot of time. We recommend always choosing the CRM that suits you first and only then looking at which accounting software integrates with it. After all, CRM supports your primary process and this process should guide your choice. In practice it is often the other way round and companies choose software that integrates with their existing accounting software. Do you want to switch accounting software? Then consult our article “Switching accounting software”.

CRM features

There are a number of standard features that every CRM has. These include, for example, features for managing all your contacts and managing a file per contact. Quoting and invoicing are also features you see in almost every CRM. Below we highlight a number of important features:

Customer portal

With a customer portal you give customers their own digital customer environment in which they log in. In this environment the customer arranges a number of things themselves, for example viewing and paying invoices, changing details or sending a message.

Email integration

With an email integration you connect, for example, your own Gmail or Outlook account with the software. This lets you send emails to your customer directly from the software.

File management

With file management you maintain a digital file of all your relationships. This file is in the cloud and can therefore always be consulted by your employees.

Relationship management via a mobile app

If you are often on the road, it is handy to have all relevant data of your company close at hand. With contact management via a mobile app, customer data is always within reach.

Check our filter page for even more features of CRM software.

CRM with project management features

Do your employees log hours for carrying out work, and do you invoice these hours to the customer? Then you need CRM with project management features. With project management features you keep track of how much time employees have put into a project.

Please note: The difference between CRM software and project management software is often very small. Projects are always invoiced to a customer, so CRM features are indispensable for project management software.

Below is a practical example showing how CRM software can be combined with a project management module.

Practical example of CRM software with project management: Manage and share the complete planning, tasks and budget using Efficy CRM software

Our planning is constantly changing. That is why managing project planning is a challenge. We have a solution for that! Efficy has a very user-friendly project management module integrated into its CRM software, which enables you to follow up every step within a project.

But what does this CRM software offer? With the project management module it is possible to plan projects and associated tasks and share them with everyone, even with external stakeholders. Thanks to the Kanban module, you can drag tasks from one phase to another with a simple drag movement and assign them to the responsible team members. This way everyone always has the same up-to-date status of the project.

Thanks to the project management module it is also easy to keep track of each team member's time registration. This results in a clear follow-up between planned and actual costs.

Do you also want CRM software that includes project management, planning and budget in one tool? Then discover all the CRM solutions on the website.

CRM with lead management and sales features

Do you sell products or subscriptions and is the internet an important pillar of your business? Then you need CRM with leads and sales functionality. Software with this functionality is aimed at optimising the lead management process and increasing conversions.

Selecting CRM software with SoftwareWatcher

To find out exactly which CRM software suits you, we refer you to our CRM software comparison page. On this page you can go through a simple selection guide, so that you can quickly and easily find out which CRM software suits your business.