By Vitaly Kuprenko
To achieve success, every real estate business requires customer relationship management systems—or CRMs—to maintain relationships with clients. According to Thomson Data, customer retention can increase by 26 percent due to the integration of appropriate CRM software.
Related: Curaytor Shakes Up How You Utilize Your CRM
How should you choose the best system for you? Here are five tips on how to pick a CRM solution for your business:
Discover your goals
Before choosing a suitable CRM, you need to consider your unique company needs. For instance, some CRMs are focused on managing contacts, or tracking deals and transactions. Others can be used as a marketing tool. So, to pick the perfect CRM for your business, you need to define what your company needs.
Consider the security
To provide flexibility and convenience, many CRMs are cloud-based. Such solutions provide access to information from any device connected to the internet. However, they can come with security issues. To avoid them, you can choose vendors that offer highly secure CRM systems. For instance, there can be such opportunities for data protection as encryption or data storage in various locations.
Provide access from various platforms
It's hard to underestimate the convenience of mobile devices. Most agents work on-the-go, so it's good to have a CRM with updated information on their smartphones. Real estate CRMs should function well on any operating system, such as Windows, iOS or Android. Before integrating the CRM, test it on various devices or ask your tech team to check customization capabilities.
Study your competitors' CRM choice
Every successful brokerage needs to have a robust CRM. Use this to your advantage by looking through reviews from other real estate agents, or contact your colleagues on social media to find out what kind of solution they use. Their recommendations can help you make the right decision.
Mind your budget
Of course, you need to plan your expenses on CRM integration. Consider aspects like software, hardware, maintenance, storage, etc. Also remember that there can be some additional costs like staff training since your employees have likely never worked with this system before, so they need time to get used to a new working process.
Vitaly Kuprenko is a technical writer at Cleveroad, software development company focused on the retail, logistics, e-commerce, hospitality and healthcare industries.
