What is a CRM? Do you really need one?
A simple explanation, a real example and honest pointers to help you decide whether your business really needs one.
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It's 7 p.m. and the working day is supposed to be over. Yet you're still thinking about the client who called this morning, between two appointments. Did they want a quote? A date? You wrote it down somewhere. On a sticky note, maybe, or in an email you sent yourself. Or was it in the Excel file, the one you update whenever you have five minutes.
It's an ordinary scene, and it has nothing to do with being disorganised. When you run a business alone or as a pair, your head ends up doubling as address book and diary. Sooner or later, it fills up. A CRM is there to take some of that weight off. But what is a CRM, exactly? And do you need one?
What is a CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It's software that keeps everything about your clients in one place: their details, what you've discussed, the quotes you've sent, the invoices, and what still needs doing for each of them.
Put simply, it's your business's memory. You no longer have to remember everything, because the tool shows you what's waiting for an answer.
The word sounds like "big company", with a sales team and a Monday morning meeting. That's a shame, because the idea is very simple. A plumber who works alone may need one just as much as an SME with twenty people.
What a CRM actually does
Every tool has its quirks, but the core is almost always the same.
Each client has their own record. It holds their phone number and address, of course, but above all the history: the call in March, the quote in April, the comment they made about lead times. Before you call back, you know where things stand.
Then there are reminders. "Call Mr Peeters back on Thursday", "chase the bakery about the quote": you note it once, and the tool brings it back up on the right day.
Most CRMs also track quotes (sent, accepted, no reply) and prepare documents from what you've already entered. You no longer type the same address for the third time. A dashboard sums up the current month, so you don't have to open ten files to see where you stand.
A real example: a property owner's CRM
We built a CRM for an owner with around fifty tenants, more than fifty homes and two companies. Before, everything went through one person. Checking who had paid, writing reminders, keeping track of rent indexations, finding a tradesperson when something broke.
Take a rent payment that hasn't arrived. In the rental management CRM designed by YUGEN AGENCY, the tenant's record shows the missing month in red and suggests the next step. The reminder is already written, with the right amount. All that's left is choosing how to send it: email, WhatsApp or post. If nothing happens, the tool suggests a formal notice, then a payment plan.
For rent indexation, the owner is alerted in time and the official letter is ready. The calculation itself is done on the Statbel website, then the new rent is entered in the tool.
And when a tap leaks at a tenant's flat, a ticket is opened. In the contacts, the plumber is there, with a list of past jobs. If they've already been to that home, you see it straight away. The appointment you set appears in the calendar.
In the morning, a single screen sums up the month's rent and everything awaiting an answer. That list no longer has to live in anyone's head.
This project confirmed one thing for us: a good CRM looks like the trade of the person using it. This one talks about rent, leases and repairs, not "leads" or "pipelines".
This CRM is called Gestion Locative. It is designed for landlords with several properties, and sometimes several companies. You can watch its video and try it yourself, with fictional data: discover the project.
Do you really need one?
Not necessarily, and we'd rather tell you so.
Signs a CRM would help you
- A follow-up has already slipped through the cracks, and you found out too late.
- Your client information lives in four places: your inbox, your phone, a notebook, a spreadsheet.
- Before every call, you dig around to find where you left off.
- There are several of you, and everyone keeps their notes to themselves.
- Your Excel file has grown along with the business. These days, you open it with a little apprehension.
- In the evening, the numbers keep running through your head.
Do two or three of these sound like you? A CRM would probably save you time. And some peace of mind, which is no small thing.
When it's not the right time (yet)
If you have few clients and simple exchanges, a notebook or a well-kept spreadsheet does the job just fine. The same goes if nothing is getting lost today. And if you're going through a very busy stretch, better to wait before learning a new tool: a half-filled CRM is no use to anyone.
Off-the-shelf software or a tool built for you?
Off-the-shelf software gets you going quickly. You create an account, import your contacts, and off you go. It works well when the way you work looks like that of most businesses. The downside is that you adapt to the tool: some features you'll never use, and the one your trade needs is sometimes missing. You usually pay a subscription, often per user.
The other option is a tool built around your trade, your steps and your documents. That's what we did for the rental management CRM. It takes more preparation at the start. In return, it does what you need, without the extras.
Which to choose? It depends on what's costing you time today. If an off-the-shelf product covers almost all your needs, go with it. If you spend your days working around it, a tool built for you is worth discussing. Take a look at our CRMs and management tools and our starting prices.
How much does a CRM cost?
For off-the-shelf software, expect a subscription of roughly €15 to €90 per user per month, depending on the plan. Free versions exist, but they quickly hit their limits, both in the number of contacts and the number of users.
For a CRM built specifically for you, prices vary a lot. Agencies often quote between €5,000 and €20,000 for a first, simple tool, and several tens of thousands of euros for a complete system. Then there's maintenance to pay every year.
At YUGEN AGENCY, a CRM starts at €799, with no VAT on top. There are two of us, with no salespeople or project managers, and that partly explains the gap. After a free 30-minute discovery call, you get a fixed, written price. That price grows with what you add, for example a link to your invoicing software or a version for your phone. So you know from the start what you're paying, and why. See our pricing
Frequently asked questions
At first, often yes. The problem comes with time: Excel doesn't tell you when to follow someone up, and it keeps a poor record of your exchanges. The day three versions of the same file are going around, that's a sign.
Yes. Several tools have a free version, limited in contacts, users or features, and the most useful options are often paid. To try out the idea without spending anything, it's a good way in.
A CRM holds personal data, so GDPR applies. Check where the data is stored, who can access it and how it's backed up. In Belgium, the Data Protection Authority explains these obligations on its website.
Small. Your active clients and your open quotes, nothing more. The technical side is rarely the hard part. What takes effort is the habit of noting everything in one place. After a few weeks, it becomes second nature.
In short
A CRM is the place where everything about your clients lives, so you no longer have to remember it all. Not everyone needs one. But if follow-ups are slipping away, or your evenings are spent rewriting tomorrow's list, it may be time to think about it.
Wondering which tool would fit the way you work? We can talk about it during a free 30-minute discovery call. Write to us