SMBs + strategic planning = CRM

Many small and medium businesses have not yet been persuaded of the benefits CRM has to offer. As a result, they unintentionally neglect their IT long-term strategic planning, overseeing its actual business value.

This is one of the many interesting facts revealed by a recent survey, primarily focused on insights on the use of technology by small businesses. This survey is of general interest, even though it addresses the US market, since it offers facts and establishes trends. The results of this survey are based on the responses of 300 small business owners, depicting how small businesses are dealing, or not, with the transition of their customer base to mobile technology, or how important is the role of big data for such businesses.

One of the most important conclusions is that many SMBs are limited to using single-use technologies that do not communicate with each other or simply cannot support effective growth or development. More than 80% of small businesses lack specialized IT personnel, while in 73% of the cases, it is the business owner who ultimately makes all the important decisions pertaining to the acquisition of technology.

Another important finding is that SMBs continue to rely on obsolete tools and processes when it comes to connecting / communicating with their customers. In particular, emails and spreadsheets are still widely used for monitoring customer data, while customer interaction is based on phone calls, emails and social media.

Even worse, a small but significant percentage of SMBs (21%) does not use any kind of technology regarding sales to their customer base. Obviously, most executives are aware of the existing solutions, such as CRM, and the benefits these can offer to their business, but are often reluctant to make such an investment. On the other hand, when persuaded to deploy such a solution, they are readily satisfied and eager to recommend it to others.

To summarize some of the most important findings of this survey:

• SMBs are not actually integrating as fast as they should new technologies, such as CRM, that would help them expand quicker.
• To a certain degree, there is a misconception that CRM, automation and other technologies are quite complex for SMBs. Luckily, this trend seems to be reversing.
• Often, the deployment of a CRM system appears to be challenging in terms of time and resources for SMB owners -although this is more of a misconception rather than an actual reality.
• The clarification of the positive consequences, such as time saving and revenue increase, for SMBs will prove to be critical not only for SMBs but for CRM vendors as well.