A graphic designer wouldn’t use Word to create a new logo, just like an accountant wouldn’t use pen and paper to manage their company’s General Ledger. So why do so many sales and marketing professionals still rely on Excel to manage their customer lists? Excel has been around since the dawn of time, or at least since the dawn of when we all started using computers, making it’s ease and familiarity difficult to give up. However, when it comes to sales or marketing purposes, Excel falls short in a number of areas:
- Multiple users cannot easily access and make changes to the same file at the same time.
- Spreadsheets with large amounts of data are cumbersome and difficult to view.
- Excel doesn’t allow an easy way for users to document when a client is contacted and what marketing campaigns they responded to.
Just like the move from cassettes to CDs, migrating your customer and prospect information from Excel to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is inevitable. The right CRM software can help your sales team identify the best leads and can help your marketing people see the ROI for each campaign.
Benefits of include:
- The design and functionality is very similar to other Microsoft products, making it simple for your team to learn.
- Each marketing campaign allows you to visualize who was included in the campaign and what your response rate was.
- Ability to identify open leads and track each touch and outcome.
- Link email conversations with the account so others can easily view conversation history.
- Store sales and marketing literature for easy access and distribution.
Taking the step to a CRM solution can be a scary one for those with a severe Excel addiction, but the results will speak for themselves. To ease the worries of those unsure of taking the leap, Microsoft Dynamics CRM does integrate with Excel, allowing you to export and import information seamlessly between the two.
for more information on CRM or to see a demo.
by DFC Consultants
Yes! Of course the main reason to switch from excel to CRM is to manage upto the company sales & marketing activities and to know the existing & current customer statistics. This mainly lack in an excel spreadsheet.
Great! Whenever a new technology implemented, a risk reduced by one step. Excel to CRM shifting is a new way to gain business offers.