Having CRM software in place makes managing your business easier. It provides a place for you and your team to record notes, track sales and view customers.
So, if you’re new to CRM software or want to get some tips on how to utilise your existing system, here is our ultimate guide to CRM software.
Here’s a run-down of what we’ll be going through:
- What is CRM Software?
- What is CRM Software Used For?
- Who Uses CRM Software?
- Why do You Need CRM Software?
- Benefits of CRM Software
- Why Clik Software?
- How to Make the Most Out of Your CRM
What is CRM Software?
CRM stands for customer relationship management. CRM software is an all-in-one tool that manages all your customers and your business relationship with them. It incorporates the dated, physical address books, planners, call logs and more into one. The tool manages your interactions with your clients so you can find emails related to jobs.
What is CRM Software Used For?
CRM software is used for a number of different things, depending on what role you play in your company. Marketers use it to gather data about customers and prospects to plan content and campaigns. Sales teams use it to manage their accounts and track sales processes. In the service field, engineers can use it to get site addresses for their next job and access relevant documents.
Whatever your role, CRM can bring your work together. It helps you supply the right service to your contacts when they need it. Whether that is planned maintenance contracts, added site visits or a quick update on their ongoing work.
Who Uses CRM Software?
There are so many CRM software options out there, with something suitable for every business. So, whether you’re a larger company or an SME (small and medium-sized enterprises), there is something out there for you.
Many service industry businesses use CRM software to store their client details. They can then pull across information, such as the main contact telephone and site address into their job sheets with ease. No need to copy and paste details from an external spreadsheet or type in details from a handwritten address book.
You might be asking, ‘will CRM software work for my industry?’. The answer is yes.
Field service CRM software is built with your industry in mind. Electricians can add contacts to their address book and view their related electrical certificates. They can then create renewal reminders and follow up on planned maintenance work.
Plumbers and heating engineers can log f-gas records for their customers. They can then view existing site refrigeration systems so they have the details they need for the next job.
Facility management companies, lift engineers and catering businesses can manage everything. That includes job sheets, emails and phone communications and more. The CRM can also host modules including customer-specific diaries and documents. This way, you’re always up-to-date with upcoming items and know exactly where to find what you need.
The list of industries using CRM software can go on. If you want to see what businesses in your industry think of service management software, take a look at these case studies.
Why do You Need Field Service CRM Software?
Outlining why you think your company could benefit from using a CRM is a great place to start. How do you currently manage your customer and job data? Are there particular areas that need improvement? Answering these questions can help you find the best solution for you.
Field service CRM software can bring together everything you need in one place. That includes your jobs, customers, sites, equipment and much more. You won’t need to click back and forth between different programs to find the information you want. It allows you to build better relationships with your loyal customers. You can also nurture prospective clients and turn them into a customer for life.
Benefits of CRM Software
We all like to keep organised. What better way to keep on track of your business than embracing new technology? One way to do that is to adopt an efficient job management CRM solution.
Job management software often comes hand-in-hand with a built-in CRM. Implementing a good CRM system into your daily life can help your business in many ways. Here are some of the benefits of CRM software for the field service industry.
1. It can help you go paperless
With technology constantly evolving, it is now even easier to move away from a paper-based business structure. Going paperless has a number of benefits in a business environment. CRM software can help you get to your end goal, whether you want a completely paperless approach or a little at a time.
Keeping all your documents, site notes and customer details in one program helps the environment. It will also help cut down on unnecessary costs and keep your important work safe. This way, you can back up the important data and prepare yourself for anything. Having a centralised database that can connect to different modules simplifies every process. From invoicing and payments to job sheets and admin.
2. It keeps everything in one place
Physical diaries and planners can be good. But they are also prone to becoming lost among other documents you have lying around the office.
Not only can you keep your diary in the CRM, but you can also include your client activity, sales invoices and communication history details that can be important when completing jobs. This way, your team can see records of earlier communication with the company and pick up on work without complications.
With easy search functions, you can also find the phone number or site address you are looking for quickly and easily. Got an email address but not sure which customer it relates to? Search for it in the CRM and it’ll match it with your existing records so you don’t need to search through every company individually.
3. It improves communication
Your team will be able to collaborate easier when working across one database. Work becomes more consistent and easier to manage. Your workforce will also be able to familiarise themselves with their upcoming jobs and relevant client history before setting off for the day.
It’s not just staff in the office that will benefit from enhanced communications, but your customers will too. You can make sure your client’s activity is up-to-date with relevant notes and details about recent phone calls and emails. This way, your staff have all the information they need when completing jobs. With your workforce more prepared, they can ensure they deliver the best possible customer service every time.
4. It gives you more time
For a growing field service business, a typical day can involve an overwhelming amount of paper and admin work. Thanks to technology, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Set up regular calendar reminders and spend less time inputting data manually. Find all client communications with your company. No need to search through multiple inboxes and long call histories. You can save time when implementing the new program for the first time with data migration tools.
There are many ways that a CRM can help save you time on a day-to-day basis. Utilise these features to make sure you can focus on completing jobs to a high standard.
5. You can take it anywhere
When implementing a CRM system, you need to make sure you are making the most of it. One of the ways to do that is to make use of the tools wherever you are.
You can access all that important information on your desktop PC. This is great for those in the office, but what about those working from home?
You can also get compatible apps and access web-based software, so you can access the information you need when you need it. This way if you’re away from the office, you will still be able to manage every aspect of your business.
Offline or online, there are field management options to suit every business situation.
Why Clik Software?
So now you know what CRM is and its benefits, you might want to look into implementing the tools into your own business management. The Clik CRM might be the answer for you.
Clik offers software solutions that can easily be tailored to any business in the service industry. Clik Service is the central hub. The software powerhouse has everything from quoting to engineer scheduling and everything between. It also houses your main CRM, where all your customers, sites and suppliers live.
Clik Remote is a powerful web-based solution that allows your managers, engineers, customers and sales team to access their own unique dashboard from anywhere. The CRM has a live link to the main Clik Service database. It makes it easy to access your client contacts, site addresses and job details when away from the office.
How to Make the Most Out of Your CRM
So, once you’re set up with your new CRM, it’s time to start organising your business. Here are some tips on how you can make the most out of your CRM.
1. Train your team
A shiny new CRM won’t start helping your business until your team can use it properly. It might take some time before you feel like you’re using it to its full potential. There are many ways to train your team to use your new tools.
We offer training to help businesses of all shapes and sizes. Whether you want quick sessions online or longer face-to-face discussions about the software, we have training options to suit your business.
Not only that, but we also have loads of articles, videos and resources on our support site. You can access these any day, any time. If you ever come across any issues or have any queries on how to do something, our dedicated technical support team are just a phone call away.
There are so many ways to train new team members or get engineers up to speed with new software.
2. Promote your new system
That then brings us to the next tip. Once trained, make sure your team are using the new system.
If you’re the one in charge, it’s important that you promote your CRM internally. You may meet some resistance and hear dreaded phrases like “But we have always done it that way” banded around a bit. Change can be difficult to adjust to at first, but once you start to see the benefits of organising your business with field service CRM software, you won’t be able to go without it.
3. Be transparent with your customers
You can go the extra mile for your customers by giving them access to information about their jobs. Giving your customers an interactive dashboard with information on outstanding jobs, unpaid invoices and more will improve relationships. It also builds trust between you and your customers, an important quality to have to ensure clients keep coming back.
Clik Remote Customer is a web-based job management platform for your clients to log in a check on the progress of their ongoing jobs. From here, they can also accept or reject quotes and raise new incidents for your team to turn into new jobs. You can then view everything actioned in Clik Remote in your main Clik Service database, so you never miss any new requests.
4. Go mobile
Your engineers will thank you when they arrive at their next job fully equipped with all the information from your CRM they need. Kit your team out with job management apps that they can simply install on their mobile devices. They won’t even need an active internet connection to use whilst onsite; just create or fill in a job then sync them later.
Engineers will be able to access relevant documents for a specific client onsite. They’ll even be able to work on a document with the SharePoint integration.
5. Integrate with other software
You’ll want a system that can work in harmony with the systems and software you’re already using. A CRM should reduce time spent on admin, not increase it with duplication.
Service management software has the ability to link with Sage, QuickBooks and Xero to ensure your accounts are consistent. Link customers to their quotes and invoices in both systems without copying and pasting details across. Utilising CRM software that integrates with Xero makes it easier for you and your team to continue using the programs you are familiar with. Making every step of the job process easier.
The integrations don’t end there. Link to your Microsoft 365 account/s and you’ll be able to:
- Email your clients directly from the CRM.
- Search for email history from contacts.
- Overlay calendars and bring every diary item in one place.
These tools can make organisation easy and communication with your clients straightforward.
Then plan your routes and assign engineers by location using Google Maps. With web-based field management software, you can search for nearby jobs and then assign engineers based on their current work location. This way, your engineers save time travelling between jobs and save money on petrol or transport costs.
Implementing service management software into your business is the perfect way to get the benefits of a CRM along with extra features to improve your organisation. Tailor-made for the field service industry, try out a free demo of Clik Service to see how it can help your business.
