subject: If Your Crm System Isn't Combined With Task Management Your System Will Be Faulty [print this page] Sales don't happen in a vacuumSales don't happen in a vacuum. Sales, tasks, projects and even billing are all linked together. So if you want to see the full picture any system you choose must combine CRM functionality with task management software.
An obvious example of this is the selling process itself. The sales process includes customer contact and tasks. Making a follow up phone call is both customer contact and a task. They are so tightly intertwined it is impossible to separate one from the other, sales is simply a progression of tasks that turns leads into customers.
What happens after the sale is also a mixture of customer contact and tasks. The steps involved in efficient delivery are tasks but also customer relationship management. How well every task is performed will impact on your client relationships and your customers will influence the tasks required from your team. It really doesn't make sense to have separate systems.
Using separate software for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Task Management causes waste. Multiple systems waste staff hours. If your team have to enter data into two separate systems this will eat up valuable work hours. If they are not sure which system has the data they need, searching for it across two systems will cost more time. When the extra data hassle of using two systems becomes too much staff members often abandon using both programs and revert back to manual processes.
Running two systems will result in unreliable data. Staff may enter data into the wrong system. Or leave data unrecorded to save time. Due to the overlap between systems you'll encounter duplicate data. While other areas of your data will be patchy and incomplete.
When you run task management and CRM separately you also lose the complete picture of your business. Any reporting or charts generated will be incomplete as each system can see only a part of your operation. Making it more difficult for you to process data and make strategic business decisions.
Then there is the cost. By running two systems you double your expenses. Your monthly (or yearly) fee is doubled along with your data migration, customization and training costs. Even if your software provider offers free training you have to factor in the time your staff spend in training..
The ideal business solution combines CRM functionality with task management. You won't lose out on quality either. As most comprehensive (or total solution) systems have task management and CRM modules which are as strong as their stand alone counterparts.And many newer web based CRM systems have advanced task management included as standard.
When you merge task management with CRM capable software you can manage your client relationships, manage your staff and ultimately improve your whole business.
