Although Excel proves beneficial in your early days of business, it starts to feel like that unwanted guest who overstayed his visit. Excel can become frustrating, error-prone, and non-productive if implemented in a large business workplace. Businesses should adopt dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) software such as the one offered by smartagentcrm.com. It’s compatible with desktops and major mobile operating systems to manage their increasing needs.
Simplified Setup
Most businesses can’t use Excel as standalone software. Businesses also need an email client, a calendar, a contacts app, and many other tools to manage their sales. With a CRM tool, all these features are bundled into one package, eliminating the need for multiple software.
CRM software provides a one-stop solution for managing business processes. One significant benefit of using a CRM tool instead of Excel is that the former is very efficient in saving time and organizing data. Businesses do not have to switch between multiple applications to manage processes; they can rely upon only single software. Also, CRM tools are better at running on the majority of mobile operating systems. Excel can face compatibility issues on multiple platforms.
Automation
Excel is primarily a data analysis tool and not much of a data storage tool. The scalability of Excel is affected by the amount of data entered into an Excel sheet. Also, Excel depends on manual data entry. This process can become tiresome when using Excel on multiple mobile operating systems.
The lack of automation can lead to mismanagement and productivity loss. A CRM tool can help build custom automation workflow for various processes such as lead generation, website visitor tracking, quoting and invoicing, and email management. With the automation of redundant processes, business procedures are simplified, saving human resources and time.
Data Security
A data breach is a severe threat to watch out for when using Excel. Private information can get shared without the user’s knowledge. Anyone with a USB storage device can steal confidential business information. Also, some mobile operating systems are not secure to run programs that contain sensitive information.
CRM software provides better security solutions than standard Excel software. Cloud-based CRM tools offer better security than storing sensitive data on a local computer or an unsecured mobile operating system. Businesses can ensure the privacy and security of their customers using different security methods provided by CRM tools.
Error Reduction
Since Excel spreadsheets depend on manual data entry, they are prone to errors. According to a study by Dartmouth College, 94% of Excel sheets contain errors. There is almost no data quality control when using Excel sheets. Even a small error in data entry can lead to huge losses if ignored. With the automation advantage of CRM software, mistakes are minimized, leading to greater efficiency.
Collaboration
Organizations need to share a single document with multiple people. This can bring complexities if the single data-sheet is shared between numerous parties such as vendors, customers, and even colleagues. CRM software lets multiple users view the same data at the same time. Changes made to the data by one user are instantly accessible to the others. This ensures that every team member continually has a complete view of each process.
Integration
Excel has its limitations when integrating with other software. On the other hand, CRM software can be incorporated into multiple tools used in business operations. For example, CRM tools can be integrated into mailing apps such as MailChimp and accounting apps such as QuickBooks.
Mobility
The sales team is always on the go, and Excel is not exactly travel-friendly. Whenever someone wants to log interactions in an Excel sheet, they wait to get to their desks to make changes. Also, there might be changes in the spreadsheet while the sales representative was on his way. Those changes may not reflect in the printout that they have carried with them.
With CRM software, employees can access data on the go. With a friendly customized interface, the sales representatives can also make changes to the data, keeping everyone involved in the chain updated.
Reporting
As the Excel sheet grows larger, it can lead to data overload. Using Excel as a standalone CRM tool can prove disadvantageous if using large amounts of data. CRM software can help create a variety of reports on demand. They even have integrated templates for everyday use cases. With the ease of reporting, businesses can leverage CRM tools to assess their resources and priorities better or make adjustments to projects as required.
As your company grows, a CRM tool will grow with you; that’s how well it works for you. So take a step toward running your business smartly and smoothly by adopting a CRM tool and ditching Excel at the earliest.