How to choose the right CRM system for your organisation – A comprehensive guide

ChildcareCRM, the leading early childhood education and care (ECEC) lead management software provider, has released a new guide, “Choosing the Right CRM for Your Childcare Organisation” to enable providers to be fully informed when selecting a customer relationship management (CRM) partner. 

 

CEO Matt Amoia said ChildcareCRM is pleased to present the new guide to the ECEC sector. 

 

“It is the first of its kind to be released and goes a long way to explaining the what, why and how of a CRM system as well as provide some useful checklists and other materials,” he added.

 

“Given our network of services exceeds 4,000 globally we are in a great position to be able to capture the fundamentals of CRM and we feel strongly it will add value to the ECEC community.”

 

Defining a CRM system, the benefits of ECEC focus and why it is an essential tool

 

Consistent with ChildcareCRM’s mission to help bridge the gap of understanding of what a CRM system is, the guide begins by defining CRM as Customer Relationship Management and introducing CRM platforms as a software tool that help with gathering data from multiple sources to provide a centre manager with a comprehensive view of a family, capturing any past communication held with them.

 

“We know that businesses that utilise a CRM see a 47 per cent higher customer retention rate than those who do not,” Mr Amoia said, “and that childcare centres that follow up with a prospective family first have an 80 per cent higher likelihood of gaining that enrollment, so it makes sense to us that services should be actively using these tools in their day to day operations.” 

 

By defining precisely what a CRM system is and why it should be used the Guide sets the scene for a step by step primer on the different features a modern CRM system must have to meet the needs of their users, both large and small. 

 

The key features of a CRM system for small, medium and enterprise providers

 

Using the CRM Essential Features Roadmap section, the Guide describes the main parts of a CRM system available for providers of all shapes and sizes with the following key features providing an essential foundation to the system:

 

• Lead and Child management
• Task management
• Automated communications
• Text communications
• Lead capture, including through integrations with search and listing platforms
• Dashboard reporting
• Online parent profiles

 

CRM systems, Mr Amoia explained, “should also have integrations with childcare management systems, be secure, and have both desktop and mobile applications enabling leaders to track performance at any time of the day and from anywhere.”

 

For larger enterprise type providers additional essential features include customisable workflows, drip marketing campaign capabilities, multi centre views, reporting and analytics and branding flexibility. 

 

To download “Choosing the Right CRM for Your Childcare Organisation” please click here.