Software as a Service (SaaS) is a well-known business model in which organizations host and license their software from a cloud-based server on the basis of subscriptions. CRM solutions that are offered by SaaS have revolutionized the sales and customer support operations of businesses, especially startups and SMEs, over the last couple of decades. Thanks to these solutions, enterprises can stay connected with leads and customers by responding to their queries and issues round the clock, without burning a hole in their pockets.

Whether your startup has ten employees or a hundred, you can count on a SaaS-based CRM solution to help you streamline sales operations, build stronger relationships with customers, close more leads and scale your business in an efficient, professional manner. With the right reports and analytics, you can organize and grow your business - both in size and operations in a timely way. Not to forget, cloud-based CRM platforms have helped businesses in building their brand reputation greatly. Here are some of the ways in which CRM platforms have changed the way SMEs and startups work.

• Streamlining operations: Startups and SMEs generally find themselves in the midst of chaos when it comes to sales and support operations. This is where a CRM solution comes into the picture. By bringing together all the necessary sales and customer support data in one place, a CRM solution streamlines business operations. Precise and timely entries made using CRM can help in making the sales and support processes more transparent and regulated. Through automations, your startup can organize data and enhance customer-facing processes.

• Scalability: Generally, growth is the main focus of any small or medium-sized enterprise. Cloud-based CRM solutions scale as and when your marketing, sales and support teams grow in size. With easy adoption and data migration, businesses can now experience seamless, better growth.

• Dashboards: CRM platforms can provide small and mid-sized business with a unified dashboard containing all the required sales or support-related data. In addition to being easy to use, these unified

dashboards enhance data organization and visibility. For instance, a single ticketing dashboard entailing all the incoming tickets from various channels (chat, calls, e-mail, Facebook etc) can help agents in responding to them without having to switch screens or applications.

• API integrations: All businesses use several internal or third-party systems for various operational reasons. Through API, you can integrate your cloud-based CRM with these systems for better data flow and team collaborations. These integrations let businesses stay relevant in a market that is constantly evolving. Several small firms create products with open APIs in order to encourage fast growth and adoption. API integrations are secure and reliable.

• Social media integrations: Enterprises (business-to-business or business-to-customers) can link their social media channels to their CRMs easily. This makes way for smooth and easy communication between the enterprise and its customers. Not only do these integrations help in delivering better customer experiences, but they also help businesses receive accurate marketing insights using social media-related information.

• Real-time reporting and analytics: SaaS-based CRMs make it easy for growing businesses to make well-informed decisions with accurate real-time reports and analytics. This also helps organizations measure the performance of support teams, sales teams and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns that are being followed. Thanks to the data captured in the CRM, businesses can come up with predictions and customer behaviour patterns as well.

• Customizable: Different businesses have different operational management needs. SMEs and startups can customize their CRM platform according to their budget, needs and industry-specific requirements. This includes custom integrations with non-CRM tools and systems as well.

• Customer-centric management: Through tools like customer profiling, cloud-based CRMs let enterprises filter and prioritize customers. This lets the organization attend to priority issues and tickets in an efficient, timely manner. Moreover, organizations can be sure that all their leads are attended to, thanks to CRM. In addition to this, mapping customer journey and having a clear record of upcoming customer meetings and follow-ups are made easier.

• Ease of use: Cloud-based CRMs are easy to use and navigate through. The user interface is generally very straightforward and simple. Easy and efficient data migration from other systems and easy set-up also adds to this factor. CRM systems focus on usability as much as the functionality of the platform. CRMs that are easy to use result in hassle-free sales and support operations.

CRM systems have successfully provided startups and SMEs with end-to-end solutions that they were looking for. This has helped them organize and streamline their sales and customer support operations. These systems have assisted businesses in reducing their customer response time and accentuating the data flow within their internal teams and departments. CRM solutions are affordable, secure and reliable.

SaaS-based CRM systems have been evolving and transforming the way businesses delivers customer experiences. By adopting CRM into their business operations, startups and mid-sized businesses have set up a functional, efficient business process that is certainly necessary for their success.