How a website and CRM work together
A website brings the inquiry in. A CRM makes sure someone answers it and remembers the customer. This guide follows one inquiry through both, then gives you a checklist and the cost questions to ask any provider, including us.
In short: your website’s job is to get the right details from the right people. Your CRM’s job is to make sure every one of them gets an answer, and that you still know the customer next year. If several people answer inquiries, or you quote and book instead of selling over the counter, you want both, connected.
What each part does
The website is your public front desk. It tells people what you do, where you are and roughly what it costs, and it has an inquiry form that asks for what you need before you can reply.
The CRM (customer relationship management) is your private back office. Every inquiry becomes a record with the customer’s details, what they asked, where it stands, who is handling it and every message since.
Each one alone leaves a gap. A website with only a contact form drops inquiries into one person’s inbox, where they get buried. A CRM without a website means typing leads in by hand from chats and calls, which nobody keeps up with on a busy day.
One inquiry, followed from start to finish
Here is a made-up contractor, Santos Renovations, receiving an inquiry from a homeowner in Antipolo.
- The form asks the right questions. Project type, location, rough size, budget range and when they want to start. The homeowner writes: kitchen renovation, about 12 square meters, ₱250,000 to ₱350,000, start in January.
- The inquiry becomes a record. Their name, email, mobile number and answers are saved as a new lead. Nothing lives only in someone’s inbox.
- The right people hear about it. The team gets an email alert, and the homeowner gets a note saying their request arrived.
- Someone replies from the record. The estimator answers with a price range and asks to schedule a site visit. The reply and the homeowner’s answer are kept on the record.
- The next step goes on the calendar. The site visit is booked and linked to the same record, so whoever goes knows the whole story.
- The outcome is recorded. Won, or lost with a reason such as price or timing. Either way the record stays, ready for the next project or a referral.
Those six steps apply whatever tools you use. If any step depends on someone remembering, that is where inquiries get lost.
Signs you need both
- Inquiries come in through several places: your website, Facebook, email, calls and walk-ins.
- You have found an inquiry nobody answered, days later.
- More than one person answers customers.
- You quote, schedule or book, rather than sell over the counter.
- You can’t say how many inquiries came in last month, or how many became customers.
When a website alone is enough
If you handle a few inquiries a week yourself, all in one inbox, start with a good website and an inquiry form that emails you. Add a CRM when the signs above start to show up. Moving later is easier when your website already sends inquiries in a consistent format.
Checklist: plan your setup
| What customers can do | See your services, ask for a quote, book a time, find your location. Pick the one or two that matter most. |
|---|---|
| What you need before replying | These become your form fields. Ask for what you need to answer, and nothing more. |
| Who answers | Who handles new inquiries, and who covers when they are away or busy. |
| How fast you reply | Set a target your team can keep, such as the same day during opening hours. |
| Your stages | Four to six steps a customer goes through, from New to Won or Lost. |
| Where bookings live | One calendar the whole team can see, and who confirms each booking. |
| Who owns what | The domain, the website and the customer records. You should be able to export your records any time. |
Cost questions to ask any provider
| Setup | Is it a one-time fee or monthly? How many pages and rounds of changes are included? |
|---|---|
| Hosting | Is hosting included, and for how long? What does renewal cost? |
| Domain | Whose name is the domain registered in? Can you move it if you leave? |
| Software | Is there a monthly fee per user or per contact? What happens when your team grows? |
| Messages | Are text messages and large email sends charged per message? |
| Payments | If customers pay online, whose merchant account is it, and who pays the fees? |
| Changes after launch | How many edits are included, and what does each extra one cost? |
| Leaving | Can you export your customer records? Does the website stay up? |
Sprntr’s own answers to every one of these are on our pricing page and in our terms.
Next steps
- See how we build websites and set up the CRM.
- Find the setup for your kind of business on solutions.
- Already answering inquiries? Read the customer follow-up guide.