If you’re running a nonprofit or social enterprise, then you know that it’s important to keep good track of your contacts and interactions with them. A database for customer relationship management (CRM) is an essential tool to help you do just that. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what CRMs are, why you need one, how to get started using one, and the single biggest mistake to avoid with your CRM efforts.
What is a CRM?
A CRM, or customer relationship management database, is a cloud-based software that allows organizations to effectively manage and document contact data and interactions in a systematic way. CRMs can take many forms, from a full-scale build-out to a light-touch app to an antiquated Rolodex. The key is to design business plans and processes that support your growth, and then layer CRM technology over them to automate those processes where possible.
Why do you need a CRM?
If you’re like most nonprofits, your team is already using some kind of database to track contact information and interactions. The challenge is that these databases are often siloed, which makes it difficult to get a complete picture of your contacts and their engagement with your organization. A CRM can help you bridge those silos by consolidating all of your contact data in one place. In addition, a CRM can help you segment and target your audiences more effectively, maximize fundraising efforts, prioritize resources, and find efficiencies that improve program outcomes and reduce overhead costs.
One of the most important benefits of using a CRM is that it helps you build and maintain strong relationships with your contacts. By tracking all of your interactions with someone in one place, a CRM makes it easy to track what you’ve done for them and what they’ve done for you. This can help you provide better service by ensuring that you never forget a past interaction or miss an opportunity to follow up with a contact.
CRMs can help you segment your contacts into different groups. This is useful for targeted marketing and fundraising efforts. By tracking donor data and interactions, a CRM can help you determine which donors are most likely to donate again, identify potential new donors, and track how much money each donor has contributed in the past. This information can help you focus your fundraising efforts and make the most of your time and resources.
CRMs can help you prioritize your resources. With a CRM, you can see which interactions are yielding the best results so that you can focus your time and energy on those activities.
CRMs can also be used to improve program outcomes. By using a CRM, you can automate repetitive tasks and free up staff time to focus on more important things. By tracking data about program participants, a CRM can help you determine things like who is most likely to respond to a particular type of intervention or how long someone is likely to stay in a program. This information can help you better target your resources and improve the effectiveness of your programs.
How to get started using CRMs?
There are a few things you should keep in mind when getting started with CRM tools. First, it’s important to have strong underlying business processes in place. A CRM will only be as effective as the processes that it’s built on. Start with a data-driven performance assessment of your operations to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Then, implement the organizational changes necessary to close the gap between your current business processes and your desired future state. This step links your high-level strategies with your day-to-day business processes and will ensure you get the best results from your CRM efforts.
Second, you need to decide which CRM tool is right for your organization. There are many different CRM tools on the market, so it’s important to do your research and find the one that best fits your needs. Make sure to consider things like ease of use, price, features, and integrations when making your decision.
Finally, train your staff on how to use the CRM tool. Once you’ve selected a CRM tool and implemented it within your organization, it’s important to provide training for your staff so that they know how to use it effectively. The best way to do this is to create a user manual or video tutorial specifically for your organization’s CRM tool.
The single biggest mistake nonprofits and social enterprises make with CRMs
The single biggest mistake that nonprofits and social enterprises make with CRMs is not using them to their full potential. CRMs are powerful tools that can help organizations improve their operations, but only if they’re used correctly. Many organizations make the mistake of using CRMs as simply a database for contact information. While this is certainly a valuable use of CRMs, it’s only scratching the surface of what they can do. To get the most out of your CRM efforts, you need to use them to automate repetitive tasks, segment your contacts, prioritize your resources, and find efficiencies that improve program outcomes and reduce overhead costs.
CRMs can improve how contact data is collected, managed, segmented, and used in order to effectively engage audiences, maximize fundraising efforts, prioritize resources, and find efficiencies that improve program outcomes and reduce overhead costs. In other words, if you’re looking for a way to streamline your nonprofit or social enterprise operations and get the most out of your interactions with customers (or investor-donors), then a CRM is the answer. Just remember to pair it with a strong business plan and efficient processes as the foundation for success.