With so many CRM solution providers out there and constant advances in technology, what’s the best way to determine which provider is the best fit for your media business?
Here are some good guidelines to determine the right CRM tool for your magazine:
- Make sure it connects your teams. Publishers often struggle with efficient inter-department communications. Use software that that provides critical visibility to the entire sales, production and accounting processes.
- Use a CRM that knows the publishing business. Sure there are huge CRM providers out there, but being biggest isn’t necessarily best—especially when it comes to niche.
- Go with a program that will not need a bunch of fine-tuning all the time.
- Plan for the future. Beware of lots of incremental add-on products that can blow your budget.
- Know your priorities before you meet with a provider. For example, a CRM that is focused on both increasing sales and providing better customer service.
Consider CRM solution providers that are not just trying to sell their product but are also really listening your needs and concerns. For example, when we met with On Time Media, we knew they really did their homework. The company had experienced tremendous growth and was shopping around for a new CRM solution that would grow right along with them. “It all started with a single page website in 1999 focusing on the time critical expedited freight. Since then, we have grown into a multimedia company with a network of websites, a print magazine, daily radio news broadcast and an annual trade show,” said Lawrence McCord, CEO & Founder.
The company tried several different CRM products over the years and while the providers were okay, they didn’t feel understood as a publishing company. We worked closely with their departments to learn what they wanted to do better. The company likes to be one step ahead of their customer’s needs and they expected us to anticipate their CRM needs over the long-term as well.
So keep in mind that finding a CRM solution is not just about shopping for the right tech tool–it’s about building strong business partnerships for the long-term.
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More about Andrew: Andrew Gomez is Director of Sales for Ad Sales Genius.
