CRM Software for UAE (All You Need to Know)

• What is CRM in Simple Terms?
• How Can CRM Help the Business?
• How Can CRM Improve Customer Service?
• How CRM Helps in Marketing
• How Does CRM Work?
• Features / Capabilities of CRM
• Who Needs a CRM System? / Are CRMs Worth the Investment?
• What is a CRM Strategy, and What is Included in it?
• What Does a CRM Strategy Include?
• What are the Types of CRM Strategies?
• What is Social CRM?
• What Are the Factors to be Considered Before Choosing a CRM Tool?
• Is CRM Useful for Small Businesses?
• Are There Free CRM Systems?
• CRM Pricing
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is CRM in Simple Terms?

CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management.” This kind of software enables business managers in UAE to manage information about potential business customers as well as existing ones. It provides tools and features that help managers ensure that they effectively remain in contact with the customers and fulfil their demands and needs. This practice of keeping in touch with customers, is a basic principle of effective business management.

If a business implements CRM, then there will be an elimination of manual sheets that store customer data such as name, address, relevant personnel, trading behaviour, ratings and other details. Instead, the CRM software can store all customer related information in one place which can be accessed with higher ease. This ease, then leads to better business performance in terms of customer satisfaction, customer retention and quality user experience which in turn, leads to business growth and success of the business. Next will be a discussion on how CRM works and the ease at which information can be generated.

How Can CRM Help the Business?

Following are a list of points that help to understand how CRM helps the business:

• Enhance quality of products and services

  CRM software helps to gather and store customer feedback about products or services. Take the example of a restaurant business. Let’s say for example, that customers complain about the rice quality in a platter. This feedback is stored in the CRM software. If more customers complain about the same problem, the business can immediately take corrective action to enhance and improve the rice quality of the meal. CRM will also help this business to closely monitor the customer’s taste, preferences, satisfaction and overall experience that the customer had with the restaurant. This will help the business improve their products and services daily, all due to the fact that the restaurant had a CRM in place.

• Better business expansion

  CRM has the ability to manage leads quickly and easily. The software will help the managers focus on the more higher potential leads to enable them to put their efforts into generating sales from these leads. In addition, the system provides comprehensive and centralized information about all functions of the business. Since the energy of the business is invested in the right direction, there will be more chance for the business to grow.

• Improved accounting numbers

  CRM leads to conversions, higher sales, enhanced profits, higher effectiveness of the marketing function, fast decision-making and higher value for investors. This makes CRM effective in performance drives in terms of numbers.

• Better decisions based on data analytics

  CRM has the ability to allow the business to read and understand current marketing trends. For example, there are higher numbers of queries about a specific product. This type of information about customer interest can help the planning and production departments to plan accordingly. So, business productivity will be expected to increase with the implementation of CRM. Furthermore, the functions and features of the CRM are designed to enhance the marketing’s function of customer service experience and effectiveness.

Following is a discussion on how CRM is effective in these areas.

How Can CRM Improve Customer Service?

The main advantage of a CRM is that it provides personalized data for existing customers. All this information and data are directed to enhance customer service and provide quality service. For instance, the CRM of a mobile network company shows that customer A had frequently been calling on the numbers of another network. Using this data, the customer service representative will be able to better guide the customer on available call packages. This means that decision making is enhanced based on the data that is given by the CRM.

How CRM Helps in Marketing

Since CRM can store data and information relevant to sales leads, this can help to improve the marketing function of the business. This puts the sales representatives in a better position to understand customer needs. For example, the CRM shows that a customer has been showing interest in a comparatively expensive product but this has not resulted in sales. Based on this information, the sales representative can introduce information to the customer about comparatively cheaper products in the hopes of generating sales from the customer. This interest from the customer can convert to sales for the business just by the efforts of the sales representatives using the information provided by the CRM. Similarly, a financing plan could also be offered to the customer if applicable.

Hence, with the implementation of the CRM function, effective marketing is achieved. Next we will see how this effectiveness Is achieved and how CRM works.

How Does CRM Work?

The working principle of CRM is based on the following features:

• Automation

  In a CRM software, repetitive tasks are executed without the need for manual input. If a feature of chat box is utilized, it can read a message from the customer and reply without delay. Similarly, sales and email automation tools can be connected with the overall sales system. This ease of use and practicality, can help the customer have an overall good quality experience of dealing with the business. This means that a higher business efficiency can be reached, with greater customer satisfaction.

• Customized solution

  CRM software can be modified and tailored depending on the business needs. It enables the business to offer customized solutions for any problems that the customer may have. There has been an increasing trend for customized customer demands in sectors such as health care, fitness, ecommerce, legal and retail. If the product or service is customized, the after-sales solution will need to be customized as well. It is important to note that every business is different, and so the customer interactions and communication patterns will also be different. For example insurance companies deal with adults whereas in the healthcare industry, both adults and children are taken care of.

• Integration

  CRM software allows the business to integrate different departmental activities. For instance, the technical and sales department data can be aligned. This means that any update by the technical department can instantly be seen on the screen of the customer care department. This puts the customer care officer in a position to be able to guide the customer about the status and other relevant details about their request. If the business were to use manual coordination about details exchanged between departments, there will be a delay in the execution of the whole process. So, since CRM can lead to higher integration, it results in higher work speed and therefore higher customer satisfaction.

These working aspects of the CRM helps to develop the following features which help businesses to execute the sales process.

Features / Capabilities of CRM

Following are some of the features or capabilities related to CRM:

• Customer database

  Maintaining a customer database is a vital element of any CRM. Information such as, customer name, address, contact number, focal person, buying habits, patterns and preferences can all be stored in a central location of the organization. Data can also be grouped and categorized. This enables the business to be able to take care of the customer depending on the needs and values of the customer. Having all this information in one location which enables easy access, leads to improved communication, better team coordinations and enhanced integration and customization.

• Lead management

  CRM helps to analyze and nurture leads from potential customers. The CRM can use the following tasks in order to gain higher conversions into sales:

  • Identifying which leads have the higher potential to convert into sales. This is mainly to identify which query has a higher potential for conversion.
  • Allows the team to focus more attention and energy on the more promising leads in order to increase the sale’s closing.
  • Key information and facts such as understanding customer requirements can be tracked for a specific lead. This key information will give the business an understanding of the customer, such as whether they are interested in certain products or services and all this will enable staff to see what can be done to close this lead into a sale.

  By what has been discussed, CRM can be an effective solution in helping business with effective deal management.

• Invoicing

  The invoicing feature leads to a combination of accounting and sales or marketing and is another useful feature of CRM. It saves staff from performing extensive manual work and also eliminates any potential invoicing mistakes. This is due to the fact that the data comes directly from the CRM database and there is more accuracy in invoice preparation and a higher speed of billing.

• Customer segmentation

  Customer segmentation occurs when customers are grouped together according to aspects such as customer location, payment behaviour, order size and type of product that they have purchased. The overarching purpose of segmentation is to customize and from a customers perspective, it helps to personalize the whole experience. Take the example of customers living in a hot climate. In this situation, there is no point in marketing products to them about products that might save people from being cold. If a business offers a wide range of products, then the requirement for customization is furthered increased.

• Marketing and sales automation

  A CRM can help marketing teams to create effective marketing campaigns while at the same time, reducing any manual efforts. For example, a CRM creates accounting records, yet the sales team do not need to spend time to create lead records, meaning they don’t need to manually record the name and other customer details on the register. Instead, the CRM automatically records all this information in the database. Other remarkable features of a CRM in this regard, include automated research, automated data entry, automated communication (automated emails, meeting schedules, and voicemail etc), automation for lead management, and automated guidance.

• Customer retention

  CRM helps to ensure that customer queries are answered on time, that their problems are resolved efficiently and that their needs are fulfilled. In this way, the aspect of customer management is effective and this leads to repeat business and higher customer retention. In other words, if a customer is satisfied and happy with a service or product, they will keep engaging in repeat business, which then means that there will be higher levels of customer retention.

• Big data analytics

  Integrating big data with CRM is an increasing trend since valuable information can be generated that can help management make operational and financial decisions. Such information obtained include data that helps with market analysis, enhanced customer understanding, predictive modelling in terms of customer demand and a drive for higher revenue and growth. This leads to the conclusion that CRM can set the right direction for how the business would like to advance and grow and the information can be used by decision makers to ensure that growth will occur.

This leads to the next question which is, who should invest in CRM Software.

Who Needs a CRM System? / Are CRMs Worth the Investment?

In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to see whether your business experiences the following problems. If so, it may indicate that you could beneficially implement CRM to improve your business.

• Finding it hard to manage customer data.

  If your business is growing, it will get to a certain point where it becomes difficult to manage customer information. For example, without a CRM, you may find that staff are including customer information in emails, Excel worksheets or even sticky notes. Notwithstanding the fact that if you are dealing with a customer, there may be a massive hurdle in the interaction if you cannot locate the customer details instantly. This is where a CRM can be extremely beneficial. It creates a centralized resource where anyone in the organisation can have the ability to access customer information and this will allow queries to be resolved quickly. This means that customer interaction and customer management can be effectively improved.

• Finding it hard to manage sales leads

  If you are getting more leads in your business, this will be fortunate. However, with more and more leads, this will inevitably lead to a situation in which dealing with many queries will become excessive and problematic. This indicates that you may benefit by implementing CRM. CRM will be able to highlight the stronger leads which have a higher potential to convert. So the sales representatives will be in a position to deal with those customers and convert more leads into sales.

• You need more control over your sales team

  It may be difficult sometimes for management to control and keep an eye on the sales team. Especially, in the situation where the sales team work remotely, it may be harder for management to monitor whether the staff have been working productively or wasting time. In this situation, CRM will enable management to control the team activities as there is a detailed log which they can access and review at any time. So the implementation of CRM allows management to effectively manage the team to be more productive.

• You are not sure about business growth

  You may experience some hesitancy if your company is scaling with more growth. This lack of confidence about the growth of you business or the direction that it is headed, is a strong signal that your business could benefit with implementation of CRM. CRM can help with business growth by providing tools and systems to manage things effectively. So, if for example, your company is experiencing a growth in the number of customers, and you find it difficult to manage situations to keep things on track, a CRM will be able to help.

• There is a need to improve customer service

  Utilizing a CRM software is a great resource to learn about your target customer, enhance customer understanding, have a higher market understanding and coming up with solutions to manage customer complaints. This invariably leads to improved customer service. If for example, the business suddenly has an influx of complaints, this may indicate to management that there is some serious problem with your product or service. With the list of features just mentioned, a CRM can enable management to take proactive actions by introducing modifications in order to gain more customer satisfaction.

It is important to note that CRM implementation is more effective when a proper CRM policy is in place. Let’s now turn to what CRM Strategy is and what types of strategies there are.

What is a CRM Strategy, and What is Included in it?

CRM strategy is a plan or vision that management would like to invoke in order to enhance customer experience. In other words, the goal is to attract more customers and also customer retention. In order to fulfil the vision, the business will need to implement changes and improve upon their processes and system. Firstly, there is a need to look at the current system and find gaps or areas in which improvements can be made. For example, under a CRM strategy, to satisfy customers, the business might decide to introduce an online sales portal in order to gain more customer satisfaction.

This strategy will permeate the following elements into the business:

• Enhanced customer satisfaction with higher retention.
• Improved departmental communication and collaboration in marketing, sales, purchasing, production, finance as well as others.
• Improved departmental performance. With the right strategy, opportunities can be clearly identified and action can be taken quickly by identifying leads and opportunities.
• By placing concentration and efforts on leads, this will enable more leads developing into actual sales.
• Ensure the marketing function is effective.
• Obtaining and generating concrete figures, data and information from the system that will enable management to make decisions about future business strategies.

In order to achieve all of the above mentioned benefits, there is a need to implement components that make the strategy effective. These components of CRM strategy are as follows:

What Does a CRM Strategy Include?

The main components of CRM strategy is as follows:

• Vision and goals

  The vision and goals that you have for your company must be aligned with the CRM strategy. This ensures that all efforts by all employees of the business can be on the same wavelength and direction. To put it simply, the working plan (CRM) must help to achieve the pre-set goals and visions.

• Identification of target customers

  Understanding customer needs and ensuring their effective fulfilment is necessary for the CRM strategy. Understanding buyer profiles is important as it makes all efforts customer-centric.

• Journal Mapping

  This means that the strategy in place is to take steps to acquire a customer as well as having the goal of enhancing customer experience at every step. Let us take the example of a real estate business. All required steps that need to be taken to close a deal may include the sales lead, customer survey, financing, title transfer, to name just a few. There is the need to answer questions at each stage of closing. These questions which need to be asked might be, which personnel is better for which stage, how interactions can be enhanced and how customer experience can be improved at each stage of the process.

• Integration

  This refers to when functions and features of the CRM are integrated. The organization’s processes are enhanced and this leads to higher business performance from a customer perspective. This is because there will be greater improvement in the communication capabilities of the organization.

• Artificial intelligence (AI)

  CRM can be integrated with AI in three main areas, which are, customer service, lead management and predictive advice. For instance, in the realm of customer service, a chat box, predicated by AI can reply to customer queries. AI can also rank the leads that the sales team have by prioritising the ones with a higher potential for conversion into sales. Finally, In terms of predictive advice, AI can advise what actions should be taken in order to enhance customer experience.

• Automation

  There are numerous ways in which automation in CRM can lead to a fast customer response. Workflows for certain actions can be automated. One way that illustrates how CRM can help in automation is to send an automated email to a customer when they send a query.

• Drive useful data

  With the use of CRM, the collection of customer and business related details are stored in the database. This database that grows with time, will lead to having an information filled and solid database that can be used to mine the data. This results in the extraction of useful information to enable actions and decisions to be taken to enhance the product or services.

What are the Types of CRM Strategies?

The following are the main types of CRM strategies:

• Collaborative CRM

  This type of CRM is designed to enhance communication between organizations related to customer services. It is a collaboration between companies that helps in effective customer interaction, back office preparation, sales intelligence, sales collaboration and better management of customer queries.

• Analytical CRM

  This type of CRM is designed to let the business understand the customer needs and wants. By using this CRM, the company is able to understand their customer, satisfy the customer's needs and also retain their customers. Analysis in different areas can be made such as sales data, financial data and marketing data. Detailed studies can be made based on details such as customer return history, preference (sales data), credit score, payment type, credit history (financial data) and customer response rate, satisfaction and retention (marketing data).

• Operational CRM

  This type of CRM is designed to enhance customer leads and the conversion to sales.

Overall, CRM is about customer attraction, satisfaction and retention. In todays world, with the ever presence of social media, customer attraction is mostly based on the effectiveness of digital marketing and social media platforms. Next, will be a discussion about how to understand CRM from the perspective of social CRM.

What is Social CRM?

When traditional CRM is integrated with social media platforms this is termed as Social CRM. The basis is that data can be extracted about customer behaviour and how they interact with products and services. Social media enables the business to understand awareness metrics that help to build the business. These awareness metrics include, keyword volumes, number of followers, social engagement, social mentions, website traffic, daily website visitors, most visited product pages and overall social acceptance.

Along with traditional analysis, all of this extra information can help direct correct business directions. Hence, this information combined will be able to add significant value to the business.

What are the Benefits of Social CRM?

• It helps to enhance customer experience while keeping the costs of this to a minimum.
• Formulation of marketing campaigns will be possible as social analytics of a large pool of prospective customers are obtained.
• The data obtained via social media platforms enable the business to understand customer sentiments, the value offered by the product and overall analytics.

These three aspects help to enhance user experience which is the backbone for customer retention and satisfaction. In order to work effectively, a social CRM strategy needs to be in place to achieve the above mentioned benefits. The following will explain.

What is a Social CRM Strategy?

A good CRM strategy is designed to give a quality interaction with the public. It must indicate to the customer that the business will help to solve customer problems and fulfil their needs. A few tips that will help to formulate an effective social CRM strategy is as follows:

1. Identification of organizational goals.
2. Targeting highly relevant prospects by starting small.
3. Respond quickly to customer queries while at the same time, engaging in two-way communication.
4. In terms of themes and presentation, try to bring a personal touch to build rapport.
5. Engage in influencer marketing.
6. Aim to reach a highly relevant audience.

The ultimate goal of any business is to drive sales and build a reputable brand. An effective CRM strategy will help to do this. However, before choosing any CRM for your business, there is a need to consider different factors which will now be disclosed.

What Are the Factors to be Considered Before Choosing a CRM Tool?

The following factors must be considered before choosing a CRM tool:

• Data storage

  In terms of storing data securely, there are two options. The first is to store the CRM data on a remote server which is cloud-based. The other alternative is to store your data on physical computers. This is usually recommended when there is a large amount of data. Otherwise a cloud server is recommended for small and medium businesses.

• AI support

  AI is an essential feature of any CRM. The success of the CRM implementation is based on AI support and algorithms. By using CRM, along with AI, it can rank leads with higher potential for conversion. This in turn, will increase the chance of business growth and expansion.

• Customization

  This allows the CRM software to be tailored to the needs which are specific to that business. For example, the business may require custom fields which are related to opportunities and contact. This may not be available on the default contact forms.

• User experience

  This relates to how difficult or how easy it is to use the software.

• Scalability

  There is a need to see if the CRM will be able to scale up in line with the growth of the business. The CRM needs to be able to tackle the increasing demand of the business as the growth of business means that there will be a higher number of customers.

• Level of customer engagement

  Multiple points of customer engagement should be provided by a successful CRM. For instance, effective CRM provides a web form, automatic welcome email, live chat software and built-in capacity to engage with the customer.

• Security of data

  Due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks where data is destroyed, there is a need to assess whether the CRM service provider will be able to protect and secure your data. There is a particular need to confirm that the service provider has enough security and firewalls installed to protect your data. If you are a large business and store large amounts of data in your own data server, then it will be the task of the business, in particular, the IT department, to build data security and backups.

The next issue to be addressed is to see if CRM is only useful for large businesses or if small and medium businesses should consider implementing it.

Is CRM Useful for Small Businesses?

CRM can equally be valuable for small and growing businesses. Since the overall purpose of a CRM is to increase sales, while leaving a good impression with the customer, through higher customer satisfaction and effective customer management, then any business, no matter how small can benefit because of the following:

• It helps to identify problems that could potentially have an adverse impact on the business. For example, in a real estate developing company, a higher number of complaints for an incident at the work site can suggest that there is a need to adopt safety precautions.
• CRM helps to keep track of the organizational goals and vision to ensure that the business is heading in the right direction. For instance, automated performance reports can be generated at the end of a reporting period to see if the business has achieved its targets.
• CRM allows strong ties to be built with customers. This is because a CRM enables the business to respond quickly to customer queries which leads to an enhanced customer experience. Furthermore, dispute management can be effectively managed as CRM enables more departmental coordination.

These are just some benefits that are equally valuable for small businesses with the added bonus that it will help the business grow. Nevertheless, there is a need to compare costs with the benefits. A decision to implement CRM should be undertaken as long as the benefits exceeds the cost. If the costs are more than the benefits, then you may consider implementing free solutions.

Are There Free CRM Systems?

The answer is “yes”, there are free CRMs that can be implemented in your business. Yet, not all tools and features are offered for free. It can be likened to accounting software which provide basic tools and functions in the basic plan, but upgrades can be made as the business grows. Different CRM services can provide free services, however the extent of free services is different for different companies. Thus, if you choose a specific CRM, you will need to consider whether you can upgrade to a higher plan if the business growth should occur later.

Generally, the following features are available with a free subscription:

• Sales and contact management

  Sales and contact management is a basic feature that is included in CRMs. It should have the capability of storing a few hundred contact details with all the flexibility that is offered by a premium subscription. You should also be able to customize the features of the software in line with your sales process.

• Integration with third party apps

  Some CRMs may have limited integration with other apps. You may receive a demo to explain how a software works. If you feel that your business will benefit from integration and that it would add value, then it would be wise to consider upgrading the subscription.

• Reporting and analytics

  Comprehensive reports concerned with data related to customer queries, customer buying satisfaction, customer buying patterns, leads, and other features can be generated. If you consider a premium paid subscription, the CRM can help to generate reports with advanced analytics.

• Ease in executing operations

  CRM will enable an element of ease in regards to operational and routine tasks such as emails, calls, contact creation and timely responses to customer queries. Even free versions of CRM software can offer an element of ease in regards to executing operational tasks.

However, advanced features such as AI, algorithms, lead ranking, unlimited contract management and advanced analytics come with a premium subscription. This leads the discussion on the cost of CRMs that have premium subscription.

CRM Pricing

Depending on the functions and features that are required for your particular business, and also the users that you want to add, a CRM software price ranges from AED 40 to AED 2000+ per user per month. CRMs that are priced below AED 120 usually provide features like operational tasks management (emails, events, calls, and contact management), advanced filters, monitoring sales pipeline, email insights and currency management.

If the budget is increased to under AED 200, additional features such as macros, sales signals, assignment rules and others can be added.

If you increase the budget to AED 300, features like portal access, (to manage customers, vendors and partners), data entry wizards like sequential forms, capturing lead information from emails and customized understanding for the specific customer can be obtained with marketing automation, dashboards, web analytics, anomaly detectors and advanced security features like data encryption, territory management and record level sharing can be added.

If you increase the budget to exceed AED 400, more advanced features including analytics and reports to help decision making can be generated. It should be noted that all subscriptions are offered for free during an initial trial period.

Conclusion

The main purpose of CRM software is to enhance the customer management capacity of the business. For all businesses that are experiencing an increasing customer base and business growth, there is a need to implement software that helps to manage contacts, communications, queries and replies, measuring response speed and analytics related to customer satisfaction and customer retention.

CRM software also enables the business to enjoy the fruits of automation and integration. It leads to higher business efficiency, lower manual work and higher chance of successful operational execution. The implementation of CRM will enhance customer experience, customer satisfaction and retention.

CRMs can also be equally useful for small businesses if there is an expectation that the business will experience growth in the customer database. As with all large strategic business decisions, there is a necessity for the business to practice due diligence and consider the cost benefit analysis before opting for implementation of a CRM. To help with the cost element, many CRM companies can offer different subscriptions for small businesses so this will enable them to implement the functions and features in line with their needs.

The pricing for CRM varies from approximately AED 50 to AED 2000+ per month. As the pricing increases, the CRM plan will come with more advanced features. Examples of these advanced features which generally are included with advanced and premium subscriptions include AI features, algorithms, lead ranking based on an algorithm and data encryptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cloud based CRM software?

When company data such as customer contact details, related information for marketing, leads, customer interest, buying pattern and reporting analytics are stored in a remove server, this is known as cloud-based CRM software. This kind of data is arranged and managed by the service provider that offers the CRM subscription software. The service provider is responsible for ensuring that data security, data back-ups and applying security measures like firewall and threat management related to cyber-attacks are in place.

What is CRM software with “all-in-one“ capabilities?

All-in-one CRM is software that provides comprehensive features, functions and tools. These features lie in sales force automation, process automation and management, product customization, market automation, report and analytics and security. The cost of an all-in-one CRM is expected to be approximately AED 400+ per user per month.

How can AI help companies to boost CRM practices?

AI is advanced enough to enhance CRM practice in different areas of business management. These areas include, lead qualification or ranking analysis, sentiment analysis during a marketing call, personalized content production for social media (posts, news, landing pages) and mining on the data to obtain logical information effective in decision making.

Further areas where AI can assist, include sales forecasting, lead scoring and ranking, customer churn reduction, automated email response, data cleaning and mining, to name just a few.

How long does CRM implementation take?

For small businesses, CRM implementation can take from 1 month approximately and up to 1 year for larger enterprises.

It is important to note that about one third of CRM implementations fail, which results in wasted business resources. By following a CRM implementation best practice guide, which should be obtained from the CRM software provider, you can reduce any chance of failure.

As a small business owner, you don’t have to spend time and energy for implementation of a CRM. We can offer you an easy-to-use alternative: our all-in-one small business solutions for UAE that come equipped with features such as a customer database, inventory, invoicing as well as accounting features:

• Simple invoice software with customer database for small business
• Free invoice software with customer database for small business