There’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic made small business survival even more difficult than it was before. With shelter-in-place regulations across the United States and national unemployment at an all-time high, many wondered if small businesses would survive at all.
Once again, however, small business owners across the country proved their resiliency. Whether you took a short term pivot on the products and services you offer or used resources from the Small Business Administration like emergency loans or the paycheck protection program, you found a way to adapt.
And with recovery on the horizon, now is the time to think not only about small business survival but about how you can make your company even better than before.
Today, we look at why a CRM solution needs to be part of your small business survival plan. Let’s get started!
How a CRM can help your small business survive
1. More successful sales and marketing campaigns
A CRM holds an abundance of information you can use to learn more about your leads and customers. From information on what purchases your customers have made to data on what messaging resonates with your target audience, a CRM helps you uncover new insights about your customer base. Insights you can then use to shape and refine your sales strategy and marketing efforts.
And trust us when we say these tidbits of information are critical to closing sales. Research has shown that personalization means more to buyers than ever before and is only expected to increase in importance.
“72% of buyers only engage with messaging that’s personalized to them.”
– Forbes, 2020.
Given this, the customer data a CRM holds is a goldmine of information you can use to better target and convert your prospects. With the help of a CRM, you can tailor your sales and marketing campaigns to each lead — ensuring that you speak directly to their specific pain points and highlight exactly why they need your product.
Method:CRM users: To better understand your target audience, you can use custom reports in Method to see what your best customers have in common and build your ideal customer profile (ICP) around this data. Once your ICP is defined, every sales and marketing campaign you launch should focus on and target this persona.
2. Improved cash flow management
Positive cash flow is a critical part of small business survival. But even in the best of times, it can be a challenge. In fact, cash flow is something that 62 percent of small business owners struggle with.
“62% of small business owners experience cash flow problems.”
– Inuit QuickBooks, 2019.
Thankfully, a CRM helps you better understand how much cash you’re actually bringing in. By tracking every sales opportunity as it progresses through the funnel, you get real-time updates on how likely a deal is to close and when you can expect to receive payment from it.
And if you use a QuickBooks CRM, like Method, you can streamline your finances even more by automatically syncing transactions between your CRM and QuickBooks account. With a QuickBooks CRM, you don’t have to worry about recording your sales twice or having deals that don’t close on your books.
Method:CRM users: Track every stage of your sales pipeline in Method and use the Opportunities app to learn which opportunities are most likely to become sales and when you can expect these deals to close. Then use our payment gateways to get paid faster and keep your cash flow positive.
3. More repeat business
Considering that CRM stands for customer relationship management, it makes sense that a CRM helps you better serve and manage your customers.
For small businesses, this means providing a level of service that keeps customers coming back and stops them from shopping with your competitors.
Using a CRM makes it easier for you to stay competitive and helps small companies survive against big businesses like Amazon and Walmart by:
- Empowering your employees with the information they need to serve your customers
- Making it easier to personalize a customer’s experience to their preferences and buying habits
- Increasing the speed at which you can service your loyal customers
With a CRM, it’s easier for your team to go the extra mile and leave a lasting, positive impression on your customers — an impression they will hopefully share with their friends and on social media to help you drum up even more business.
And now that your customers are happy, you can use your CRM to effectively upsell. By looking at a customer’s transaction history and buying behavior, you can now strategically sell additional products to them. Whether you do that by creating a special offer for them based on their favorite products or planning a follow-up sales activity, using a CRM helps you meet the ongoing demands of your customers.
Method:CRM users: Make it even easier for your customers to do business with you with Method’s customer portals. With 24/7 self-service, your customers can do everything online from making payments to accepting estimates and checking their account status.
4. Greater operational efficiency
If you want to increase your productivity, using a CRM is a great way to make this happen. By automating necessary but time-consuming tasks like sending emails and scheduling meetings, a CRM takes care of the grunt work for you. This means you can focus on higher-value tasks like meeting with potential customers and driving sales opportunities forward.
Plus, with the organization a CRM provides, you don’t waste your time looking for sales data or duplicating work. Instead, you can focus on what matters — making sure your small business survives.
Method:CRM users: Take advantage of Method’s Email campaign app to connect with more prospects in less time. In just a few clicks, you can set up email nurture templates that you can re-use again and again during sales outreach.
Beyond small business survival: How A CRM helps you thrive
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of CRM software, let’s recap how a CRM can increase your chance of small business survival and better yet, success. With a CRM, you can:
- Use data-driven insights about your leads and customers to execute more targeted and effective sales and marketing initiatives
- Gain visibility into your sales pipeline and improve your cash flow management
- Improve your customer service and capitalize on every upsell opportunity
- Increase your productivity by automating tedious workflows
All of which will reduce your overhead costs and help you drive a better bottom line.
Want to realize the benefits of a CRM? Start your free trial of Method:CRM today!
Image credit: Mike Petrucci via Unsplash
