Cloud-based CRM for Small Businesses – Essential or Non-essential?

Technology dawn has brought numerous new solutions for businesses. And cloud computing technology is one of the most debatable technology streams of all time. Many small businesses are torn between – whether cloud-based CRM is essential or non-essential for their growth. People can’t fathom whether cloud computing is a revolutionary business technology or just another phase that will soon be replaced.

The global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from USD 371.4 billion in 2020 to USD 832.1 billion by 2025. Now, it is a straight growth of 17.5%, which is high as compared to other related technologies. The history of term cloud computing is very rich; the first step of this technology was recorded way back in the 1960s. However, cloud computing comes into the limelight because of Google’s ex CEO Eric Schmidt.

So, the debate about whether cloud computing is a mainstream business technology or not – has been years old. Now, with the pandemic aftershocks, the debate has been accelerated once again. At TrackOlap, we crave such kind of revolutionary debates; thus, we are going to establish today – “**Cloud-based CRM for Small Businesses – Essential or Non-essential?**”.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a bundle of computing services, including storage, databases, servers, networks, software, intelligence, and analytical over the internet. Cloud computing offers a flexible platform to businesses so that they can scale up their operational areas in an economical manner.

This technology is highly useful for small businesses because it offers “pay per use” flexibility. It means business organizations have to pay for the services that they have used only. It helps in reducing the operating costs, ease to scale up business and facility to run infrastructure more efficiently.

In layman terminology, cloud technology is an effective model for corporate houses – where they can utilize services as per their needs and pay for the services used by them. It is an unambiguous shared network to provide different services. From the improved managerial roles to elevated communication, cloud computing helps a lot in multiple ways.

What is Cloud-based CRM?

Cloud computing is a very wider term that can be used in the context of different applications. But, when our topic of study is business cloud technology, we have to talk about – cloud-based CRM software.

CRM is a Customer Relationship System that facilitates businesses to handle all their activities from a centralized dashboard. CRM software is available in various styles, including on-premises CRM software, cloud based CRM, and the latest mobile based CRM. Traditionally, on-premise CRM is a highly complex system that is implemented on the business premises. Thus, it required heavy infrastructure and economic resources.

To overcome the shortcomings of on-premises CRM, the cloud-oriented CRM was introduced. It is CRM software hosted on the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere on multiple devices at the same time. Cloud CRM offers real-time access and automates various operations like lead generation, customer services, employee management, etc. Now, with the advancement of mobile technology, the cloud CRM software works on mobile devices too, which is called mobile CRM technology.

Benefits of Cloud-based CRM – Why It's Essential?

Cloud-based CRM for small businesses is one of the vital systems to grow in the future. From the remote work system to the economic slowdown, many other business challenges can adhere to cloud CRM. But how? If this question has been disturbing you as well, we are going to walk through the benefits of cloud-based CRM that justifies how essential it is.

Work Anywhere and Anytime

The prime benefit of cloud-based CRM is - you can work from anywhere and anytime. The ebonic work freedom is provided by the cloud services, which is the need of the present time. In late March, when a sudden lockdown was imposed by the Prime Minister, many businesses have to stop their activities for a long period. This sudden lockdown has shaken many small businesses from the core.

But, the businesses that have introduced cloud CRM software - don’t have to suffer much. That’s because they have the power to work from anywhere and anytime. With the internet connection, employees were able to work from their home efficiently, and as a resulted businesses didn’t suffer much loss.

Through cloud CRM, all the daily operations like recording attendance, assigning work, communication, and other activities have been performed remotely. This solution has saved numerous workers from becoming unemployed during hard times.

Flexible Scaling Options

When it comes to scalability, cloud-oriented CRM software is highly flexible. The system facilitates companies to adjust the operational scope without impacting their normal activities. The business houses can scale up or down their system without any technical hassle. If you have an adequate capacity to accommodate any growth in data input, you are good to work with the cloud.

For example, during the pandemic, many companies have received a financial blow, and they have to job cut so that they can cover all the losses. With the reduction in employee size, companies don’t need a large CRM space, so they can cut it down for the time being. And, when they have adequate resources to hire new employees, they can expand their CRM dashboard size too.

They just have to make calls to their cloud CRM software provider, and upscaling or downscaling will be accomplished since cloud computing is a pay per solution, so it can provide financial flexibility also.

Perfect Virtual Collaboration

In the remote workspace, collaboration is a very big issue. Management and employees lose a personal touch, which results in low productivity and efficiency. However, cloud software can address this problem very beautifully by providing a smooth virtual collaboration.

In CRM software, each team member has his or her login details to access it. This way, the entire team can log in to software at the same time. It is like a virtual dashboard where your enter team is present on one platform – just like your office.

You can check which employee is on leave, which employee is running behind schedule, and which one needs your assistance. With one click, you can check the progress report of your employee and send notifications. If we clearly look, virtual collaboration through cloud software is much faster than physical collaboration.

Centralized Flow of Information

Gathering information in both small and large businesses is often an uphill task because an individual must go through all the documents from each department. It is a very tiresome job to collect data from different sources and then sort it before drawing analysis.

With cloud software, collecting, processing, and analyzing information has become super simple. The software captures all the customers' and employees' information in one place. The centralized information makes the process of sharing information easy. Management can share information with one click and quicken the lead generation process.

Similarly, when all the relevant data of an employee like attendance, leave, work completion, and other information is available in one place. Then, with one tap, management can generate multiple performance and productivity reports to make important decisions. The centralized information is the backbone of the remote work system.

Elevated Productivity Level

It has been noted that CRM software can elevate the productivity level of employees in numerous different ways. When employees can work anywhere and anytime without tied down to an office desk, their productivity and creativity level improves dramatically.

Employees can track and monitor their performance in real-time. This way, they can evaluate themselves and make efforts to improve their performance by working on their shortcomings. From the recorded customer calls, they can analyze their communication skills and enhance their performance. In a nutshell, cloud software helps managers and employees in improving productivity across the board.

Improved Secure System

Today, when you are working from home, similarly, hackers and cybercriminals also working from home. With the increased online business activities, the threat of cybersecurity has also accelerated. Thus, it is very important to follow the secure and safe procedure to share your company’s confidential data over the internet.

With a cloud CRM solution, you can securely share your company’s data because the level of security provided by the cloud is very tight. When your team is working remotely, they don’t have on-site security systems, so the cloud is the best option for them. Importantly, management can regulate the level of access that they want to give, which keeps the security tight. The cloud is the cheapest and tight security system of all time.

Backup Facility

Backing up a large amount of a company’s data is a huge problem. Usually, companies have to spend a good share of their fortune to create data backup programs. Mostly, businesses have to manage confidential clients' data; thus, the data backup is highly critical.

However, if you are using cloud CRM software, you don’t have to worry about data backup. The CRM service providers offer multiple data backup plans that you can select as per your data size and budget. Furthermore, the data recovery process is very simple, and data breach chances are low. From managing to backing up, your cloud-based CRM solution can handle all your data troubles.

Bottom Line

Today, small and large business organizations can’t ignore cloud computing. Especially to work in the prevailing conditions, cloud CRM has all the perfect features. If you are still considering whether the cloud is essential or non-essential for your business – it is indeed essential. The futuristic work environment revolves around cloud – the sooner you understand that the better you can grow your business.

To order the customized cloud CRM solution for your company, you can contact TrackOlap right now and prepare yourself for the future.