In this age of digitization and technology, you need everything done efficiently. For any business operation, there’s no doubt, a CRM software can be a powerful tool that can help you manage operations and boost productivity.
When you are in an education and migration business, you need to work collaboratively with a number of students, partnered institutions and universities, as well as agents or referrers. To streamline the agency’s business operations, there are plenty of CRM software available. However, the root problems frequently lie in not being able to streamline all the agency operations in one place. Also, many do not support sufficient data backups which can result in loss of data. The agency business is so dynamic that most of them do not support the dynamic needs and adapt to the changing demand.
Hence, before diving into purchasing one randomly, there are a few things that you need to know before buying the software.
Understand what you need
Many CRMs are specifically designed for different purposes like lead management, task management, marketing tools, and so on. First, you need to write down all your requirements and expectations. To figure this out, you need to look at the process of your organizational workflow, think about how your current employees’ jobs can be efficient and automated, and what are your future plans for your operations.
If you are looking for a CRM for an education and migration agency, you will need the client’s lead management, visa application management tool, client portal, invoice management, partner assignment system, and can be much more than that.
Online or offline?
You need to know if the CRM software hosts their applications on their online servers or on-premies servers. On-premises servers can be restricted to providing you only on-premises access but are more secured compared to the data in the cloud. However, online lets you access your system from anywhere and anytime. The service provider will handle the backups for maintenance and updates. Also, regarding the safety concerns, the expert team can make the system secure and safe from hackers.
However, also consider looking for all the requirements such as database requirements, CPU, RAM requirements, supported devices, and so on.
Look for add-ons
Sometimes, you don’t need certain features at the current moment and won’t want to pay for them now. However, according to your business model or future plan, you might need that feature in the future. In such a case, add-on solutions in any CRM can help you get new features as per your future requirement in the same system. It provides you the flexibility to adapt whenever you need change. Because, once you have installed the system, it won’t be possible every time to change it if that does not support a few features or have to upgrade the features. So, before getting the CRM, check for what add-on features it provides.
Strong Customer Support
While investing in CRM software, most businesses often tend to neglect customer support resources. Yes, customer support resources are essential for a smooth operation. It is one of the most undervalued features taken into consideration while purchasing a CRM. Your CRM is no good if it’s not properly configured or if your employee isn’t trained to use the features. And whenever any problem arises, if customer support is not easily accessible, it becomes difficult to operate on the CRM and won’t generate the maximum ROI from your solution.
For example, to get you onboard effectively on any agency CRM system, first, you need to get a training session from the CRM support team. The customer success team will provide you and your counselors with training sessions and handle any queries they have. From understanding the features to how to efficiently utilize the system, you get to know everything to successfully implement it in your daily operation.
Chat Support available whenever needed
Make sure to know the hours of the chat support. Many CRMs provide chat support to their clients from Monday to Friday during normal business hours i.e. 9 am to 7 pm. The support should be accessible easily from the system. So, whenever you run into a challenge that you can’t solve on your own, the customer success team will easily solve it once you reach them through chat support.
Integrations
Since you are working with multiple stakeholders on multiple platforms, you need to consider integration features. With few CRM systems, you can have software integration that lets you automate multiple tasks of different applications with a single trigger. For example, if your messaging application such as SMS or email is integrated into the CRM, you can instantly send a message automatically to your new lead on the system. You do not need to spend time copying and pasting the same message across different channels.
Free-trial
Another rule to remember is “try it before you buy it”. Many applications look promising on their outer interface. It seems to provide all the requirements that you need. But you cannot be sure of it before you try the system on your own. When you try it for a demo, you will be able to know not only what the CRM offers, but also how it functions. You will have the idea of the smoothness while functioning, the practicality of the interface, and much more. So, don’t forget to try out a demo version or free trial before buying the CRM software.
If you are looking for a CRM software perfect for your education and migration business, Agentcis is the one. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to find out why our CRM software is an undeniable management asset to help you successfully grow your education & migration agency.
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