Client Relationship Management (CRM) for Architects

Updated 5/17/2023

The phrase "the customer is always right" has lost some of its punch over the years, but that hasn't changed the customer thinking they're always right. When you engage with any prospect, you want them to know that you are listening to their problems and earnestly working to solve them. Otherwise, why are they paying you instead of someone else? Establishing client portfolios, content libraries, and easily accessible contact data makes it simpler to get in touch with prospects when you need to. This sounds like a lot of work, but it's entirely doable with great CRM (client relationship management) software for architects. A CRM solution improves the overall consumer experience that your firm delivers. From construction companies to design firms to the A/E industry and on, CRM software is necessary to keep existing clients happy, bring in new clients, and increase your bottom line. 

Why do Architects Need Client Relationship Management Software?

Client relationship management software is used to organize, liaise, and nurture your relationships with prospects, consumers, and clients. For architecture firms, client relationships and contact management are integral to your success — they fuel growth for your business.  

CRM supports your business development lifecycle while measuring and analyzing metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time, leading you to make informed decisions for your firm. But not just any software solution will do. The best CRM for architecture firms, is industry-specific and user-friendly and recognizes the difference between selling products vs. services, and supports that process.

A CRM system collects and analyzes all types and aspects of client information in one convenient place, so your firm saves time, works collaboratively as a team, increases scalability, and better serves your clientele.

A CRM Modernizes Your Architecture Firm

With CRM software for architects, you seamlessly transition from paper and hard copies to digital, which helps you stay organized and cut down on physical clutter. Digital storage makes it much easier to manage data, use it collaboratively, and find what you need fast.

BQE CORE CRM management tools doesn't need any physical space to centralize your important files, allows you to copy files or make retroactive changes to them easily, removes redundant files, and lets you consolidate prospect and client contact information. A cloud-based CRM enables you to use analytics to produce actionable reports and implement improvements.

Using technology to modernize your architecture firm adds efficiency to your marketing, intake, optimizes task management, and nurtures workflows by providing visibility to each siloed funnel. With CRM, every team member can see the last interaction with a particular contact and its result. Now, employees across departments know which step to take next and when, increasing your firm’s chances of winning a prospect’s business and keeping it.

CRM Automation Streamlines Management & Creates Consistency

Automation is increasingly utilized in every aspect of business, including client relationship management. You can use a digital CRM to automate your efforts across data entry, email marketing, customer service, client interactions, and more. 

For example, CRM automation saves you effort by automatically logging phone calls and emails, sending digital reminders to contacts, personalizing quotes and proposals, and customizing email sequences. This software also allows you to create workflows that trigger actions to happen, such as sending an automatic “welcome” email or adding contacts to specific lists based on previous services purchased. This cuts out a lot of repetitive tasks that slow down both large and small businesses. 

Better software will even cut down on tedious work time and free up your employees for higher priority projects. Interaction templates and other CRM features help streamline your content, so you always deliver a consistent experience to all of your firm’s contacts. 

Manually handling your CRM is time-consuming, tedious, and susceptible to human error. Who has time to record daily updates about prospects and opportunities, the outcome of a particular campaign, and how your sales team is performing that week? When tasks like these are centralized and automated for you, your team is left to focus on more stimulating work.

A CRM Provides Clients Care

Most clients want to feel like they’re your number one priority. They don’t like to be kept waiting or feel like you’re giving them the runaround. After all, they are paying you. Of course, there are limitations to the service level that humans can guarantee, but a great CRM adds superhuman strength to your service delivery.

CRM tools analyze client patterns to identify pain points and areas for improvement. A CRM ensures you’re always working to move leads to the next stage in your buyer journey, and in many cases, drives the process for you. Your buyer journey should feel seamless, and software works hard for you behind the scenes to ensure it is.

Keeping a detailed record of your clients' and prospects' behavior is how a CRM platform helps your firm attract and engage consumers to continue through the relationship-building process. You can then use these insights to refine your marketing, sales, intake, and nurture campaigns accordingly. Beyond attracting and engaging prospects, CRM also works to satisfy and retain clients.

What to Look for in CRM Tools for Architects 

Architecture firms require special features to nurture relationships with prospective and existing clients and create a better customer experience.

Some of the most popular CRM features include:

• Customizable dashboard

• Lead generation and client management

• Campaign management

• Opportunity tracking

• Unlimited contacts

• Proposal and quote templates

• All-in-one solution

• RFI/RFQ tracking

• Sales team-friendly

• Pipeline management

• Shared calendar

• Artificial intelligence

• Collaboration tools 

• Integrations

• Mobile support

• Works on all devices

• Project planning

• Progress tracking

• Email marketing

Now, let's dive a little deeper into what makes a good CRM platform for architects:

• Contact Management: This CRM feature allows you to organize and manage customer data in one central location. It includes managing detailed contact information, communication history, customer interactions, and more.

• Task Management: CRM tools allow users to create, assign, and manage tasks related to customer relationship management. This could involve following up on leads, scheduling calls, or managing customer issues.

• Sales Forecasting: This feature provides a predictive analysis of sales trends based on historical data. It helps sales teams set realistic goals and develop effective strategies.

• Lead Management: CRM software should be able to manage and track potential customers (leads). This includes tracking the source of leads, managing the sales pipeline, and monitoring the conversion process.

• Email Integration: Most CRM systems integrate with popular email platforms. This allows users to send emails directly from the CRM, track open and response rates, and log communication history.

• Interaction Tracking: This feature allows companies to track every interaction with a customer across multiple channels, such as phone calls, emails, social media, etc.

• Campaign Management: This feature is useful for managing marketing campaigns. It could involve tracking campaign performance, managing customer segments, and automating marketing tasks.

• Reports and Dashboards: CRM software should provide comprehensive reporting tools for analyzing customer data and business processes. Dashboards offer a visual representation of this data and help track performance metrics.

• Mobile Access: Given the need for accessibility, CRM software should offer a mobile version or a well-optimized mobile app. This allows users to access the CRM data and features anywhere, anytime.

• Social Media Integration: Social media is an important channel for customer interaction. CRM systems should be able to integrate with social media platforms, tracking interactions, and capturing customer data.

• Customer Support: The software should offer a built-in customer support system. This could include ticketing systems, live chat, or even AI-powered chatbots.

• Integration Capabilities: CRM software should integrate seamlessly with other systems used by the business such as ERP, accounting, marketing automation tools, etc.

• Workflow Automation: Automation of routine tasks is a key feature. This can save time and reduce errors by automating tasks such as sending follow-up emails, reminders, updating contact details, etc.

• Customization: The CRM system should be customizable to adapt to the unique needs of a business. This could include custom fields, custom workflows, and customized reporting.

• Data Security: Given the sensitive nature of customer data, strong security measures are crucial. This includes data encryption, role-based access, and compliance with data protection laws.

These features can help a company enhance its customer relationship management, improve sales processes, and ultimately, drive business growth.

BQE CORE CRM Software for Your Business Needs

BQE CORE CRM provides architects, engineers, accountants, consultants, and other service providers with an intuitive yet robust client relationship management platform that integrates seamlessly with the rest of BQE CORE's features such as project management software and time and expense tracking.

The software allows large and small businesses to nurture contacts, measure your efforts, and grow your firm. The cycle starts by attracting and identifying leads, bringing in more leads, converting them into opportunities, winning clients, and retaining them. Throughout each stage, personalized workflows make your leads and clients feel seen, understood, and important to your firm.

Efficiently monitoring and automating interactions with contacts at all points of your firm’s end-to-end lifecycle ensures that you foster every opportunity. BQE CORE makes it easy to create and send proposals, provide quotes, and track notes, to-dos, and follow-up tasks. With many daily tasks automatically completed by BQE CORE, you spend less time logging data and more time running your business.

BQE Software’s client relationship management syncs with its accounting, time tracking, project management, QuickBooks, Salesforce, and more, and is available on both web and mobile apps backed by 24/7 customer support.