10 Questions To Ask When Evaluating CRM Software

Sixty percent of software buyers in our 2024 Tech Trends Survey regret a purchase they’ve made in the past 12 to 18 months.* Creating a list of interview questions to ask vendors before investing in new software can help safeguard against buyer’s remorse. It’s especially critical to do so for big-ticket software purchases that serve multiple departments, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Here are ten questions that you as a CRM manager or software buyer should ask during discussions with vendors so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Along the way, we’ll weave in insights from our proprietary reviews and advisor call data [1-2] so you can better understand how these questions take the needs of your users into consideration.

Learning about the features offered and matching them against your business needs is the first step in the software evaluation process. It’ll help you decide if the CRM tool meets the requirements of your business.

All customer relationship management tools include contact management, interaction tracking, and lead management features, and most share a variety of common features such as activity dashboard, calendar management, and email management. 

According to reviews left by CRM software users over the past year, the five most important CRM features are: [1]

• Contact database: This feature lets you maintain a centralized database of customers and their contact information. It’s rated as a critical or highly important feature by 91% of reviewers.

• Contact management: This feature allows you to manage, organize, and store customers’ contact information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and social media accounts. It’s rated as a critical or highly important feature by 91% of reviewers.

• Lead management: This feature helps you store information about leads and contacts and track them through the sales process. It’s rated as a critical or highly important feature by 82% of reviewers.

• Interaction tracking: This feature allows you to track customer interaction history by documenting conversations with contacts. It’s rated as a critical or highly important feature by 82% of reviewers.

• Sales pipeline management: This feature lets you use the pipeline view to visualize, track, and manage the leads in your pipeline. It’s rated as a critical or highly important feature by 81% of reviewers.

If you’re like most small business buyers, you’re price-conscious and have a budget. Besides the subscription cost mentioned on the vendor website, you’ll want to keep in mind the several other indirect or one-time expenses involved in a software purchase. Implementation, data migration, customization, and customer support are just a few. Salespeople may not be forthcoming about these hidden costs, so be sure to proactively inquire about them. 

In terms of price, entry-level CRM systems can range from $10 to $6,500 per month. [2] Higher-priced enterprise products may include additional or advanced features such as unlimited workspace members, advanced customer reporting and tracking, and sales funnel creation.

It’s convenient to keep the same software as your business grows and changes. Ask the vendor whether the software allows you to add new users or remove existing ones as required. Also, inquire about the time it takes to add a new user and the discounts or benefits the vendor offers when you scale up.

If you expect your sales or customer service team’s headcount to increase over the next few years, ensure the CRM software you select can be scaled (up or down) easily and is also capable of accommodating future functionality needs.

As a buyer, it’s only natural to expect the best customer and tech support from your vendor. However, vendors aren’t obliged to provide the same level of service to all customers. Customer and tech support levels vary based on users’ subscription plans, and some vendors offer premium support and training at an additional cost.

The table below shows what support and training options can look like in basic versus premium plans.

Below are some examples of how tools used by your sales, marketing, and customer service teams can integrate with CRM software:

• Pairing sales forecasting software with CRM data, such as customer preferences and purchase history, can result in more accurate sales forecasts.

• CRM integration with marketing automation software helps optimize marketing campaigns by improving the way you track, monitor, and engage with prospects.

• Email marketing integration with CRM software helps tailor email messages by providing insights into your customers’ communication preferences.

• Integrating CRM with customer experience software helps personalize communications, create a consistent customer experience, learn more about customers’ likes and dislikes, provide attentive support, and more.

• CRM integration with customer support software makes customer service data visible to all relevant teams so customers receive the same level of support irrespective of who they interact with.

• Pairing accounting software with CRM helps access and manage customer data and financial information in a centralized platform. This process streamlines operations, reduces manual data entry, and minimizes the risk of errors.

• Connecting help desk software with your CRM makes it easier to pull customer data into support tickets. 

The software must also integrate with your website and social media platforms, so data from web forms and browsers can be seamlessly collected for supporting marketing campaigns.

Many cloud-based CRM vendors let users customize the software interface layout, create custom fields, add sales projects or tasks, and set compliance checks. Some CRM tools, like our example below, also allow users to establish custom workflows to automate tasks.

CRM solution Zoho CRM allows users to automate tasks using customized workflows

Most cloud-based CRM solutions are easy to set up and require users to simply log in to an online portal. But you may want the vendor’s help if you have many users and their accounts need to be preconfigured with data from your existing systems.

Work with the CRM vendor to chart an implementation plan along with a detailed timeline that tracks deliverables. Some vendors may tie up with third-party service providers for implementation services. In that case, you’ll also need to inquire about the third-party provider’s role, reputation, charges, etc.

Thirty-eight percent of prospective CRM buyers who call our software advisors are currently using spreadsheets or other manual methods to store customer contacts and information. [3] If you’re like them and are looking for ways to automatically import the data saved in your existing tools and applications, you’ll need migration services.

Ask the vendor whether the software supports data migration and if there are any migration challenges or data loss chances during the process. Inquire if there are any preliminary steps you’ll have to take to standardize your existing CRM data for a smoother migration. If your CRM data is poorly managed or organized, chances are you’ll have to pay a higher data migration fee.

A CRM tool handles confidential customer information such as client addresses, payment details, and contact information. Double-check with the vendor about the security measures incorporated in the software to prevent breaches, hacking, malware, and DDoS attacks.

Ask questions about data center certifications (e.g., SOC II) and adherence to the GDPR, PCI DSS, and other global or local regulations applicable to your operations. Also, let the CRM provider know if you have any specific location preferences for data centers that’ll store your CRM data. 

Additionally, check the data storage limits offered in your subscription plan, and inquire about the charges for additional storage needed on a permanent or temporary basis. Look into the vendor’s data retention and backup policies as well.

Most CRM solutions offer a mobile app, but some don’t provide full access unless you upgrade to a premium pricing plan. Similar to software support, mobile app access can be limited per the pricing plan you’ve chosen.

CRM platform NetSuite lets users work from anywhere at any time through its mobile app

During a CRM demo, ask the vendor to take you through their mobile app. Check for security features, update frequency, ease of use, and offline capabilities. Having a mobile CRM application with full functionality is imperative for your customer-facing staff and will allow them to get their job done even on the move.

Buying software is no easy task. It can take several months of research, discussions, and planning. With some foresight, you can steer your buying team away from the wrong CRM software.