“If you think implementing a CRM costs too much, you are probably doing it wrong.”
A CRM system helps a business manage its customer relationships. CRM means Customer Relationship Management.
It keeps customer information, calls, emails, meetings, offers, sales opportunities, and tasks in one central place. This means employees do not need to search through old emails, Excel files, notebooks, or personal chat messages.
But not every CRM system is good. A CRM only creates value when people actually use it every day. It must be simple, useful, secure, and able to grow with the business.
Here are nine important things to look for.
It Must Be Easy to Use
If a CRM is difficult to use, employees will avoid it. They may return to Excel, personal notes, or their inboxes. Then the company loses the benefit of having one shared system.
A good CRM should have:
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A clear and simple screen layout
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Easy-to-understand buttons
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Fast search
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Simple forms
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Mobile-friendly access when needed
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Only the information each user needs
The system should support employees instead of creating more work.
A CRM should make it easier to serve customers, not harder.
It Must Keep Customer Data in One Place
A CRM should give the team one clear view of every customer.
For each contact or company, users should be able to see important information such as:
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Contact details
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Company information
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Previous calls, meetings, and emails
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Notes and files
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Sales history
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Open offers and opportunities
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Customer requests
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Tasks and next steps
This helps employees understand the customer before they make contact.
When a customer calls, the team should not need to ask, “Who spoke with you last?” or “What did we promise?” The answer should be available in the CRM.
From chaos to clarity — SIX ERP is the equation for success.
It Must Help Manage Leads
A lead is a possible future customer.
Leads can come from your website, an exhibition, a recommendation, social media, a phone call, an email, or an advertising campaign. A good CRM helps you record every lead and make sure it is not forgotten.
The CRM should help you:
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Add new leads quickly
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Record where the lead came from
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Assign the lead to the right employee
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Plan the next follow-up
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Track the sales stage
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See which leads are most likely to become customers
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Mark deals as won or lost
The most important habit is simple: after every customer contact, record the next step.
It Must Have Clear Reports and Dashboards
Managers need more than a list of contacts. They need to understand what is happening in sales.
A good CRM should provide simple reports and dashboards that show:
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New leads this month
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Open sales opportunities
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Offers waiting for a reply
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Sales by employee, customer, or product
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Expected future sales
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Won and lost deals
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Conversion rates
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Follow-ups that are overdue
These reports help managers find problems early. For example, they can see if too many offers are being lost, if a salesperson has too many open tasks, or if a marketing campaign is bringing good leads.
Good data helps people make better decisions.
It Must Be Flexible for Your Business
Every company works differently.
A furniture manufacturer needs different customer details than a logistics company. A service business may need appointments and service contracts. A distributor may need price lists, products, delivery details, and customer-specific conditions.
A good CRM should allow the company to add its own fields, stages, forms, and layouts.
For example, you may want to add fields for:
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Customer industry
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Sales region
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Type of product interest
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Current supplier
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Contract renewal date
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Number of locations
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Customer priority
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Source of the lead
Customisation is important, but it should stay simple. Too many fields and complicated screens can stop people from using the system properly.
It Must Connect With Other Business Tools
A CRM becomes much more useful when it connects to the other systems your company already uses.
For example, it may need to connect with:
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Email and calendar tools
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Website contact forms
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Marketing platforms
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E-commerce stores
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Telephone or call-centre systems
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Accounting software
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Warehouse and inventory systems
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E-invoicing services
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Business Intelligence tools
This reduces double data entry. A website enquiry can become a lead automatically. A sales order can show stock availability. An invoice can be visible to the sales team.
The goal is to enter data once and use it where it is needed.
It Must Support Your Real Sales Process
A CRM should match the way your company sells.
For example, a simple sales process may look like this:
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New lead
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First contact
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Needs confirmed
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Offer prepared
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Offer sent
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Negotiation
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Won or lost
Your business may need more stages, but every stage should be clear. Employees should know what must happen before a deal moves forward.
A CRM should also support useful daily functions such as:
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Reminders and tasks
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Calls and meeting records
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Email history
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Quotes and offers
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Customer notes
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Sales pipelines
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Product information
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Document storage
Do not choose a CRM only because it has hundreds of features. Choose one that handles your important daily work properly.
It Must Be Secure
Customer data is valuable. It may include personal contact details, commercial prices, contracts, sales figures, and private communication.
A proper CRM needs role-based security. This means each user has their own account and can only see the information needed for their job.
For example:
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A salesperson can manage their customers and deals
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A sales manager can view team reports
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An accountant can see invoices
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A warehouse user can see delivery information
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A system administrator can manage access rights
Employees should never share one user account. Shared accounts make it difficult to see who changed information and can create serious security problems.
Look for systems that support strong passwords, access permissions, activity logs, backups, and ideally two-factor authentication.
It Must Grow With the Company
A CRM may start with a small sales team. But if the business grows, more employees, customers, products, locations, and processes will be added.
The CRM must be able to grow too.
Before choosing a system, ask:
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Can we add more users easily?
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Can it support more customer data and sales opportunities?
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Can we add new modules later?
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Can it work in several languages and currencies?
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Can it connect to more tools as we grow?
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Will the cost become too high when our team grows?
Many CRM providers charge per user, per month. This may look affordable at the beginning, but costs can rise quickly when more employees need access.
Choose a CRM that makes sense not only for today, but also for the next few years.
CRM Should Be Part of the Full Business Process
A CRM is useful on its own. But it becomes much stronger when it is connected to the full business system.
In SIX ERP, a customer enquiry can become a sales opportunity, offer, sales order, delivery, invoice, payment, production request, or service task.
This means salespeople can work with real business information. They can see whether stock is available, whether an invoice is unpaid, whether a delivery has left the warehouse, or whether a service request is open.
One connected system creates better customer service and less manual work.
Final Thoughts
A good CRM should be easy to use, flexible, secure, and ready to grow with your business.
It should help your team manage customers, leads, sales opportunities, calls, emails, reminders, and reports without making daily work more complicated.
The right CRM gives every employee a clearer view of the customer. It helps the company follow up on time, make better offers, and build stronger long-term relationships.
SIX ERP includes a fully integrated CRM, connected to sales, warehouse, purchasing, finance, projects, field service, and reporting. This gives your team one complete view of the customer journey — from the first enquiry to delivery, invoice, and long-term support.
