Citizen relationships management (CRM) software is a game-changer for any municipality looking to establish high-quality connections with its citizens. In addition to improving customer service, CRM software can help agencies streamline their internal operations for more efficiency and ultimately cost savings.

If you’re on the hunt for CRM software for your municipality, here’s a look at 9 must-have CRM features that are essential to any local government agency.

1. Workflow automations

Manual processes take up a lot of precious staff time. Taking requests from citizens, messaging the correct department to start the work order, following up on status updates for citizens. All these tasks require focus and time, but not necessarily skill – meaning they are the perfect sort of tasks to be handled by automations . Through a series of rules and logic, a CRM solution can automatically route requests to the right department, update citizens on the status of their request when an action is taken, and even notify managers if a work order is overdue and needs escalating. The more your agency can automate processes for handling citizen requests, the more time your staff has to spend on other projects. Workflow automations can help a busy department get back to more meaningful work – or free up an understaffed one to get more accomplished with fewer resources.

2. Built-in communication features

At their core, CRM solutions are all about better connecting citizens with their local government agencies. Communication is a big piece of that, so any worthwhile local government CRM needs to have strong communication features like email and SMS texting, customizable message templates, and case-specific messaging centers. Learn more about Comcate’s CRM communication features.

3. Data security

More than 30% of the government data breaches between 2019 and 2022 affected city and town governments. Data breaches cost local government agencies – not just in dollars, but in lost trust. CRM solutions hosted in the AWS GovGlud provide local agencies with peace-of-mind that comes with secure facilities, round-the-clock monitoring and a robust network – so you know your citizen’s data is safe. Learn more about common other data concerns in local government.

4. Citizen contact management

Citizen relationship management (CRM) software is all about keeping up with your citizens – which makes a contact database of high importance. Comprehensive information includes not just contact information but service request history, communication preferences and more.

5. Real-time data and analytics

Data is key to decision-making in local government – but for many agencies that data is siloed amongst different departments, hard to extract and often not up-to-date. CRM solutions allow local government agencies to consolidate real-time data across multiple departments into one management system so that they can make informed decisions in a timely manner.

6. Business intelligence reporting

CRMs are great storehouses of valuable data – but if you can’t leverage that data into something useful, what’s the point? A good CRM solution will not only aggregate data for you, but have business intelligence features that let you utilize those numbers to create lists, graphs, charts and other types of reports that show key performance indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate how well your agency is performing or help to better identify needs in your municipality.

7. Third-party integrations

You’ll never find a system that does everything you need (and beware of those that say they can). Would you rather have a system that does a lot of things just ok, or a system that handles a few things expertly? More than likely you’ll need a CRM solution that seamlessly plugs into other solutions your agency is already using. Whether you need integrations with other commonly used solutions on the market – or need a custom API to connect your new CRM to a homegrown solution – look for a solution that offers third-party integrations standard.

8. Support and Training

A solution is only as good as the support and the training you receive with it. With role-based trainings, your staff won’t have to sit through presentations on information that doesn’t pertain to them – respecting everyone’s time and making training more efficient for all. Also take a look at the level of support your vendor offers, such as a dedicated customer service representative for your account, quick response times and an online education base.

9. Customization

An out-of-the-box CRM solution offers much in the way of savings, but even when selecting an out-of-the-box solution, you still want to leave room for customization. Whether it’s custom integrations, templates or workflows, look for a company that lets you customize your solution to fit your agency’s needs.

Comcate: CRM Software for Municipal Agencies

As a company founded by local government leaders, Comcate believes in better government for all – and that software has the ability to take us there. That’s why we developed affordable, flexible CRM software for municipalities of all sizes. Through tools like workflow automations, built-in communication features, business intelligence reporting and more, we make it easy for municipal staff to better serve citizens.

Interested in leveraging technology to better serve your residents? Schedule a demo today by filling out the form below.

Schedule a Meeting with Comcate Today!

Learn how Comcate can help make government delivery simple, and offer a modern digital experience to help you increase transparency, efficiency, and performance across your departments. If you have any questions about implementing our software, please fill out the form below or call us directly at (415) 632-1248.

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