Investing in a CRM is an undeniable priority.

February 28, 2022

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a computerized tool, often provided as a cloud service, that enables :

  • better manage customers and prospects (potential customers)
  • centralize them for a complete, detailed overview
  • attribute successes and failures (lead origins) - a lead being a sales opportunity
  • gain a better understanding of your customers' behavior and the key stages leading up to conversion (sale)
  • generate more sales thanks to marketing intelligence(c.f. our dedicated service page)
  • record all interactions with your customers/prospects (emails, phone calls, chat conversations, etc.)
  • improve workflows by connecting CRM to productivity tools (e.g. chat or forms systems connected to CRM)
  • increase your ROI (return on investment) and ROAS (return on advertising spend)
  • optimize your sales human resources (better advice and sales force)
  • reward and retain your most active customers
  • reduce administrative workload over time
  • generate sales and marketing insights
  • easily create real-time dashboards
  • generate quotes and offers automatically
  • reduce the risk of errors associated with tedious manual processes
  • and ... satisfy your customers.

Assume that automation and "proceduralization" will save you time and .... money in the long run! That's a certainty.

Without taking sides, SalesForce has created a very well edited video that simply explains what a CRM is:

What is a CRM?

Faced with these numerous advantages, the decision seems straightforward, between simple but laborious management in an Excel file, for example, and the implementation of a CRM often available as a cloud service. However, yes, implementation costs can be high, depending on the following points:

  • one or more people dedicated to implementing and monitoring the tool (implementation and improvement costs)
  • a CRM needs to evolve over time, with important new functions added as you grow (upgrade costs)
  • a monthly subscription in most cases (fixed monthly costs)

It's vital to evaluate the ease of implementation and correlation with your other productivity tools and marketing channels. Below, you'll find the main tools and systems to consider in terms of CRM compatibility:

  • ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software - Managing all day-to-day activities
  • Accounting software
  • HR system (production time management, etc.)
  • Marketing channels such as :
    • Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Twitter, Pinterest
    • Google My Business listing
    • Google ads, Bing ads, Yahoo ads
    • Many others exist...
    • E-commerce or showcase website (Web Analytics)

What's certain is that the return in the short to medium term will be undeniable.There are hundreds of solutions tochoosefrom, from small, unknown software packages to the world's leading behemoth, SalesForce. The choice is therefore difficult. So what are the best criteria for making a choice?

  • Price and budget considerations, including whether you'll need outside help to implement CRM
  • Technological factor: don't forget to sound out your in-house technical capacity to master the tool.
  • Training factor, without forgetting to set up a staff training plan to ensure proper use of the tool, a guarantee of success.
  • Human factor (support), not forgetting to assess your future advisors and their availability.
  • Time factor, with a clear understanding of how long it will take to implement the platform before it can be used properly, and how long it will take to get to grips with the main functionalities.

These 5 factors deserve careful consideration. Experience has shown that going for the cheapest solution is not necessarily the wisest decision. So it's important to look ahead to the medium-to-long term, in order to study the main challenges and key points that will be important to your company's growth in the future. Investing in a more comprehensive solution that goes beyond CRM and connects to other productivity tools is often a key factor. In other words, it optimizes your chances of continuing with your chosen CRM in the long term, without necessarily having to change software. In fact, very often, we don't anticipate certain evolutions that would force you to change software, with an unfortunately undeniable financial waste.What are the main reputable solutions?Here, you'll simply find the main CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions, which I recommend you evaluate one by one, without exception. Most of these software packages offer a trial version and a team of responsive customer advisors available to sell you their solutions. Take a step back, to ensure you make the right choice.

In our agency's experience, we've used solutions from SalesForce, Microsoft, SAP, Hubspot, Zoho, Copper, Monday, Zendesk and Bexio. Of course, it's no secret that every solution has its advantages and disadvantages, and we don't want to influence you in this crucial choice for your productivity gains. Whatever criticisms or expert opinions you may find abundantly on the Internet, the only advice I can give you is to test each of these software packages.
The affinity and intuitive understanding of the selected tool will be the key to success!
As mentioned in paragraph 1, there are hundreds of CRMs not listed above.CRM and digital advertising marketingTheevolution and democratization of digital channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok have had a huge impact on digital advertising spend.

From multinationals to small businesses and craftsmen, most companies have turned to digital communications over the past 8 years in particular. More advertising investment also means more competition and therefore less visibility.

Thesolution: CRM coupled with marketing intelligenceTwosolutions are therefore available to you, given the context expressed in the previous chapter:

  • an exceptional budget
  • exceptional targeting

This democratization of digital advertising, coupled with the current economic situation, has given rise to new expectations in terms of cost-per-result (CPR). Marketing intelligence (c.f. our service page on this subject here: (https://agence-bb.ch/services/marketing-intelligence)
is positioning itself as the key to healthy growth and a positive return on advertising investment.

In 2022 and 2023, with digital competition so fierce, some companies risk seeing their return on advertising investment plummet. Without in-depth audience analysis, an advertising strategy, an adequate budget, a content strategy or a study of their customer data, companies that are groping their way ahead risk seeing their advertising drowned out by the competition.How do you choose your CRM? What's the best solution for your business? How do you start implementing marketing intelligence?

Agence BB Switzerland® is very active in integrating marketing intelligence into your business. I'd be delighted to talk to you about this very important topic of CRM and marketing intelligence, to help you increase efficiency and productivity, and boost business growth in today's ultra-competitive market.