In order for modern financial services organisations to stimulate business growth strategies, they need a software suite that is equipped to do so. However, for many businesses, their CRM is holding them back.
On-site, legacy systems with masses of infrastructure are no longer a viable option for those looking to scale their business in the long term, which is why many businesses must consider moving to the cloud. However, organisations may have some reservations about making the move, so we’ve listed 5 ways a cloud-based CRM can help facilitate business growth and help scale your business seamlessly.
For many financial services organisations, a great deal of their IT budget is often spent on running their current on-site systems and maintaining expensive software infrastructure, with a dedicated IT team needed to carry out the work. While this isn’t necessarily an issue for enterprise level organisations, for SMEs, this is a significant portion of your budget that could be better spent elsewhere - on other priority business processes, for example.
With a clou-based CRM, you’ll be able to achieve this. Maintaining the CRM infrastructure is the job of the cloud CRM provider, who will have a team dedicated to ensure that the system is running smoothly at all times. This means that you are no longer required to maintain the CRM system yourself, and the cost savings mean that your budget can be better utilised on key operations - better enabling growth in your business.
Additionally, with many legacy CRMs, you are often required to pay for individual user licenses, and purchase additional licenses if you need them, with no option to remove licenses when they’re no longer required. However, with most cloud-based CRM systems, the pricing model per user is much more flexible. For example, with Microsoft Dynamics 365, you pay for each user monthly, with the ability to simply increase or decrease the number of users quickly and efficiently. It’s likely the number of users will vary as your company expands, and a cloud-based CRM facilitates this growth, being more cost effective and profitable in the long term.
In order for your team to use it effectively, your CRM needs to be accessible at all times and easy to use, as well as promoting collaboration. With an on-premise legacy CRM system, this can be difficult to achieve, as this kind of software is usually quite complex and rigid, meaning that it often isn’t easy to access outside of the office, as VPNs and servers can be slow and frustrating. This makes it incredibly difficult to keep track of customer data in real time, and could be damaging to productivity. For example, if your sales team has to be in the office to write up meeting notes or conduct general administrative tasks, this is time that could be better spent out in the field, selling to more potential customers.
With a cloud-based CRM, all employees can access the system no matter where they are, and no longer need to be in the office to access or update customer information. This allows all employees to work while on the move, enabling them to better manage their customers and make more strategic decisions. Your CRM should be a central point of truth where employees can collaborate with one another to align goals and objectives, and with a cloud-based CRM, they can do this. When all your employees can access information in real time, they’re more productive, and better equipped to meet targets.
For many companies, their on-premise CRM systems are vastly becoming obsolete, and the software no longer has the capabilities to meet the rapidly changing requirements of the modern financial services business. When many financial services organisations are concerned with digitally transforming their operations, having a CRM that is outdated can significantly slow down this process, especially when updating the system causes significant downtime and ultimately provides no additional business benefit.
With a cloud-based CRM, not only will system updates cause no business disruption, you’ll always have access to the latest features and developments which will facilitate digitisation of your financial services organisation. For example, with cloud-based CRMs such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, you can leverage emerging technologies such as AI, which will enable your team to identify patterns in customer behaviour, suggest next-best actions for users, and give you deeper insight into your business as a whole.
A common concern that many in the financial sector have about cloud systems is that they may not be secure enough to meet the strict regulatory requirements and host data in a way that is compliant with financial legislation.
However, SaaS providers have to meet these requirements themselves in order for businesses to use their product, meaning that cloud-based CRMs are highly secure, with built in resilience and redundancy that adheres to the strictest IT security standards. Most cloud-based CRMs even offer flexible hosting options, including country-specific data locations that ensure compliant data residency.
With on-premise CRM systems, it can be difficult and demanding to manage data, but with a cloud based CRM you have peace of mind that your data is being stored securely - allowing you to better utilise time spent managing data on growing your business.
For financial services organisations looking to grow their business, an on-site, legacy CRM system can be limiting, as there isn’t an ability to expand without huge expense and an investment in even more infrastructure. However, when you minimise this infrastructure by moving your CRM to the cloud, growing your business becomes easier - you can reinvest the budget spent maintaining costly on-site systems into a cloud-based CRM that is globally available and easy to expand. With most cloud CRM system pricing models, you simply purchase additional licenses as your company grows, meaning that your system is almost infinitely scalable. A modern cloud-based CRM not only helps you grow seamlessly, it future proofs your business for years to come.
For financial services organisations, a key concern is having the necessary tools in place to grow your business, and when your CRM is preventing you from doing this, it’s time to consider implementing a new system.
To see why your CRM is causing you problems, read our free guide: 7 signs that financial brokers and service providers need a better CRM system. In this free download, we highlight the top 7 reasons why your CRM might be the root of your issues, and why implementing a new CRM is the solution.