Choosing The Right CRM For Your Small Business

As your small business grows, managing client relationships can become a bit overwhelming and complex. You're juggling multiple clients, keeping track of conversations, and trying to provide that all important personalized attention to everyone. 

This management of it all is where a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system becomes a must-have.

But not all CRMs are created equal. The choice between a contact-centric and a more relational CRM can impact how you manage your business and serve your clients. 

Let's take a look at these CRM options to help you make the best choice for your business!

Understanding CRM Types

A Contact Centric CRM

What is a Contact Centric CRM?

This kind of management system is focused on managing contact records and:

• primarily tracks basic contact information

• focuses on one-to-one relationships

• simpler data structure

Main Features of A Contact Centric CRM:
• Contact information storage

• Basic communication tracking

• Task management

• Simple follow-up systems

Mostly Used By & For:

• Solo business owners 

• Businesses with smaller client bases

• Managing short-term client relationships

• Setting up simple service delivery models

Relational CRMs

What is a Relational CRM?

This kind of system focused on supporting a more extensive relationship network

• Tracks complex client interactions

• Manages multiple relationship types

• More sophisticated data connections and management

Main Features of a Relational CRM:

• Advanced relationship mapping and management 

• Comprehensive interaction history and analytics

• Automated workflow capabilities and segmentation

• Detailed client journey tracking

Mostly Used For & By:

• Growing practices or larger businesses

• Nurturing long-term client relationships

• Managing group programs or multiple offers

• Complex service offerings

Understanding these fundamental differences is your first step in choosing the right system for your business.

Key Differences - Content Centric vs. Relational

There are some specific differences between these CRM types and understanding them will help you make the best choice for your business.

For Data Organization

• Contact Centric: Information revolves around the individual contact records. Each client exists as a separate entity with their own data.

• Relational: Information is interconnected, showing relationships between contacts, companies, projects, and other entities within your business.

Client Journey Tracking

• Contact Centric: Basic stage tracking, often linear and focused on simple milestones on the customer journey.

• Relational: More comprehensive journey mapping, allowing for complex paths and/or multiple simultaneous journeys.

Communication Capabilities

• Contact Centric: Direct communications with individual contacts, often with basic templating.

• Relational: More complex communication flows that can involve multiple people and adapt based on relationships and customer behaviors.

Automation Features

• Contact Centric: Simple automations based on individual contact actions.

• Relational: Complex automations that can consider multiple factors, relationships, and conditions.

Reporting and Analytics

• Contact Centric: Basic reporting on contact-level metrics and activities.

• Relational: Advanced analytics that can reveal patterns across relationships, groups, and complex interactions.

Common CRM Features to Consider For Your Business

Whether you choose a contact-centric or a relational CRM, there are certain pieces of every good CRM that you should consider for your business. 

Look at each of these features and make note of where your specific business needs the support. Once you know what you do and don’t need out of a CRM, choosing the best one for you becomes easier.  

I Need Contact Management:

• Contact information storage and organization

• Custom fields for specific client details

• Tagging and categorization options

• Contact history and interaction tracking

I Need Pipeline Management:

• Visual client journey tracking

• Stage progression automation

• Opportunity management

• Conversion tracking and analytics

I Need Email Integration:

• Email syncing capabilities

• Template management

• Scheduled sending

• Open and click tracking

• Conversation history

I Need Task Automation:

• Follow-up reminders

• Workflow triggers

• Automated data entry

• Schedule management

• Recurring task creation

I Need Reporting Tools:

• Performance dashboards

• Conversion metrics

• Activity tracking

• Custom report creation

• Data visualization options

You may need all of these, or some are more important than others right now, but when you go into your tech investments with your needs clearly defined, you can make your choice much quicker. 

Choosing A CRM Based on Your Business Needs

Now that we’ve pulled apart these two CRM options, let's determine which aligns best with your specific business needs.

These are the things you should consider when choosing the right CRM for you:

Your Business Size 

• Solo practitioners may find a contact-centric CRMs sufficient for their needs

• Growing teams often benefit from relational CRMs that support collaboration across multiple members or departments 

• Consider your 12-month growth plans when deciding

Your Service Delivery Model

• One-on-one services might work well with contact-centric systems

• Group programs typically require relational capabilities

• Mixed service models generally benefit from relational CRMs

Your Specific Client Interaction Patterns

• Short, transactional relationships work well for a contact-centric systems

• Long-term, evolving client journeys benefit from relational tracking

• Consider how your clients typically progress through your services

Your Business Growth Plans

• Planning to add team members? Relational CRMs usually offer better collaboration capabilities

• Expanding service offerings? Relational systems adapt better to complexity

• Staying solo with a more focused service offering? Contact-centric might be a great fit

Your Current Budget 

• Contact-centric systems are often more affordable initially

• Relational CRMs typically require greater investment but offer more future scalability

• Consider total cost of ownership, including setup and training time

Remember, the right choice isn't about which system has more features—it's about which aligns best with how you work with clients and how you plan to grow your business.

Before You Make Your Final Decision…

Just a few final things to think about before you choose the best CRM for your business.

Initial Setup & Implementation

• How complex is the system & does it require more tech knowledge than you currently have?

• Does the system integrate with your existing tools?

• What are the available support & training resources?

• What does the data migration look like from your current system to the new one?

• What is your realistic timeline for getting your new CRM up & running?

A Few Things To Help You Make Your Choice:

• Create a needs assessment checklist specific to your business

• Request demos focused on your typical workflows

• Take advantage of free trials or free demos

• Ask specific questions about scalability and future growth specific to your business

• Consider total cost of ownership, not just monthly fees

Remember that the best CRM is the one you'll actually use. 

It should be a system that feels intuitive and aligns with how you naturally work, not just the one with the most features! The right CRM should grow with your business while making your current operations smoother and more efficient.

Choosing the right CRM is an important decision for your business. Whether you select a contact-centric system for its simplicity or a relational CRM for its depth and capability, the most important factor is how well it aligns with your specific client relationships and business goals.

Your CRM should work for you, not the other way around. It should simplify your processes, enhance your client connections, and free you to focus on delivering transformative services.

Automation on a Mission offers a relational CRM that balances powerful capabilities with a truly user-friendly design. Our system was built to support the unique needs of service-based entrepreneurs like you, with features that nurture authentic client relationships while streamlining your back-office operations.

Ready to see how the right CRM can transform your business? 

Book a free demo with Automation on a Mission and discover a CRM system that grows with you while maintaining the personal touch your clients love!

Your client relationships deserve the best foundation and experience! Choose wisely.