In today’s constantly-evolving, competitive market place, embracing and implementing technology is a must – especially for small and midsized businesses (SMBs).  A recent study from the SMB Group shows that utilizing a Customer Relationship Management solution (CRM) is particularly important.

Choosing the right CRM involves many factors – budget, the ability for the software to support and grow your customer base, and the functionality for it to integrate into your overall business process (sales, marketing and financials).  No small task for sure. To achieve this goal, you should consider an all-encompassing cloud ERP system.

Customer focused business model + ERP CRM integration =  SMB Success

The study states that buyers have more knowledge, choice and power than ever before.  The educated consumer relies on, and has access to, online ratings and research for decision making.  The success of your SMB depends on keeping your customers happy and meeting their rising expectations.

To meet those expectations, the study says businesses need to focus on the buyer’s needs, provide smooth and easy purchase procedures, and keep the entire process a positive experience “from presales to returns to service calls.”

With that in mind, consider your CRM systems.  Do you need an expensive stand-alone CRM or an affordable ERP CRM integration, like Acumatica Cloud ERP?  For the majority of the companies – whether distribution, manufacturing, or professional services – having a singular cloud-based technology strategy that drives their business growth is the clear cut choice.

Acumatica Cloud ERP, with its Customer Management Suite, empowers SMB users with information, so they can empower their customers. A business whose technology allows for real-time updates providing clear and reliable information, the ability for their sales systems to speak to their financial systems, and the opportunity for customers to submit their own cases through their Customer Portal (which are all available in Acumatica’s Customer Management Suite) is a business that satisfies their present and future customers.

ERP CRM integration benefits are real, and they make a very big difference.

The SMB Group report says, “SMBs that have fully integrated business solutions are 29% more likely to expect revenue growth than those that have only partially integrated these solutions, and they are 40% more likely than those that have not done any integration.”

Here are the ERP CRM integration benefits noted in the report:

• Cost and time savings – SMBs don’t need to invest time or money to build clunky custom code or to choose and deploy expensive third-party integration tools
• Clear visibility and better decision making through integrated dashboards that provide roles-based access to manage forecasts, quotes and results
• Improved collaboration – everyone in the organization is “on the same page” with consistent, updated information, as well as has the ability to more easily create customer portals to communicate with customers throughout the entire process

In addition, here are some benefits Acumatica Cloud ERP offers with their integrated marketing:

• CRM was built into Acumatica from the beginning. Integration is a key feature of the system, working directly with every aspect of your business through a single dashboard. From marketing, quoting, and sales to delivery and post-sales support, customer information is always accurate.
• The system is completely mobile regardless of what technology device you choose; you can access the easily navigated dashboard and support your customers whether you are in your office or on the road at any time.
• The CRM Add-In for Microsoft Outlook works with incoming and outgoing email in Outlook. It searches for existing leads, contacts, and employees in CRM and then allows one-click access to an existing contact. You can also create new leads and contacts right from your Inbox; create opportunities and cases associated with existing contacts; and log activity and attach e-mail contents to CRM.
• The financial team is also able to manage vendor requirements from the same system – from scheduling to invoicing to billing.

“Integration enables SMBs to streamline workflows and information sharing across different functional areas of the business. This provides deeper view of the customer as well as the agility and insights needed to improve customer interactions, engagement and experience—and to grow the business,” say the analysts at SMB Group.

We at CompuTec Integrated Solutions agree!  If you do, too, then I hope you’ll take a moment to read the report about ERP CRM integration for yourself.

After you’ve read it, feel free to contact us, CompuTec Integrated Solutions, an Acumatica partner and ERP vendor with over 21 years of experience.  Learn more about Acumatica or request a free demo today!  With a fully integrated, customer-oriented and mobile cloud ERP system with CRM geared specifically for you and your business, Acumatica Cloud ERP.

Download the SMB Group CRM Study