Many companies use Excel to manage customer information and sales.

• ▶Customer List

• ▶Sales History

• ▶Project management

• ▶Prospective Customers

Many companies still manage this kind of information using Excel.

However, as the business grows, the limitations of managing customer data using Excel become apparent.

This time,Problems with Excel-based customer management and the benefits of implementing CRM.I will explain.

Benefits of Excel-based customer management

First, the reason why Excel is widely used for management is clear.

Excel has the following advantages:

• ▷ Anyone can use it

• ▷Can be made quickly

• ▷ No cost

• ▷ Freely customizable

In particular, for small businesses or those with a small sales team, managing everything with Excel can often be done without any problems.

However, as a company grows and the number of customers and projects increases, various problems arise with Excel management.

Problem with Excel customer management ①: It becomes too reliant on individual employees.

The most common problem with Excel management is,Information becomes dependent on a specific person..

For example,

• ▶The data is only on the sales representative's PC.

• ▶Only the person in charge knows how to update.

• ▶When you leave your job, you lose access to information.

This is the situation.

In this situation, it cannot be said that the company is properly managing customer information.

Customer informationCompany assetsTherefore, relying on individual management poses a significant risk.

Problem #2 with Excel customer management: Information is not being updated.

Companies that manage customer data using Excel often encounter the following problems:

• ▷Sales history has not been entered.

• ▷Old customer information remains

• ▷ I don't know the progress of the project.

While Excel offers a high degree of flexibility,Input rules tend to be ambiguous.It has the feature of.

As a result, the data stops being updated and ceases to function as a management spreadsheet.

Problem with Excel customer management #3: Difficult to manage with multiple users.

As the number of salespeople increases, managing everything with Excel becomes drastically more difficult.

For example,

• ▶ Simultaneous editing corrupts data

• ▶I don't know who updated it.

• ▶I don't know which is the latest file.

These are the kinds of problems we're dealing with.

file

• ▷ Share via email

• ▷ Saved to the company server

• ▷Managed on a personal computer

If you operate in this manner,The consistency of the information will not be maintained.

Problem 4 with Excel customer management: Inability to perform sales analysis.

In sales activities, the following types of analysis are essential:

• ▶Conversion rate

• ▶Sales process

• ▶Reason for loss of order

• ▶Sales forecast

However, creating a system to analyze this data using Excel is extremely difficult.

as a result,

Sales activities rely on experience and intuition rather than data.

It becomes.

What changes when you implement CRM?

Implementing a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system will significantly change how you manage your customers.

In CRM

• ▷Centralized management of customer information

• ▷ Sharing of sales history

• ▷Project management

• ▷Sales Analysis

These can be managed within the system.

This

• ▶Customer information becomes a company asset

• ▶Sales activities become more visible

• ▶ You can develop strategies based on data.

There are advantages such as:

The first step in implementing CRM

When it comes to implementing CRM,

• ▷Large-scale system

• ▷ High implementation costs

• ▷Specialized knowledge is required

Many people may have this kind of image.

However, nowadays,

• ▶Microsoft Dynamics 365

• ▶Power Platform

• ▶Cloud CRM

There are also an increasing number of services that can be implemented according to the size of the company.

Importantly,Designing a CRM that suits your company's sales process..

Are you struggling to effectively utilize your CRM?

If currently,

• ▷We manage customer data using Excel.

• ▷We implemented a CRM system, but we're not using it effectively.

• ▷Sales information is highly dependent on individual employees.

If you are facing these kinds of challenges, we recommend reviewing your CRM operations.

At ARCUS Japan,
Free CRM diagnostic tool to check your CRM usage statusIs available.

By answering a few simple questions, you can check your current CRM usage level.

Please check it out.

CRM diagnosis here

CRM Doctor Free Diagnosis - Arcuss Japan Inc. - A leading CRM company and IT consulting firm