{"id":8629,"date":"2021-03-15T13:59:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T13:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/?p=8629"},"modified":"2022-08-19T12:28:09","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T12:28:09","slug":"saas-crms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/saas-crms","title":{"rendered":"SaaS CRM: How to choose A CRM for SaaS businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"saas<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sales as a software customer relationship management – SaaS CRM for short – is a cloud-based software tool. Having a CRM for SaaS helps you keep track of your users in a way that\u2019s more conversion friendly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving you the ability to automate and personalise marketing, sales and customer service – having a decent CRM tool is essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s all recognise that most CRMs are SaaS products and bypass any further \u201cwhy you need a SaaS CRM\u201d monologues. Instead, we\u2019re here to show you how SaaS companies use CRMs and why CRMs are tailor-made for SaaS businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounds much more interesting, doesn\u2019t it?

In this post, we explore how most SaaS companies use CRMs. Plus, how to choose the right tool for your business. We’ll also cover the top SaaS features to explore, great software options, and how to utilise a CRM more successfully. Let’s get to it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How SaaS companies use CRMs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most SaaS companies utilise SaaS CRMs to keep track of their current sales pipeline and move deals through to close. The top standard features include cohesive data integration, customer contact profiles, and sales pipeline boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what are SaaS companies missing out on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too many companies are not putting enough effort into utilising their CRMs outside of the sales process. For example, marketing teams aren\u2019t setting up automated campaigns based on CRM data<\/a>, product teams aren\u2019t regularly using their CRM to onboard users<\/a> or mitigate churn in a proactive and customised way. And growth teams aren’t fully understanding their customer’s behaviour<\/a> in order to find and win more customers! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this post, we\u2019ll explore ways that you can take full advantage of what your CRM offers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to choose the best SaaS CRM for your business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finding the right SaaS CRM is about considering your unique needs. Do you need a CRM that works for a team of 10 salespeople who work exclusively with enterprises? That’s fine, but such a product won\u2019t be a fit for small a SaaS company<\/a> without a sales team.

Make sure you know what it is you want from a SaaS CRM, before we dive into options and features. That way, you can hit the ground running with no costly mistakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are all of the factors that you should consider:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SaaS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keep these things in mind when evaluating the features that matter to your business. Plus the tool options that could be a great fit for your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top features to look for in a SaaS CRM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, these features\u2019 importance will differ depending on how you sell\u2014self-serve credit card payments or with a sales team.
Some of these features are a better fit for companies that want to automate their hands-off sales funnels, while others are a better fit for personalised, 1:1 selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights into website visitors, leads, and customers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your CRM should not be just for storing data, such as their recent payment and contact info about your customers. In the 2020s, SaaS businesses will want much more advanced insights, not just basic data storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look for a CRM that allows you to capture insights on your customers and your website visitors and leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this, your CRM needs website analytics capabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real-time data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another feature that matters is getting access to real-time analytics<\/a>. Too many CRMs and analytics tools are not updated in real-time. This is a huge problem for companies that want to implement better marketing automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s say that you want to send a quick email when a lead checks out your pricing page for the second time. With real-time data, that email could be on a significant delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy for non-technical employees to use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a SaaS business, you likely understand the consumerisation of B2B<\/a> (how business software is looking and acting more like simple consumer apps). Employees at SaaS companies tend to be much more tech-savvy than employees at companies of other industries, but it\u2019s still important that you\u2019re not choosing something that is a pain to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For SaaS businesses with self-serve sales funnels, the product team might be using the CRM. But for the most part, your CRM will be used by marketers and salespeople. It should not require coding or any technical expertise to set up automation, enrich leads, or make data-driven decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data on purchase history and website behaviour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s incredibly important for your leads and customers to have website behaviour data<\/a> alongside standard data such as filling out a lead form or purchasing a subscription on a specific date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you combine user behaviour on your site<\/a> with more standard CRM data, you can\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n