When we are on a shopping spree to look for the requisite CRM partners for ourselves, we often forget to evaluate our own needs and objectives. We only tend to look for what the other parties have on offer. Instead, ask the following to yourself before zeroing on your partner –
- What is our budget?
- How many CRM users do we have in our company?
- What are the operational processes we need to improve on, and how?
- Why do we need a CRM, and what other software needs integration with it?
Once you have completed self-introspection, the next step is to understand how an insurance industry utilizes CRM and what does your insurance business needs from the CRM software?
Here are criteria that you must look for in an insurance CRM software for insurance sector –
1. Make sure the CRM integrates with your other software
We talk about synergy benefits, and you can attain it only when your group of software align in the same line. If you are buying a CRM software that works on its own and with no capability to integrate with other software, it will make for a difficult choice.
You would then have to pick up data from other ends and feed it to the CRM manually, which would be difficult for your workforce.
In a real-world environment, your customer relationship management software for insurance should not only integrate with Office 365, but it should also be able to seamlessly accept and send data to your accounting software, HR software, your marketing solution, your website, and other necessary ones as well.
2. Choose the deployment solution – On-Premise or Cloud
CRM software deployment is possible via two modes – on-premise or cloud. Both have their pros and cons, and you can choose the one that suits your needs.
If you choose an on-premise deployment, you own the software and physically hosted at your location. There would be no subscription charges, but you would need extra space and workforce to cater to the software. Additionally, the hardware would demand a lot of upfront fees from your pocket.
With a cloud deployment, you would need no physical hardware at your offices. All you need to do is log in to your account, and you can access all the information. The vendor’s server houses all the requisite information.
3. Choose an industry-specific partner boasting local vendors
While looking into the list of CRM vendors, you may find several good ones who don’t have expertise in the insurance sector. Choosing one of them would not necessarily add value to your organization.
It would be great if you would look for a vendor with experience in the insurance sector and local clientele.
4. Make sure that it is customizable and you get a training module
A CRM solution is not worthy if it is reluctant to customize. Also, it must come with a training module to make it easier for your staff.
CRM is forms part of your core strategy and is useful not only in a single process, but in all the business processes such as sales, marketing, contact management, and many others. Therefore, you must get a training mechanism to smoothen the adoption process.
The CRM software may not provide you all the processes in the way you would like them to function. Or there can be things that are not compatible in their original form with your company’s existing operations. Hence, you must choose a customizable software to ensure that you get it all right eventually.
5. Look for a CRM software providing a good user experience
Whenever we induct new hardware or software to our mix, we must pay attention to the fact that the end-user experience must be good. If it is not intuitive enough, it may deter people from using it in the long term.
How do you know if the software is user-friendly? You need to keep your eyes open when taking the demo and ask the question to yourself. Let go of the software if the answer is negative.
Wrapping up
CRM has various advantages every business, and the stats are enough to prove its worth. While choosing the default software for you, you need to understand the needs and requirements and if it passes your budget test or not.
Another vital thing to consider is the availability of customization and additional features. These may not come handy today, but you never know when it comes to future requirements.
Instead of waiting and gazing at your competitors benefitting from the right CRM, it is time that you gift one to your organization as well.
