To me these statistics show clearly that the world needs more small businesses, and those businesses need support that fosters their technology needs while supporting their financial status. We all know that 9 out of 10 startups fail within the first year, 20% of those fail the following year, with 30% failing in the next year and so on. Reaching the 10 year mark is an accomplishment, but one that is hard fought as the roadblocks are many.

Finances will always be a struggle for small businesses as they navigate the difficult decisions of re-investing in the company and driving business. It is becoming more and more clear that technology needs to be at the forefront for small businesses. Investing in these technologies has to be important for growth and sustainability, especially when these businesses are fighting against the conglomerates with the resources to out-compete small businesses.

However, no code and low code software continues to be the shining light in this fight for dominance. Small businesses have a greater ability to pivot and change direction quicker with the use of technology. Giving them an advantage as the needs of consumers change over time. Low code makes this easier by giving these businesses tools that are affordable and easy to use. Small businesses now have access to the same tools that the larger enterprises are building themselves. Low code offers the framework of software that is customizable and dynamic for each individual business. Simplicity in software is important, so is cost – especially for small businesses working to be part of the 1%.

As time continues and more startups enter the marketplace, these businessmen and women need to consider how they will invest their capital. Technology HAS to be a main focus for businesses to compete. The technologies available make it easier for these small businesses to succeed, but they cannot be afraid of the investment costs of software. The long term solutions that they offer can be the difference between success and failure. Further, the initial cost is less prohibitive than it has been in the past. Low code software tools have everything that small businesses need to ensure that they have a place in the market. 

But how do you decide which software is best for your company and what are the best methods of using CRMs for the most return on investment?

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts of CRMs:

        Do

o Evaluate your current work flows and work towards a streamlined methodology from initial customer contact to development, handover, and beyond.

o Encourage buy in from staff as they are the ones who will be using this software on a daily basis. This should be a strategic shift to the new process that involves all who are involved and sets parameters for processes and procedures.

o Audit frequently, as your business grows and evolves, so will your CRM needs. Ensure that the software you are purchasing has scalability and flexibility to change with your business.

o Buy from a firm who best suits your needs and requirements. Consider these three factors – quality of implementation, network infrastructure, end user culture.

        Don’t

o Be outrageously ambitious. Ensure that the CRM meets the needs of your business now, with the ability to grow in the future. A software that is too complicated will give poor results and can frustrate staff.

o Create a long laundry list of requirements for the software. You won’t know your exact needs until you start using it. Flexibility in software is important to grow and expand with changing needs.

o Bombard customers with too many newsletters, emails, coupons, and other forms of communication. The communication you provide should be informative, intriguing, or critical to the customer’s needs. Many email providers have filters in place to flag or filter out bulk emails.

o Copy and paste old data directly into the new CRM. You will want to start with new data that is easy to manage through the CRM, giving the tools you are actually paying for. Copied data can contain errors and lead to mistakes later on in the customer journey.

CRMs are the way of the future; they are essential for growth and relationship management with your most important asset – your clients. 

Technology offers many amazing innovations, including the ability to track and evaluate performance information. Data is king, and businesses that track relevant data and use it to make good decisions are the ones who are successful. Businesses should be taking advantage of all of the available data to create key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success or failure of business initiatives. These metrics provide valuable feedback to allow businesses to compare and contrast current results with the past, ultimately giving them a better view of the future.

KPIs work best when they are developed based on a company goal or initiative. They use quantitative analysis to understand where the business currently stands, and how a change has impacted that business over a period of time. For example, a business might have 10 sales managers generating $100k in sales revenue each month. With a goal of increasing revenue by 50% the company adds 5 new sales managers. The business knows that prospective clients are out there, but their sales managers cannot reach all of them because the workload is too heavy. Mathematically one would assume that by adding an additional 5 staff members, the revenue would follow and go up by 50%. However, this is not always the case, and the business will need to determine why the revenue is not coming in at the expected rate.

KPIs give that business an opportunity to identify where the shortage in revenue is coming from despite the increase in staff. The business can develop software to track how many leads are generated, how quickly they are followed up on, which managers are turning leads into sales, how much lead time is needed, what sales approach customers are more receptive to, and many other factors that could have an impact on sales growth. By identifying the results of each action, the business is able to more accurately pinpoint roadblocks and develop a plan to course correct. It is in this course correction that businesses succeed. KPIs provide usable data, but it is up to the business to take that data and use it to make decisions that will make an impact.

Many times, developing a good system to keep track of all of the little tasks is overlooked. It doesn’t seem important when there are only one or two tasks in a day, but as you grow and begin to serve more customers the number of tasks that need to be completed each day, week, and month continues to grow along side it. Further, you might begin to outsource some of those tasks to employees and business partners as you continue to grow.

So how do you ensure that all the tasks are being completed without turning into the dreaded micromanager? Project Management task trackers. We highly recommend looking into this type of software that can offer your company an easy method of tracking the progress of a project without the added cost of a full time project manager. Further, you will save yourself from becoming the boss who only ever asks “Are you done yet?” Give access to your employees and empower them to complete tasks on their own and to update the tracker as necessary. Now you can check in on the application and know exactly where your team stands.

A good project task manager will give you the ability to assign tasks to individuals, give them timelines for completion, and have tasks reoccur every day, week, or month. The more automation you build into the platform the better off you will be in the long run. Automation works to eliminate the physical tasks that you have to complete over and over. Making you more efficient and giving your team a more consistent work environment. Do some research, see what task managers can do for your business. 

I can’t help the car industry, but when it comes to technology, we as consumers and developers need to stop compromising and demand software that gives us everything we want. Stop settling for software that only does part of the job, or that has so many useless features that it becomes cumbersome and impossible to use. In the long run you are creating more of a headache and nuisance for yourself and your employees.

Instead, we need to demand all of what we want by utilizing custom software solutions. Businesses need software that is going to separate them from the competition by engaging their customers, empowering their employees, and most of all making their lives easier and more productive. The only way to fully achieve this is through software that is built specifically for that business. Software that is straightforward and efficient.

This includes small and medium size businesses who have limited resources to begin with. Imagine spending a hefty amount on software thinking that it will make your small business more efficient and prosperous, then you find out that it doesn’t do everything that you need it to. And the only remedy is to spend more of your hard earned money on additional software that will supplement the one you have already purchased. At what point do you compromise and settle for software that is incomplete? When do you step up and demand software that is built for your business needs?

Technology trends, including the increasing availability of low-code software, APIs and Web Services have given businesses of all sizes the ability to re-evaluate their software solutions and to fight for software that does 100% of what they need 100% of the time. This is the new trend, we as business owners need to focus on. We need to stop settling and fight for what we need.