Update: This article was last updated on 20th Nov 2019 to reflect the accuracy and up-to-date information on the page.
The success of any business mainly depends on its customers. How happy your customers are with your service reflects how good your business is running. However, achieving the same requires a lot of effort. The communication between you and your customers is what leads to the growth of your business.
There are a lot of essential things such as customer service, finance, etc. that you must keep in mind in order to improve the customer’s experience with your company. However, performing all these tasks individually can be extremely tedious.
Thus, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has become an essential tool for businesses of all types these days.
CRM is a tool used to centralize customer database, automate processes, identify customer patterns, and track sales interactions.
There are mainly 3 types of CRM software:
- CRM Infrastructure in the Cloud
- CRM Platform in the Cloud
- On-premise CRM
What is cloud-based CRM?
Cloud-based CRM is the CRM software hosted on the cloud of third-party service providers. Cloud makes it easy for users to use this software and access their data via the Internet from anywhere around the world at any given time.
Statistics show that the percentage of businesses using cloud-based CRM has increased to 87% in 2019 as compared to only 12% in 2008. (Source: IBM)
This infographic explains what is a cloud-based CRM and how it can help businesses.
Now let’s see a few benefits of hosting CRM software on cloud-
1. Easy Deployment
On-premise CRM requires the setup of hardware equipment, servers, and IT team, among other things. Thus, it demands a significant amount of time and effort. With CRM hosted on cloud, the requirement of all these things is minimized as the cloud hosting providers take care of everything from servers to IT setup.
2. Advanced Security
With the intensity of cyberattacks at a high these days, security is one of the biggest concerns for any business. However, with cloud hosting of your CRM software, you can work without any worry. The cloud hosting providers offer high-end data security with advanced threat protection features to keep your confidential information and data safe. Multiple backups are also taken so that you can easily recover your information in case of any loss.
3. Anytime, Anywhere Access
Cloud CRM gives you the flexibility of accessing your information and data from anywhere around the globe at any time, given that you have internet access. It ensures that your work does not stop even when you’re not in the office or you’re traveling.
4. Pocket-friendly
When you host your CRM software on cloud, you eliminate all the expenses of purchasing hardware and servers, maintenance, security, etc. The hosting providers take care of all such things. You also get multiple pricing options- monthly and annually, so you can pay only for what you use.
5. Multi-User Collaboration
Cloud gives users the flexibility to access their CRM software from anywhere on any device. So, multiple people can work and make edits on the same document, which prevents multiple copies of the same document and increases the efficiency of work.
It becomes easier for you to communicate and collaborate with your teammates, even from remote locations.
6. Flexible and Scalable
Hosting your CRM software on cloud gives you the flexibility to choose from multiple plans and pricing with a different number of users and devices. You can increase or decrease the number of users and devices as per your needs. This gives you the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade your plan according to your business requirements.
7. Easy Integrations with Other Applications
Apart from CRM, every business requires various other tools and applications to carry out operations like sales, finance, business management, etc. Cloud allows you to host all these along with your CRM software to create a virtual workspace for all your work. This makes your work hassle-free, increasing work productivity.
8. Always up to date
With CRM software hosted on the cloud, the software gets automatically updated without hampering your process. This ensures that you and your entire team are working on the latest version of the software with all the updated features without paying anything more.
Hosting CRM software on the cloud creates a positive impact on businesses. It not only keeps your customers happy and satisfied but also improves the efficiency of the teams and improves data analytics and reporting.
So, what are you waiting for? Migrate your CRM software to cloud and keep your team and your customers happy.