CRM vs Excel

Analytics and customer relationship management tools are an integral part of modern business. Although you can find various CRM proposals on the market, some companies still use Excel for this purpose. Spreadsheets – despite their ubiquity and lack of fees – have quite a few drawbacks and are definitely inferior to a CRM system. Why swap Excel for CRM? Learn the 6 key arguments!

Argument 1: Intuitiveness of the environment

Excel contains a number of helpful formulas and mechanisms, but they are not discussed when you first start the program. Implementation in a spreadsheet requires either special training or many hours of self-exploration. CRM systems in this regard are much easier to use, even if you have not used such a tool before. What’s more, many systems have a user-friendly tutorial implemented to introduce the user to key functionalities.

Argument 2: Scalability of work

Can you imagine a situation where Coca Cola, Mercedes, Santander Bank or any other large corporation relies solely on CRM? Thousands of employees using a single spreadsheet in parallel sounds like a recipe for disaster. Even with a team of just a few people, CRM is proving to be a much more efficient tool that can be easily scaled. This means that even with a surge in employment, the system will work without overload, without errors and without changes with a few minutes of delay.

Argument 3: Effective use of time

The fact is that Excel contains numerous formulas to streamline your work. However, implementing them and later adding data requires manual input of variables. A simple example: when calling a customer, you have to manually enter the name of the contractor, the date and time of the call, the subject of the call and briefly summarize the conversation, which will take about 2 minutes. The CRM system itself will record the customer contact, and you will add a short note about the conversation, which will take less than 15 seconds. On the scale of 35 contacts, you save over an hour of tedious work!

Argument 4: Automation of work

The above example with calling a customer is just one of many work automation schemes. The CRM system offers a number of tools that will shift many of the tedious duties into established routines. You don’t have to manually verify payments – the system itself will remind contractors of an unpaid invoice. You don’t need to check email inboxes or social media profiles – all leads will be collected and sorted accordingly. And that’s just the beginning of the CRM system’s capabilities!

Argument 5: Comprehensive integration capability

CRM is a system that offers huge configuration possibilities, so it will be the answer for any organization. Functionality can be added to the system by installing appropriate plug-ins or extending the existing package. Excel has no such possibility – it is a tool with predetermined functionalities. Example? If you want to integrate your CRM with artificial intelligence modules in SalesWizard, all you have to do is buy the Master plan. For Excel, integration with Open AI is not possible.

Argument 6: Greater security

There is no denying that the processing of customer data is fraught with great responsibility. It is therefore necessary to secure all acquired information from unauthorized access. While Excel offers basic, relatively easy to bypass access rationing, CRM systems rely on multi-step protection preceded by employee authentication. Constantly developed and updated CRM system is a guarantee of maximum protection against hacking attacks.

Summary: the winner already known in the pre-runs

Confronting a CRM system with an Excel spreadsheet yields a predetermined result. In virtually every respect, dedicated CRM tools will be better than a sheet with limited capabilities and narrow potential. The above six arguments are just the beginning of a long list of reasons why you should swap Excel for CRM. Systems – such as SalesWizard – offer a range of solutions that address daily challenges in the company. You can experience the potential of this particular CRM system during a free seven-day trial period