What is a CRM system

The first CRM system “Day-Timer” appeared in 1947, and its main task was to increase sales. The novelty made it easier for managers to manage contacts and sell more. By the way, the unofficial prototype of modern CRM is considered to be the application by ACT! company, which released a contact management application in 1897. Modern CRMs have expanded their functionality and, in addition to managing customer contacts, are used to automate interactions with them, create individual marketing strategies, and control service quality.

Today, CRM systems allow communicating with customers through mailings. This can be a sales funnel that gently leads the customer to order but does not force them to make a purchase (direct sales no longer work).

There is good news!

To implement CRM, you do not need to be a programmer, work with code, or understand IT. Every entrepreneur can select and implement a suitable CRM, considering the needs of the business, independently.

Let’s start with the main point.

What tasks does the CRM system solve?

The most understandable answer to the question “Why do you need a CRM?” can be obtained by analyzing the tasks it solves.

Let’s start with the simplest ones.

Storing customer contacts and history of relationships with them

Yes, a very simple and primitive function of CRM that allows you to store contacts not in a mobile notebook, a manager’s “notebook,” or an Excel spreadsheet, but in a single CRM interface.

Main advantages of this feature:

• • All contacts are in one place and have a single structure, not like the client’s phone number is recorded in a mobile phone, email in a notebook, delivery address on one of the hundreds of papers on the manager’s desk.
  • You can set up shared access to contacts. The manager can grant access to managers to the contacts they are currently working with. If necessary, access can be closed.
  • The history of interactions with clients, sent emails, phone calls with call recordings, paid or unpaid invoices is saved. Thanks to this, a new manager will be able to quickly understand the matter, which will simplify the employee’s adaptation and save you from the problem of “irreplaceable employees”.

• Customer contacts in a single database. The main advantage of this storage is security. For example: if Windows “crashes” or an employee who works with the client database leaves, the database will not “leave” with the employee on their flash drive and will not disappear with all the folders and documents on the manager’s desktop. As soon as the employee leaves the company, you disable their access to the CRM system and all developments remain within the company.

Manager performance control

With proper CRM system configuration, all communications with clients are registered in its interface, allowing you to monitor how well managers are working with clients:

• Listen to phone call recordings and check compliance with sales scripts.
• View correspondence with clients.
• Monitor the progress of deals by viewing their statuses.
• See if work with the client was carried out in principle.

Reducing the transaction cycle

Thus, the manager’s work shifts from regular improvisation to systematic work aimed at moving the deal from one status to the next.
For example, we know that at the initial stage of the deal, the manager should:

• Make a phone call with the client;
• Get initial data from them;
• Pass them on for calculation to the technical department;
• Give the client feedback. For example, send a commercial offer and mark the deal status with the client in CRM as “commercial offer sent”.

And we also know that at the stage of the deal “commercial offer sent” the manager should call back and find out what decision the client made. These are simple scenarios, but if they are in the manager’s head, who has several clients and deals at different stages, the likelihood of their correct execution is very low. Because of this, letters are sent late, the preparation of commercial offers is delayed, calls are made at the wrong time.

All this significantly extends the deal cycle: the process from the first contact to receiving the prepayment.

Collecting analytical data and building reports

With proper CRM configuration, each communication with the client will be recorded in the system. As a result, you get a basis for valuable analytical information for further work.

You can quickly get such reports:

1. Report on incoming leads from the site for a selected period and what goods or services they were interested in.
2. Sales report by month or other period, by client, by specific manager, by each product.
3. Sales funnel – this is the key report that will allow you to determine at which stage of the interaction the greatest “loss” of clients occurs.

All these reports allow you to make informed management decisions regarding the development of the sales system in your business.

Business process automation

Most often, working with clients is associated with routine processes:

• send a standard presentation;
• assign a task to a specialist who deals with cost calculation;
• inform the client about sending a commercial offer;
• thank the client for receiving the payment.

Many CRM systems allow you to automate these routine tasks.

For example:

• You can set up automatic sending of the company’s presentation by email immediately after the client leaves a request on the site.
• You can also set up sending a thank you message (email or SMS) to the client when the invoice status is changed to “paid”.
• You can also set up automatic informational calls to clients depending on the stage of the deal or lead status. But this communication tool should be used carefully.

Also, when several people are working on a deal, for example:

• manager who communicates with the client;
• technical specialist who makes calculations;
• lawyer who prepares the contract;

All these process participants connect to the deal at different stages, and switching tasks to each of them is also quite a routine process.

And this process will take the manager’s time, which they could spend working with clients.

CRM allows creating sales tunnels

Sales tunnels is a trendy term that is often used in various business trainings and conferences. In essence, this concept means the systematic sale of accompanying/additional company products. Let’s see how it works using the example of the BUSINESS SITE web studio.

Thanks to the proper CRM setup, this process can be automated. The simplest option: when the project reaches the final stage, set up the automatic task for the manager to contact the client and offer additional services.

In CRM Bitrix24, for example, you can also set up additional options:

• Email newsletter with advertising of additional services
• Sending SMS messages and messages to popular chats
• Setting up advertising display on Facebook, Instagram, and Google

At the same time, such advertising will be as relevant (timely) as possible for your client since it will be shown on time. The client will see an advertisement for website promotion when their project is at the final stages. Thus, thanks to the proper CRM implementation, you can build a system for selling accompanying products without risks associated with the human factor.

But suppose you have 10 clients. These clients are not individuals, but companies. Accordingly, each counterparty has several contact persons: purchasing manager, chief engineer, accountant, director.

At the same time, your company works in two directions: supplying equipment and servicing it.

So, 10 clients, 3-4 contacts from each, each contact may have several tasks: send an email, call to clarify the decision, issue an invoice, transfer the goods for shipment.

This is already a significant load. Keeping all this information in your head is definitely impossible. Of course, you can write it down in a notebook or a spreadsheet, but neither the first nor the second solution will remind you of overdue tasks.

And even if you manage to carry out all the tasks correctly in this situation, collecting analytical data is definitely excluded. Accordingly, it will be impossible to determine the growth points of your business.

And what if the number of clients reaches at least 30, and you want to add another direction?

Application of Artificial Intelligence in CRM Systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a technology of the future; it’s a real tool that is already radically changing the approach to customer relationship management. In a highly competitive environment where every customer is of great value, AI enables companies not only to retain their customers but also to significantly enhance their loyalty and satisfaction, creating a more personalized and efficient customer experience.

Today, CRM systems are more than just databases. They have become intelligent platforms capable of analyzing customer behavior, predicting their needs, and automating business processes. For example, Salesforce Einstein has already proven its effectiveness by allowing companies not just to collect customer data but to actively use it to create valuable insights and build long-term engagement strategies.

Personalizing the Customer Experience with AI

Imagine a world where every advertisement, every offer a customer receives, perfectly matches their interests and needs. This is not science fiction but a reality being created by AI-powered CRM systems.

By using machine learning, such systems can analyze previous purchases, website behavior, and even interactions with content to offer exactly what the customer needs at that moment.

Automating CRM Processes with AI

AI-driven automation is more than just a convenience. It’s a real opportunity to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. Chatbots, such as those used in Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp Business, can handle hundreds of queries simultaneously, providing quick and accurate responses to customer inquiries.

Additionally, automating lead scoring with AI allows sales teams to focus on the most promising customers, increasing the chances of successful conversions.

Applying Predictive Analytics in CRM

Imagine your business being able to predict when a customer is ready to make a purchase or which products will interest them next month. This has become possible thanks to AI-based predictive analytics.

These forecasts not only reduce uncertainty but also help companies focus their efforts where they will yield the highest return.

Lead Management and Conversion with AI

Lead conversion is a critical moment for any business. AI helps optimize this process by analyzing thousands of data points and determining which leads are most likely to become customers.

As a result, companies using such systems report a significant increase in sales efficiency and revenue growth.

Enhancing Customer Service with AI

Customer service is not just about answering questions; it’s about creating a unique interaction experience. Technologies such as NLP (Natural Language Processing) enable AI chatbots to understand and respond to customer inquiries as if they were speaking with a real person.

For example, HubSpot CRM successfully uses AI to manage customer interactions, significantly increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

Examples of AI Implementation in Leading CRM Systems

There are already companies on the market that are actively using AI in their CRM systems. For example, Salesforce Einstein not only automates administrative tasks but also helps companies better understand their customers by predicting their behavior and needs.

The future of AI in CRM promises to be exciting. It’s already clear that AI helps companies better understand their customers, automate routine tasks, and predict future customer behavior. Implementing AI in CRM is not just a technological trend but a necessity for companies that want to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world.

Leading CRM systems in Ukraine and world

The effectiveness of the CRM system for business lies in the ability to automate standard processes and at the same time improve the quality of their execution. With the help of a CRM system, it is convenient to keep records, create primary documentation, and monitor key profitability indicators. In Ukraine and the world, the rating of CRM systems at the beginning of the 2020s looks like this:

1. SalesDrive – a convenient Ukrainian CRM system for online stores, founded in 2012.

SalesDrive allows automating order processing, creating and tracking TTN statuses, and inventory accounting. The system records communications with the client (phone calls, SMS messages, emails) and helps control the work of managers.

▻ Integration with websites on CMS OpenCart, Horoshop, WordPress;
▻ Integration with marketplaces Prom, Rozetka, Allo, Zakupka;
▻ Integration with IP-telephony Binotel, Phonet, etc.;
▻ Integration with PrivatBank, monobank, Liqpay, WayForPay.

Invoices, delivery notes, expenses, inventory management – these and many other processes in business activities will become much simpler and clearer for management and managers.

2. Real Estate CRM: designed for real estate sales. It performs a full cycle of customer support from application to receiving the keys. Uploads offers to the most popular platforms, collects ads from owners, and searches for objects on the map. Convenient and understandable interface.

3. SugarCRM. The open-source system is suitable for any business. It can work both in cloud mode and be installed on the customer’s server. Synchronized with Outlook, easy to configure, has a convenient interface. The Suite CRM system version is distributed for free.

4. LiraCRM. A cloud system for commerce with built-in telephony, statistics modules, analytics, and call tracking. Creates a feedback widget on the website.

5. 1C:CRM. Created as an addition to the 1C accounting system. Pros and cons of the 1C CRM system: available as a cloud service, integrates with Outlook, has a built-in Email client, contains a large number of additional functions, complex interface.

6. OneBox. A brief overview of the CRM system: production management, control over business processes, analytics, document management, organizational structure, communication systems (telephony).

7. amoCRM. Simpler compared to other CRM systems. It has tools for managing the customer base and controlling the completion of deals. Integrated with MailChimp. Works as SaaS.

8. Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It has a familiar interface, integrated with MS modules. Contains a set of tools for automating standard processes. Available through Internet Explorer and Outlook.

9. bpm’online sales. A convenient system for managing simple and complex business processes, communicating with clients, creating document flow, and other business capabilities.

10. NetHunt. A convenient CRM system for automating processes synchronized with Gmail. Suitable for small and medium businesses. Provides data tracking, and obtaining analytics from mailings, and allows segmenting the customer base to personalize offers and achieve even better results.

11. Bitrix24. Comparative analysis of CRM systems leaves absolute leadership. The system works on the SaaS principle, there is a free version and a mobile version of the system. CRM is equipped with cloud file storage (which is not available in other similar systems), a planning calendar, a photo gallery, a microblog. There is a built-in messenger, extranet, task setting system, and reporting. The interface is simple and understandable, and operational technical support.

In its report “On Research” “On the CRM Software Market Research,” Market Research Future forecasts that by 2023, the CRM market in the world will grow to $35 billion. Despite this, less than half of companies in Ukraine and the CIS use software solutions for building customer relationships. Therefore, the question of choosing a CRM for business in 2023 is particularly relevant – against the backdrop of the pandemic, companies investing in digitalization and online marketing have gained a serious advantage over competitors.

CRM software 10 years ago and now are fundamentally different tools. Modern solutions cannot simply be databases with a convenient interface for managing contacts and tracking deals. In 2023, CRM is a complex, flexible ecosystem that literally integrates into business processes and automates everything that does not require mandatory direct human participation. For this, the CRM program or SaaS platform must have at least the following capabilities.

For working with contacts:

• Lead card;
• Customer company card;
• Contact card;
• Deal card;
• Commercial offer generator;
• Invoice generator.

For interaction with customers and counterparties:

• Have built-in telephony or integrate with telephony at the level of pulling up the client card (if the number is in the database), or creating a new lead card (if the number is not in the database).
• Have the ability to record and store phone calls.

For centralizing contacts with clients and counterparties:

• Integrate with mail.
• Saving correspondence from messengers and call recordings;
• Fields for notes available to managers.

For linking with the site and other lead generation channels:

• Have their own order forms that easily integrate with the site or API (integration capability) so that data from completed forms can be automatically transferred.
• Support unloading of orders placed on social networks, on the site through third-party platforms (via API or RPA).

To simplify the manager’s work:

• Have an API for integration with website chats, social networks, Viber, and other messengers.
• Unload from mail and link letters to deals without the operator’s participation.
• Form from templates notification messages, and also send them when a trigger is triggered according to the settings.

All of the above is the minimum that will be enough at the initial stages of implementation. But if the task is to turn CRM into a tool that helps the business work, not complicate processes, then the set of functional capabilities of the software solution should be much wider. Most CRM systems are like a constructor, in which individual settings and functionality expansion under the business needs are available. Moreover, for successful integration, it often requires more than just setting up and running CRM, hence the need to contact integrators. Otherwise, everyone could create an account in Bitrix24 without outside help and use it instead of Excel and other “bearded ancestors” of CRM software systems.

How much does CRM and its implementation cost

The cost of implementing CRM consists of two components: purchasing the software and paying for the integrator’s services.

Let’s start with an overview of the cost of the software license. Usually, the more employees that can be connected, the more expensive the license. Many CRM systems offer free access for 1-5 employees, but usually, this is not enough, and the functionality is very limited. Sometimes the type of license determines the set of available features, but gradually CRMs avoid this monetization model due to the growing market of adaptive solutions that can be integrated with any platforms and systems, such as RPA. Also, the cost depends on the type of system “Cloud” (SaaS) or “Box”, in the first case, the payment is mainly by subscription, in the second – for the product.

1. Cloud solutions or SaaS (software as a service) – this is when the CRM creator company provides your company with access to the system on its server, for which it charges a fee for the so-called cloud rental. The presence of the cloud allows storing data not only inside the system itself. This allows for additional security and makes storage even more reliable.

2. The cost of such a solution can range from $10 to $200 per month.

Disadvantages of such a SaaS solution:

• Low security. Anyway, all data will be stored on an external server.
• Instability. The CRM creator company can increase the monthly payment for its product at any time or cease to exist, stopping supporting its server.
• Closed source code. This complicates the customization of the system for specific business tasks, making it less flexible.

3. “Box solution” – this is when your company buys the software license and with it all the source data of the CRM system.

The price of the box can start from $500 for the simplest solution to $100,000 for licenses of professional systems for a large number of users. The payment is made once.

Disadvantages of the boxed version of CRM:

• High “start-up” fee. Because the solution may not fit your business, or simply not be subjectively liked. Ideally, the CRM system should be tested. And not just by yourself, but also by giving access to employees. Only after making sure that the team is comfortable working in the chosen CRM, it makes sense to take a more serious step.
• Hiring an IT specialist. Yes, in the case of a boxed solution, the issuing company will not provide support, so you will need to hire an administrator who will deal with this issue, and this is a salary, workplace, and taxes. In total $500 – $1000 per month. And additionally, you will need to rent a professional server from $100 to $1000 per year.
• Paid updates. Any system, including CRM, morally ages.
  Unlike “cloud systems” where software updates are included in the monthly payment, box updates are an additional payment from $50 to $1000 for each update.

In addition to purchasing the license, full implementation of the CRM system requires customization to the tasks of your business.

How to choose a contractor for CRM implementation?

First of all, the integrator must be a practitioner, that is, successfully setting up a CRM system at least in their own company. This is very easy to check – leave a request on the contractor’s website and see what happens next: how quickly they respond to it, how you will be communicated with, and how much time will pass from providing the initial data to the commercial offer. Cases are also a good way to evaluate work, but remember that the information in the cases can be slightly exaggerated.

You can additionally ask the contractor how they have everything arranged. The staff of a company specializing in CRM implementation should include not only IT specialists but also business process and company management, sales, and marketing consultants.

Stages of CRM implementation, how to do it most successfully

If you put your hand on your heart, then the use of CRM is something that has a beginning but no end.

CRM implementation, as a process, is conditionally divided into 4 sequential stages: preparation, realization, testing, system commissioning, and analysis of integration results

Preparation, description of the company’s business processes, as well as the structure of the client base

This is the most important stage, the success of CRM implementation depends on it.

Any mistake threatens that the system will not be able to integrate into the company’s work, on the contrary, employees will have to adapt to the CRM, which will definitely not benefit the business, and the integration will be useless.

CRM is needed to automate business processes, not to complicate them. For this, the system needs to be customized to the exact needs of the company and employees. Therefore, proper analytics, process documentation, and identifying key employee needs are important at the preparation stage. Based on the collected information:

1. 1. The structure of the client card is formed. The ideal database with customer data stores the maximum information about each. At the same time, each business needs to know a certain set of facts about its clients.
      For example, a small coffee shop may be content with a phone number for promotions and discount data to identify regular visitors. A distributor of building materials will clearly not be satisfied with such a set; they will need an address for delivery, purchase data, names, and phone numbers of contact persons, and this is the minimum list.

      Therefore, there is no and cannot be a universal set of fields for a client card in CRM; it must be formed solely based on the analysis of the business of the customer of the integration, and no other way.

      When forming the list of fields for the client card, it is necessary to look several steps ahead and take into account all possible options for using the database to interact with clients.

2. The sequence of employees’ actions to complete business tasks is prescribed – business processes. There will be no need to invent anything, and you don’t need to, every working business has long-established processes, to automate them you just need to record who and what does, as well as the order in which it happens and what tools are used at each step.

Example of a business process: you launched contextual advertising and a client calls you who is interested in service “A”. What needs to be done:

• 1. Ask them 1, 2, 4…15 questions.
  2. Transfer the initial data to the appropriate specialist.
  3. Get the cost calculation from the specialist.
  4. Send it to the client.
  5. Find out the decision.
  6. Send an invoice.
  7. Receive payment.
  8. Provide the service.

In approximately this form, it is necessary to document everything that employees do. Documenting processes will be useful not only when implementing CRM but will also simplify the adaptation and training of new employees, organizing internships, and crisis management.

In the example, everything is very simplified, in reality, any process will look much more complicated.
But it is very important to describe each of these processes, thus formulating the technical task for the specialists who will set up the CRM.

In addition to making deals and processing leads, it is also advisable to describe the processes of returns or exchanges. These are no less important processes, if the managers “mess up” in the process, then the company will either unfairly lose its money, or the clients will be justifiably dissatisfied, with all the ensuing consequences. Do not forget to prescribe this business process, as well as the service process, if it is provided by your business.

• Description of existing and possible ways of communicating with clients. There is nothing complicated about this, but the benefit is colossal. After the description, it becomes clear that sometimes it is easier to write instead of calling, in other cases, a call will be faster and more effective instead of a mailing, etc. We advise you to collect a document with all the ways the business communicates with clients, not just the main ones, but all. These can be phones (specify specific numbers that they call and that you call), emails (specific addresses), skype, viber, telegram, Facebook, order forms on the website, chats on the website.

As you can see, preparation for CRM implementation is not so much the task of the integrator as the result of their interaction with the customer. Usually, during preparation, it becomes clear whether the company needs to implement CRM at all or at this stage it can do without other methods, and the saved money can be invested in other areas.

Choosing a license and forming a technical task, choosing a contractor – this also concerns preparation for integration.

Realization: CRM setup, business process automation

Interaction between the integrator and the customer at the stage of selecting and setting up CRM software solutions comes down to several planned meetings for step-by-step approval and clarification of details. Literally, the customer pays the money, your contractor sets up CRM according to the tasks described in the approved technical task. If you have not made a mistake in choosing a contractor and took into account all the nuances when analyzing business needs, then everything should go smoothly.

Testing, training staff to work with CRM tasks, trial run

As mentioned above, if CRM lives its life, and real work lives its own, then CRM implementation has failed. I can say that I have implemented CRM in my business only when all employees who work with clients in one way or another use it.

At the stage of testing and trial run, you may encounter strong resistance and even sabotage from employees. It must be suppressed without any compromises. At the same time, when business processes and employees’ roles in company affairs are properly documented, usually the process of commissioning the program system for building and maintaining customer relationships goes smoothly.

Unfortunately, those who are used to established processes will always try to do as they see fit, they do not need to learn something new because, from their point of view, they are not paid for it. The echo of Soviet views on life and work. But this also passes if the goal is set to implement the CRM system and transfer any communications with clients there, forever forgetting about calls from managers’ personal phones, notebook records, and notes on the phone.

Commissioning and control of CRM integration results

This stage follows from the previous one, as it is not enough to teach employees to work in CRM, it is not enough to convince them of the value of this change, it is necessary to strictly control for the first few weeks how correctly they work in the system. At the initial stages of CRM implementation, it is important to record the slightest difficulties that arise in employees or entire departments when using the new system, and also note the progress (for which it will not be superfluous to praise). Whether all fields in client and lead cards are filled out correctly, whether deal statuses are correctly noted. To do this, you can allocate an employee (or department – depends on the amount of work) who will check the correctness of managers’ work in CRM every evening. It is not expensive and very easy to organize. The employee can work remotely, with payment based on actual worked time.

Of course, the table in the illustration shows only part of the data, and in reality, it is necessary to add much more fields.

In addition to CRM work control, this employee can be used to control sales scripts over the phone, and correspondence control, but more on that in another article.

So, we have dealt with the main stages of CRM implementation and the nuances that may arise at each of these stages.

Example of CRM Bitrix24 implementation: web studio case

As mentioned earlier, the contractor should be a practitioner, so I will show the implementation of the CRM system using the example of our web studio BUSINESS SITE.

Set up omnichannel: connected CRM with all studio communication channels with clients and lead sources

The primary task was to ensure that all leads from our landing pages were collected in a single CRM interface, that is, to set up omnichannel. From the contacts actively used by clients, there were:

• • Application form on the site. They were connected using JS, PHP, and Rest.api in such a way that when the form is successfully sent to Bitrix24, a lead is recorded.
  • City and mobile phone numbers. This is the most problematic part of the integration, but we solved it through cloud PBX from Kyivstar and Intertelecom. When a call comes in, CRM determines the client by the number and pulls up their card, if the number is not in the system, a lead is automatically created.

• Email. Here everything is simple – connection via the POP3 protocol. Canceled all employees’ emails and left a single one for all [email protected]. All correspondence is conducted through the CRM system, and the system itself distributes letters among employees; when an email cannot be linked to an existing client, a new lead card is created based on it.
• Skype, Viber, Facebook (messages). They were connected through the “open lines” option in the Bitrix24 system.
• Client service through chats – a rapid trend of the 2020s that is gaining more momentum. People are increasingly burdened with phone communication and email correspondence, so clients demand communication in chats! But since this communication can contain a lot of important information, it should also be conducted exclusively through CRM.

Thanks to CRM omnichannel, company employees do not have to manually transfer data about communication with clients into the system. The entire communication history with clients is automatically registered in the CRM with auto-updates or the generation of corresponding CRM entities.

Transferred client data to the CRM database

The next step was transferring the database maintained in the Excel spreadsheet.

The key point of this stage was to determine which CRM entity to consider as “Client”. Since our business is B2B, we decided to consider the entity “Company” as the client, and “Contact” as a sub-entity. To make it clearer, an entity is like the name of a sheet in a spreadsheet, and a sub-entity is the column header.

It was also important, in addition to contact information, to store working information: details, actual and legal addresses, access to sites for service. All this data was moved to a separate, specially created tab “Sites and details”.

For marketing activities, the following fields were added: gender, position, and date of birth. All this works for loyalty – allows timely greetings on holidays, and sending reminders.

To be able to determine the “purchase history”, we used the CRM entity “Deals”. For each product, we created separate directions that are automatically pulled into the client card.

It was no less important to evaluate the financial performance of working with the client. This could not be implemented accurately through deals, so invoices were configured.

The amounts of paid invoices form the financial turnover of working with the client.

In Bitrix24 CRM, there is also a nice “Client Portrait” option, which allows you to assess the “usefulness” of the client for the company through the analysis of two factors: the load on the manager and the turnover. The lower the first and the higher the second, the more “useful” the client.

Thus, we managed to get a structured client base that can be segmented by various criteria and which stores a lot of valuable information.

Implemented business process automation

The final stage of applying the system was automating the company’s business processes for working with clients.

Here is a little background, because before launching automation, we had to describe and formalize the processes of working with clients and restructure the company’s approach to working within tasks. That is, so that each action is framed as a task.

At the same time, tasks can contain sub-entities – sub-tasks, and also be linked with other entities with various options for interdependencies.

For example, “call the client” is a task, “send an invoice” is a task, “pass initial data for calculation” is a task, “hold a meeting” is a task, and so on.

To simplify this moment, business process automation came to the rescue. Our developers configured the system in such a way that tasks are set automatically according to algorithms and work scenarios. Depending on the client’s answers and other triggers, tasks are now formed and those responsible for their execution are assigned.

Not for nothing do they say that CRM implementation is an endless process. Something always needs to be optimized, tracked for effectiveness, improved, simplified, accelerated, which we continuously do.

CRM is an essential tool for business in the 2020s

To date, far from all use software complexes to build customer relationships, and if you want to outstrip competitors, now is the time to think about implementing or optimizing the existing system for controlling lead processing and working with the client base. Study what CRM systems exist, what functionality each has, what advantages (specifically for you) and what disadvantages. The free CRM system at the initial testing stages will allow you to understand whether this option suits you or not. And if not – you need to look at another CRM and test it as well.

Read our articles about CRM in the blog, ask questions in the comments. We also post a lot of useful information about CRM integration for business on our YouTube channel and Facebook, subscribe.