What EDOs and IPAs should look for in a CRM

Is it difficult for your organization to incorporate economic development and investment promotion into a conventional CRM? Are you currently organizing information, leads, and contacts using multiple spreadsheets, online documents, and basic databases? We have good news for you: You don't have to resort to a patchwork solution or overspend on unnecessary bells and whistles for a dedicated CRM.

Amplify is designed for the unique needs of an organization focused specifically on investment attraction and business support. It's the only system that is built to manage the data you need to document for the relationship-building phase of business attraction, as well as the support needed for aftercare and BRE.

As you consider the different features and functionalities you need from a CRM, we encourage you to look for the following qualities:

• Configurable for your needs: Your CRM should align with your needs, not the other way around. Small and medium-sized organizations sometimes feel forced to adapt to the off-the-shelf CRM packages they buy, sacrificing efficiency and effectiveness. Amplify is easy to configure without any need for technical skills or extra costs. 
• Manage the entire investor lifecycle: Economic developers and investment attraction professionals need a system that facilitates all of the stages, from lead generation to marketing, aftercare/ BRE, and SME development. Because Amplify is designed specifically for this purpose, you don't need to cut corners or skip steps to ensure your activities are fully documented and accountable.
• Trustworthy reporting: Enhance productivity with intuitive analysis tools that document activity for easy reporting. Team members can quickly pull information on specific projects and files.
• A dashboard that summarizes data: Visual dashboards not only save time but they encourage real-time assessment. Measure investment and economic activity by department, sector and target regions. 
• Systems integration: An effective CRM pulls various systems together. Amplify integrates email so users can track activity and conversations for designated contacts and companies.
• Collaboration made easy for your team: Managing projects across multiple offices or a hybrid working environment? No problem. Amplify makes it easy for everyone to stay on top of information related to all your files and projects.
• Secure and robust architecture: Ensure your CRM adheres to the strictest protocols for data compliance. Amplify is hosted on resilient and secure software-as-a-service (SAAS) web-based infrastructure to store, manage, and protect data. Every Amplify client gets a dedicated data store, fully segregated with a high standard of encryption in data processing and storage. Authenticated sessions provide secure access for your users, with every action logged to protect the integrity of your data.
• A system that is easily scalable as your organization grows: Cloud-based platforms are suited to all types and sizes of IPAs and EDOs. Amplify has an established client base comprised of both local and regionally focused organizations with small, dedicated teams, right up to major metro and national organizations that have large teams spread across multiple locations. 
• Easy onboarding and responsive client support: An intuitive system makes it easier to get up and running right away. The Amplify customer success team all have investment promotion backgrounds and understand how to work with you to define the right set-up for your EDO or IPA. Straightforward onboarding can be completed within a few days, and a virtual induction session is delivered to get your team started right away. The team will work with you to migrate or import records for a seamless transition. On-going support and training are easily available without any additional cost.

Want to know more about how your organization can benefit from Amplify? Contact us today for an assessment and demo.