How to Find the Best CRM for Your Franchise

1. Prioritize Ease of Use -- for Yourself and Customers

From Dan Tyre, sales director at HubSpot, a CRM provider

In 2019, every company has to be a technology company. It doesn’t matter if you’re a franchise, a , or a nonprofit -- buyers expect you to provide good service, and to do that, relationship management software, it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and was time-consuming to install. Now, in a modern , you’re looking for software that’s cost-­effective, quick to install, and straightforward to manage. It’s a red flag if you have to have an administrator set things up; that might mean it’s too difficult to use. You’re also looking for some critically important attributes that help integrate the sales and marketing processes into one. That’s a huge advantage for franchisees. In today’s world, it’s all about ‘smarketing’ -- salespeople market, and marketers sell, so if your CRM isn’t easily integrated with your marketing packet, it can get a little gnarly. Two features to ask about [if your company is in sales]: lead intelligence and lead notifications. That means if you’re a customer, every time you visit the website, I know you’re there, and the CRM notifies me as a business owner when you’re on certain pages, so I can rise like a genie from the keyboard and chat with you. Think: ‘I saw you’re on the pricing page -- what are you looking for help with?’ ”