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  • When to invest in a CRM for your business

    When to invest in a CRM for your business

    As the founder of multiple ventures, including a growing SaaS startup, I’ve learned that timing is everything when it comes to investing in the tools that can drive your business forward. One such tool that has become indispensable in today’s competitive landscape is a customer relationship management (CRM) system. But the question many entrepreneurs grapple with is: when is the right time to implement a CRM? Here’s a guide to help you navigate this crucial decision.

    Early stage: Laying the groundwork for success

    Starting a business is a whirlwind of activity, and it’s easy to overlook the importance of organized customer data. However, the early stages of your business are precisely when you should consider investing in a CRM. By establishing a system from the outset, you can create a strong foundation for managing customer relationships as your business grows. A well-implemented CRM ensures that your team is equipped with the tools to track interactions, automate routine tasks, and ultimately, build meaningful relationships with clients right from the start. Tools like ENTERA CRM are designed to help entrepreneurs set this strong foundation, providing a simple yet powerful platform that grows alongside your business.

    Rapid growth: Scaling with confidence

    Growth is a double-edged sword. While it’s a sign that your business is on the right track, it also brings challenges—particularly when it comes to managing an expanding customer base. As someone who has navigated the complexities of scaling a business, I can attest to the importance of a CRM during periods of rapid growth. A CRM not only helps in automating customer interactions but also ensures that no client slips through the cracks. This allows your team to maintain a high standard of service even as the volume of work increases. Investing in a CRM at this stage can make the difference between growth that’s sustainable and growth that’s chaotic. ENTERA CRM, in particular, is built with scalability in mind, ensuring that as your business grows, your customer relationships remain strong and organized.

    Expanding offerings: Understanding your customers better

    When your business reaches the point where you’re expanding your product or service offerings, understanding your customers becomes even more critical. A CRM can provide the insights needed to tailor your offerings to meet the evolving needs of your market. By analyzing customer interactions across various touchpoints, you can refine your strategies and enhance the overall customer experience. This not only leads to higher customer satisfaction but also drives loyalty and repeat business. ENTERA CRM excels at providing these insights, helping businesses fine-tune their approach and stay aligned with customer needs as they evolve.
    Improving efficiency: Streamlining operations

    Efficiency is the backbone of any successful business. If you find that your operations are becoming bogged down by manual processes or miscommunication between departments, it may be time to consider a CRM. Implementing a CRM can streamline workflows, foster collaboration, and act as a centralized hub for customer data. This allows your team to focus on what matters most—whether that’s innovating new products or scaling your marketing efforts. The result is a more agile and responsive organization, capable of adapting to market changes swiftly.

    Enhancing customer relationships: Building long-term loyalty

    At its core, a CRM is about relationships. It’s about showing your customers that you value them, that you’re committed to their success as much as your own. A robust CRM system enables you to deliver personalised service, anticipate customer needs, and foster long-term loyalty. In my experience, businesses that invest in building strong customer relationships are the ones that thrive in the long run.

    Making the right choice for your business

    There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to when you should invest in a CRM. It depends on your business’s stage of growth, the complexity of your offerings, and your operational efficiency. However, when the time is right, choosing the right CRM can be a game-changer. At ENTERA, we believe in empowering our customers to grow and succeed by providing them with the tools and insights they need to build stronger relationships and drive their businesses forward.

    By investing in a CRM at the right time, you can set your business on a path to sustained growth, stronger customer relationships, and long-term success.

    The article has been authored by Entera founder Sharad Goyal.

  • Five hidden areas of revenue optimisation for startups

    Five hidden areas of revenue optimisation for startups

    Startups need to optimise their revenue, as they often operate with limited resources and try to get the most out of each coin they earn. Startups generally encounter severe competition, rapidly changing market dynamics and need for investors’ attraction through growth demonstration. An efficient strategy of revenue optimization can mean a business success or failure.

    Most startups tend to concentrate on conventional strategies, which include pricing adjustments and sales growth, but there are some hidden areas that have been overlooked by many that can bring in significant amounts of revenue. These areas offer new opportunities for growth and profitability.

    The following are a few hidden areas of revenue optimisation that should not be overlooked:

    Human capital optimisation

    As a startup, every resource counts, making it essential to ensure that employee productivity is optimized to the fullest. To maximize the impact of human capital, it is crucial to efficiently delegate tasks and maintain a centralized view of what everyone in the organization is doing. Startups can also leverage data-driven approaches to optimize their sales force and capture the highest possible revenues. This involves customer segmentation, workload mapping, and task automation. In the fast-paced and resource-constrained environment of a startup, every employee’s contribution counts.

    Data-driven decision making

    Another area that has gone unnoticed by many startups, resulting in a loss of potential revenues, is data-driven decision making. Most startups rely heavily on intuition instead of using the wealth of information available while making key decisions about their business. Many startups also collect data but don’t know how to use it effectively to guide decision-making. Startups can rely on a trusted third-party software to better manage costs while also using the data that is readily available to them. This can be seen as an investment, but a necessary one. According to the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence survey conducted in 2019 by NewVantage Partners, 92 per cent of leading businesses are investing in big data and AI initiatives to drive innovation. By developing robust data models for analyzing customer potential, buying behavior, and market trends, startups can make better choices concerning target segments, pricing policies, and resource allocation.

    CRM integration for enhanced customer engagement

    Another way a startup can increase its income is by taking advantage of advanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies. CRM is a business strategy that manages a company’s interactions with current and potential customers. For startups, CRM is crucial because it helps them understand and profile their customers better. It enables startups to tailor their marketing efforts, sales strategies, and customer service to meet the specific needs and preferences of their target audience. By leveraging CRM, startups can gain a 360-degree view of customers, personalize marketing and sales, improve customer service, enhance sales forecasting, and streamline operations. CRM simplifies customer interaction and provides important data insights, enabling startups to streamline sales activities, improve client engagement, and generate untapped opportunities for growth in revenue.

    Supply chain optimisation

    Another hidden avenue of profit maximization for startups is the optimization of their supply chain. Inefficient management of the supply chain can lead to stock-outs, late deliveries and increased costs which impact directly on revenue. Startups must carry out thorough analysis of their supply chain, identify bottleneck areas and implement measures to enhance efficiency such as just-in-time inventory management, supplier diversification, and process automation among others. Through optimising its supply chain, a startup will cut down on costs, develop better customer relationships and ultimately boost its revenues.

    Sourcing and procurement

    How start-ups source or procure materials, services or other resources could make a significant difference in their incomes. Poor sourcing practices may result in higher costs and poor quality products being delivered late thus eating into profitability margins. New businesses should carefully evaluate their sourcing strategies using data analytics and market intelligence tools so as to find out about the most economical and dependable suppliers. By doing this, start-ups can optimize their sourcing processes and decrease operational expenses thus improving overall financial performance.

    Pricing and monetisation

    The last thing that needs to be considered by a start-up is the way it prices its products or services. Many startups face a challenge of striking a balance between pricing that attracts customers and pricing that maximizes the potential for revenue generation. Startups can leverage data analytics and specialized tools to develop sophisticated pricing strategies. By analyzing customer data, startups can gain insights into willingness to pay, price sensitivity, and perceived value. Web analytics and surveys provide behavioral data to segment customers and tailor pricing. Pricing optimisation software can analyze sales, trends, and factors to recommend the optimal approach.

    To sum up, while startups focus on traditional revenue optimization strategies, there are many hidden areas that affect their financial viability in large measures. Start-ups can generate growth in revenues and long-term sustainability through human capital optimization, data-driven decision making, CRM integration, supply chain efficiency sourcing and procurement and pricing and monetization.

    The article has been authored by Entera founder Sharad Goyal.