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12 Features to Look for in a CRM Solution

Marisa Sanfilippo
Business News Daily Contributing Writer
Updated Aug 03, 2022

If you're looking for new CRM software or to upgrade your

current CRM solution, you should look for these 12 features
before you buy.

Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can do much more than

organize contacts and act as a digital rolodex. With the right features, CRM
software can also help you boost sales by keeping an eye on customers, from
nurturing leads to closing the sale and maintaining customer loyalty. It can
also save you tons of time and money through sales force automation. 

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Choosing a CRM is a big decision, so business.com looked at dozens of options to come
up with the following solutions.

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Here are 12 features to look for in CRM software. 

1. Workflow automation

CRM software can make your life easier by automating your workflow. Look
for software that lets you set up custom rules and comes with sales force
automation to help you and your team be more productive. 

By using rules, you can set your CRM software to automatically perform a
specific action based on triggers or events, such as these: 

When a potential customer fills out a contact form on your website, the
CRM software automatically directs the message to the right sales
representative or department.

When a sales representative receives a message, the CRM software

automatically sends a preset response to acknowledge the message.

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If a lead, prospect, or opportunity doesn’t respond to your message or

proposal, the CRM software automatically sends a follow-up message
after a preset amount of time, such as 48 hours or two business days.

When a sales representative makes calls or sends messages to a

contact, the CRM software automatically logs hours and keeps track of
all communications.

As sales representatives complete tasks, the CRM software

automatically reports them to supervisors and upper management for
performance reports. 

Workflow automation features can also take the time and legwork out of
tedious sales tasks, such as order processing, order tracking and inventory
control. [Looking for a CRM solution? Check out our guide to the best CRM
software.] 

2. Customization 

No two businesses are the same, so the best CRM software can cater to your
business’s unique needs. Some CRM solutions let you choose which features to
include in your package, and some also allow you to customize basic areas,
such as with the abilities to add contact fields, choose which data to show on
your dashboard and create custom reports. You can also customize with
extensions, plugins and other add-ons to expand your software’s capabilities. 

If you need even more customization to truly tailor the software to your
business, many CRM software providers offer more advanced options using
APIs. This gives developers access to all technical specs and coding for full
customization of your software. The API also allows you to integrate the
software with existing business solutions your company uses to streamline
processes. 

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3. Third-party integration

Connecting your CRM software to other solutions you already use can save
you tons of time and money. Most CRM programs offer third-party software
integrations; the key is choosing one that’s compatible with the software you
use and easy to implement. For instance, popular CRM software Salesforce
has its own marketplace called AppExchange, where users can easily connect
Salesforce to solutions such as QuickBooks accounting software, Mailchimp
email marketing software and DocuSign electronic signatures. 

Here are a few things you can do with the right third-party integrations to
make your life easier: 

Run CRM software straight from Outlook, Gmail or other email clients so
you don’t have to keep switching between apps.
Automatically sync sales and order information with your POS system
and accounting software to eliminate manual data entry.
Automatically build email lists and launch email marketing campaigns
from either your email marketing software or CRM software so you don’t
have to open both.
Back up and sync data with Dropbox, Box.com and other popular cloud
backup storage services. 

Depending on your software, some integrations may require IT administration. 

4. Customer service

CRM software can help you acquire and retain customers by providing
excellent customer service. Look for the following capabilities that will allow
your sales reps and customer support team to perform their best: 

Gives you a 360-degree comprehensive view of customers that shows

everything there is to know about a customer from the first point of
contact
Automatically tracks all points of communications, from lead acquisition
to closed sales and sales histories

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Logs all incidents, website visits, purchase histories, and other activities
for future reference and to keep all reps on the same page
Uses customers’ first names to personalize all correspondence
Has unique reference numbers for each account, customer and help
issue
Automatically sends customers acknowledgments of their inquiries and
messages so they don’t feel ignored
Supports premade email templates and call scripts that answer the
most common questions 

Some CRM solutions can make this even easier by integrating third-party apps
such as the Desk.com support platform, SurveyMonkey feedback forms and
the RingCentral business phone system. 

Editor’s note: Ready to look for CRM software? Fill out the below questionnaire
to have our vendor partners contact you with free information. 

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5. Employee tracking

CRM software is a great way to track employee activity and performance.

Choose software that gives employees their own accounts where they can
individually track their hours, tasks, meetings, sales numbers, goals and other
items. The software should also give supervisors and upper management
access to dashboards that let them view individual employee goals,
completed tasks and other metrics of productivity. This can help managers
write employee performance reviews, create incentives, reward strong
employees, and identify those who are struggling and address areas of
improvement.           

6. Social media 

A CRM with built-in social media monitoring features can save your marketing
team time, because they won’t have to switch platforms to perform the
essential task of monitoring your company’s social media. 

Salesforce, for example, has tools for you to perform these social media
tasks: 

Get in tune with what people are saying about your brand through social
listening.
Gain insight into the numbers of social media actions your brand gets,
such as comments, shares and mentions.
Check every social media channel (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) to
customize your social media strategy accordingly.
Get insight into who your customers are.
Identify and leverage your brand.
Manage the day-to-day tasks of posting to your social media accounts.

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7. Lead management 

A lead management feature will help you to identify your leads and the
actions they’ve taken along the sales cycle. Through the lead management
process, you’ll be able to score your leads and, if needed, filter them off to a
different member of your team to turn select leads into customers.

Sometimes dead leads sit in a CRM for weeks or months. A smart sales
manager stays on top of leads and redistributes quiet or seemingly dead
leads to different members of their team for reengagement. 

8. Real-time data 

Starting in 2017, real-time data became the main driver for CRM systems,
according to CMSWire. As noted in the article, CRMs can pull real-time data
from devices, applications and even appliances.

These are just a few of the benefits of pulling real-time data: 

It helps you make better-informed marketing decisions about bidding

price and placement of online advertising.
You get an instant snapshot of market demand, so you can update your
marketing plan accordingly to yield better results.
You can identify which of your products and services generate the most
revenue, and which generate the least and may need a boost in
exposure.

9. CRM analytics 

CRM analytics, also known as customer analytics, offer insight into customer
data. This data is important because it can help you make better decisions
about the types of products, services, marketing and overall communications
you distribute to your customers.

Look for these specific analytics in a CRM: 

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Customer segmentation that is simple to read and understand

Clear profit and loss data to help you determine your ROI
Informative web analytics that illustrate customer website use and
behaviors 

10. Reporting 

Reporting is the feature that brings the results of your sales and marketing
efforts all together, and it comes standard with all the CRMs we’ve
researched. The more of these report types you can access, the better: 

The number of leads that come in during a certain amount of time

The number of sales generated during a certain amount of time
Which of your sales agents closed which leads and how many they
closed in a certain amount of time
The number of outbound calls being made
The effectiveness of your emails
The stage at which your leads converted, helping you identify
opportunities to close leads in a shorter time

11. Sales forecasting 

A CRM with this feature predicts your future sales based on data from your
current pipeline. You may need to alter your marketing plan based on the
sales forecast. For example, if you thought your toy store was going to sell a
lot of girls’ dolls during Christmas but learned through sales forecasting that
building blocks are more popular, you can cater your campaigns accordingly.
Sales forecasting can also anticipate market changes to mitigate your
business risks. 

12. Email 

Tracking emails through a traditional inbox can get overwhelming and

confusing. Lifewire noted that, as of 2015, the average office worker received
121 emails. It’s important for every single sales email to be received and
addressed in a timely fashion to increase the probability of generating
revenue. 
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An email feature in a CRM helps keep your sales reps organized and
productive. They can integrate their calendars to schedule appointments and
engage prospects and customers accordingly. Another great email feature is
the ability to automatically pull in email templates so reps spend less time
crafting email content. You can use this feature to create several email
templates, such as these: 

Basic information about the company, segmented by industry

Follow-up after a phone call
Follow-up after one email has been sent
Follow-up to a proposal that reps are waiting on customers to return 

CRM software can be a useful tool for businesses of all sizes, but it’s
important to select a truly effective platform that can scale with your needs.
If you look for these 12 features in CRM software before you buy, you can’t go
wrong. 

Sara Angeles contributed to the reporting and writing in this article.

Image Credit:fizkes / Getty Images

Marisa Sanfilippo Marisa Sanfilippo

Business News Daily Contributing Writer

Marisa is an award-winning marketing professional and contributing

writer. She has worked with businesses large and small to help them
drive revenue through integrated marketing campaigns and enjoys
sharing her expertise with our audience.

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