Still using spreadsheets to manage your customer relationships and safely store the data that’s so valuable to your business? Well, we have good and bad news for you.
The good news? Well, there’s no doubt spreadsheets are a user-friendly and cost-effective way to organise your data, track sales, manage customer projects and information, or generate reports.
However, on the downside, relying on spreadsheets also comes with some inherent problems, such as an inability to track multiple sets of data, or control the latest version of client history. Further, their instability due to size and complexity, unhappiness when scaling past a certain point, and the opportunity for error due to manual input.
The result? Instead of being a boon to your business, using spreadsheets to maintain your customer data can quickly create a sales and service bottleneck.
Why is a CRM the next and best step forward?
More and more organisations are seeking a single solution to manage their customer relationships, projects, and all related data in one place. The good news is that a cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system can do this by:
- Providing your business with a single source of the truth
- Providing you with advanced reporting functionality
- Growing with your business
- Integrating seamlessly with your other business applications to minimise data entry errors or duplications
- Reporting that helps you build your business
- Automating tasks, creating alerts, and actions
- Easy, near real-time availability for sales or support teams on the go
Why CRMs are the superior choice for managing customer data
1. Keeping track of history – why does CRM come out on top?
When comparing the functionality of a spreadsheet to that of a CRM, the ability to track client and user history is one of the top differentiators.
With a CRM, you can review every phone call made, email sent, or previous meeting notes without the risk of deleting or losing client history. A CRM enables you to document every conversation and interaction, keeping you and future employees current and ready to hit the ground running every time.
Conversely, when using a spreadsheet, you are often forced to switch between multiple tabs or sheets, and users frequently overwrite data in static fields, resulting in the loss of historical data. Additionally, you can experience version control chaos and end up uncertain about the truth of your data.
2. Business intelligence – smarter data at your fingertips with CRM
The more you know about your customers, the better you can provide a memorable customer experience and the right solutions for their needs.
Keeping track of every customer transaction, their concerns and their needs over time does mean the difference between a successful customer relationship and one that’s purely transactional.
Using a CRM enables the consolidation of your data into a single system that can drive business insights, reporting and visualisation with one-click dashboards and scheduled reports.
Whereas, a spreadsheet simply provides the ability to store customer data. If you want more, like a stage-by-stage conversion report, you need to be able to write VBA or wait for someone who knows pivot tables.
3. Planning for success – be prepared without using multiple tools and apps
A missed reminder to follow up can cost your business dearly, as can a forgotten call or meeting with a customer.
A CRM solution, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, can proactively remind you of all your client activity each day as well as schedule future events, follow-ups, overdue actions, and meetings. Additionally, a CRM can provide an overview of a customer’s history or project, without requiring you to switch to another application.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for a spreadsheet. When it comes to the information you need for the day, a spreadsheet won’t cut the mustard. In fact, it takes multiple apps and software platforms just to manage your meetings for the afternoon, any follow-ups you have from the week, or even who you’re supposed to call that day.
4. Collaboration – get it together with CRM
Capturing, updating, and maintaining customer information is a team effort.
A CRM offers the unique ability to collaborate with your team in a way that spreadsheets cannot. For example, multiple users can be logged in simultaneously, allowing you to make ongoing collaborative edits to documents and assign tasks to a project or calendar item. Depending on the level of collaboration you wish to have, user permissions can be set up to access all files or only specific ones, tailored to each user.
If your team is working on a project together, all notes and emails on a client record can be made available for the duration of the project, ensuring everyone is up to date. With a CRM, you’re able to create or search for contacts, leave meeting notes for colleagues and confirm orders, all on your mobile device. By doing so, you’re far less likely to forget what happened during a meeting or lose essential items, such as phone numbers and email addresses. With cloud-based syncing across devices and users, you can maintain accurate data.
As for spreadsheets? If you’ve ever tried to work on a spreadsheet on mobile, you will know it isn’t easy. This may mean you will need to wait to update important information until you return to the office.
5. Reduce the risk of error, increase accountability with CRM
When it comes to customer loyalty, accuracy and service are everything.
CRM systems store customer information in one place, improving the analysis of data and integration with different tools. They also generate automatic reports to keep you up to date and help you make the most of your time.
Personalised dashboards help you quickly locate the information and reports you need. With activity and task reports in your CRM, you can ensure that your sales teams are completing all follow-ups, sending the correct information, and getting in touch with prospects.
But a spreadsheet? Using only a spreadsheet to maintain your customer and prospect data leaves your organisation open to a range of potential data input errors. The limitations of spreadsheets leave you with an inability to properly track data, leave notes or follow up on leads and orders. There is also a risk of data duplication, required fields being left blank, and users not being notified when a client issue arises.
In short, with a spreadsheet, you’re at risk of a manual copy-and-paste process leading to typos, outdated phone numbers, and “Bob Smith” appearing five different ways.
6. Excellent customer service – the art of CRM
Continuity of knowledge can make or break a customer relationship. No one wants to repeat themselves every time they discuss an order or an issue with you.
CRM enables every employee to deliver a consistently high level of service to customers. Even if your customer’s primary point of contact or a dedicated account manager is unavailable, whoever takes the call will have all the latest information at their fingertips, thanks to your CRM. With a spreadsheet, your customers will have to start afresh with someone they haven’t worked with before. This can leave them feeling frustrated by their experience due to a lack of understanding and knowledge.
7. Security and compliance risks – keep your data safe and sound with CRM
With constant headlines about security breaches and customer data being sold on the dark web or held to ransom, security is a hot topic for any business.
Today’s CRMs offer role-based permissions, audit logs, encryption, and a range of privacy tools to help meet your local compliance obligations and responsibilities.
Depending on the version of Excel you are using, the complexity of your password setting and length, and what the password controls (opening or modifying), someone with the right (and often free) tools can open your spreadsheet within seconds.
So a laptop left on a bus or in a café, or an emailed file which has been intercepted or sent to the wrong person, can mean your valuable customer data is there for the taking.
8. Scalability limits – not with cloud CRM!
With growth as the primary objective of most businesses, you need a way to store and utilise customer data that scales right alongside you.
A cloud-based CRM will scale infinitely, hold documents like contracts and automate processes. Whereas with a spreadsheet, 50 rows of data may be fine, but 50,000 can potentially slow Excel to a crawl and break Google Sheets filter views. And as for adding custom objects (e.g., contracts, support tickets), it’s practically impossible.
9. What else does CRM offer that excels?
Modern CRM solutions offer workflow or automation to drive efficiency and speed of service. You can auto-assign a new lead, trigger an email sequence, or set a follow-up reminder. And if your solution is AI-ready (as is Dynamics 365), you can leverage AI tools to speed up service and generate seamless communications without missing a beat.
Going back to an earlier comment: Spreadsheets hold the data you put into them. Period. They’re not integrated with your other line of business applications like email, calendars, phone systems, marketing tools, shipping, or billing.
CRM, a winning next move
In short, a spreadsheet is just a list. A CRM is a system: it enforces process, automates routine work, provides real-time insights, and protects the data you depend on.
For more information about how a CRM can benefit your sales, marketing and support teams, reach out. We’d love to talk.
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