6 Benefits of CRM in the Cloud

Imagine you're a busy sales leader. You're finally at home and queuing up Netflix. Then, you get CC'd on an urgent email from one of your biggest clients to your top salesperson, who — as Murphy's Law would have it — is on vacation.

The buyer lost the final quote from your sales rep and needs it for her morning meeting with decision-makers, but you don't know those numbers offhand. They should be in your customer relationship management (CRM) system, but only if the salesperson remembered to update it (and that's a big "if").

Without CRM in the cloud, you need the software on your business computer to access the information — but you left your laptop at work. Now, you have three options: You could begrudgingly kick off your slippers and trek back to the office; send a new quote, which could make your team look inconsistent and disorganized; or start calling other salespeople to find out whether anyone brought their work computers home and can look up the information for you — they'll definitely love getting that call at dinnertime.

With cloud CRM, you wouldn't have this problem, since all you'd need to access customer information is a login and an internet-connected device. A robust cloud-based CRM can help boost sales productivity, call center efficiency, and marketing effectiveness. However, like any business tool, it only works if everyone uses it, and most people will only use it if it's convenient.

Businesses both large and small are embracing this technology to take advantage of the following six cloud migration benefits for CRM:

1. Mobility

Whether your sales pros are working from home, traveling for business, or communicating with clients after hours, they might often need to answer business calls when they're not in front of their computers. However, they almost always have their smartphones within reach. By giving them CRM access on mobile devices, you enable them to better serve clients and work from anywhere.

2. Updatability

CRM grants businesses the ability to analyze customer interactions and data and enables sales teams to better collaborate. However, when people are taking calls on the fly, they need the ability to update CRM data on the spot. Otherwise, they might forget to do it later on. CRM in the cloud is always right at their fingertips. So, short of "My dog ate my smartphone," they're all out of excuses.

3. Scalability

Smaller companies might not need all the bells and whistles that large enterprises want from CRM, but as those companies grow, their needs change. Upgrading or switching to a different CRM down the road can be costly and time-consuming. With CRM in the cloud, new capacity, features, and functionality can be automatically pushed out company-wide — no IT overtime necessary.

4. Affordability

With cloud CRM, there's no costly upfront installation or hardware costs, and the pay-as-you-go model enables smaller, sleeker sales organizations to use only what they need. Your IT department doesn't have to install, maintain, or upgrade the application. All of that is handled remotely, freeing up your IT resources for more strategic (i.e., more interesting) projects.

5. Reliability

"Hope for the best and plan for the worst." It's a cliche if there ever was one, but it's also sound business advice. With CRM in the cloud, critical customer data is continually backed up and protected from any scenario that could threaten information stored onsite.

6. Compatibility

CRM in the cloud can be easily integrated with other key business applications and technology, enabling different departments to better collaborate, share information, and streamline workflows. Cloud-based CRM can also be integrated into communications systems, such as email or the business phone system. Phone service and CRM integration enable devices to automatically log calls and prompt users to update information about customer interactions.

The bottom line? You need accurate and complete information in your CRM. Yet your employees are people, and as a general rule, people don't love paperwork. Cloud CRM makes that part of the job quick and easy, so your team can focus on doing what they do best: selling.

To learn more about CRM integration and business phone service, speak to a Vonage Business consultant.