Tag: crm usage

Advantages of Online CRM solution

Author: Antje Wilmer

Customer relationship management or CRM is defined as the process of tracking and organizing contacts with your current and prospective customers. An effective CRM practice revolves around different departments of your business process, enhances its productivity and service to match expectations of your customers. According a recent survey conducted by “Benchmark” CRM applications can increase revenue per sales person by 41% and improve lead conversion over 300%. Other advantages of CRM applications are customer retention, better profit margin and decreased marketing and sales cost. That is the reason Claudio Marcus, research director at Gartner commented “CRM is not part of a business strategy; CRM is the business strategy.”

Advent of internet has caused a paradigm shift to age old dynamics of customer relationship management. Web based CRM or online CRM comprises s et of software applications hosted by an Application Service Provider (ASP). These applications enable you to deliver services through internet. From free of cost Google Calendar to Customized and business specific online CRM solutions are available in the market. Their installation in your business process offer manifold advantages. They lower down the cost of entry and ownership. You can implement changes according to demands of customers in a faster manner. It helps in faster transmission of information among the line of organizational hierarchy and your customers.

Accessibility is another advantage of online CRM applications. Though these application you can access your customers from any part of the globe. Implementation of online CRM solutions is easy as they do not need any costly hardware server infrastructure and deployment of backend operations. If you are going for a customized Online CRM solution, it can adopt to growing demands of your business.

In a nutshell, Online CRM solutions and applications will lead you towards smoother operation, expanded customer base and better profit.

Antje Wilmer is a freelance writer on eCommerce. He has written the articles and blogs on eCommerce Software and online CRM Solution.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1124607_11.html

What You Need to Know About CRM

Frank Dazerton

Customer Relationship Management (abbreviated CRM) is a very hot topic among businesses. CRM is such a hot topic because it is a way for businesses to connect with their customers, increase profits, and have better customer service. There are several things that you need to know about CRM.

1. It’s all about the customer. Some companies focus too much on expensive CRM programs and elaborate IT departments and not enough on what is at the core of CRM. CRM programs need to be designed to appeal to the business’ customers. The best Call Centers are the ones which customers find easy to navigate. The best CRM vendors have the customer satisfaction in mind when designing their CRM applications.

2. On-demand is the way to go. Many vendors offer traditional CRM programs and service. I believe, however, that On-demand CRM is the way to go. On-demand CRM is different from traditional methods in that instead of requiring companies to hire new IT people, and use extensive resources to implement elaborate CRM programs, the software comes with support. On-demand CRM is no longer the “bring your own IT department” approach. Many vendors like Salesforce.com, Siebel, and NetSuite offer On-demand solutions that are great for businesses just getting into the CRM market.

3. Customer Relationship Management is not just software. Some businesses would like it to be simply software, but it will never be as simple as that. Customer Relationship Management is an ongoing learning process. The business must learn from the customer and change accordingly. The closer a business gets to its customer, the better. CRM applications and strategies are the methods through which the business can access, analyze, and learn from customer Data. Knowing what CRM applications are actually for is a very important step in understanding how to be successful when implementing CRM practices.

4. It is important to understand that there are hundreds of CRM vendors out there. Many of the vendors claim to be number one, but if you look closely, they may be number one in only one category. Other companies say that they are number one in CRM, but there is no basis for their statement. It is important for companies to choose the right vendor that will attend to all of their CRM needs. This may not always be the most expensive, “number one” company. On the contrary, some simple companies offer CRM solutions that are highly effective. Some of the major CRM providers are Siebel, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP.

5. The best CRM technology can be very helpful for any business. Some CRM applications can now be accessed via BlackBerry devices. Major vendors are constantly updating their software and improving their service. It is a good idea to stay as current as possible in terms of CRM technology. However, always remember to balance technology with customer service. There is no substitute for old-fashioned customer service, the most basic of all CRM ideals.
Customer Relationship Management can be very beneficial for a business if it is carried out properly. It is important to keep the customer in mind at all times when you are implementing CRM practices into your business. Remember that there are quite a few CRM vendors out there, and it is important to choose the vendor that is best for your company. Customer Relationship Management seems like a very daunting idea for someone who has never used it before, but if you follow these steps, you will surely see the benefits of successful CRM.

Frank Dazerton enjoys writing about a variety of Custromer Relationship Management topics. In addition to writing CRM articles, he writes for CRM Lowdown ( www.crmlowdown.com ).

Provided by ArticleFeeder.com

CRM to the Rescue: CRM End All Be All?

by Jeffrey Hahn

I love a challenge. And that is what I got when I was asked to lead a project to put together a CRM. How do you put together a CRM? Given my educational background is in Philosophy, I started thinking, “what is CRM?”, “What is the essence of CRM?”, and “What provoked the need for someone to create CRM?” After going back and reading about CRM, the many failures and few successes, I found whole experience enlightening. One might gather from reading up on CRM that there might be semantics issue, but I believe it goes deeper. Is CRM a business process? Is it a software application? Or is it a goal that you hope to achieve? In each of these three questions would unfold another layer of questioning in order for you (your company) to define what you/they mean by Customer Relationship Management. If it is a goal, how do you know when you have achieved CRM? If it is a business process how to you know you are following CRM? These are questions that a company must address before assembling a team to create a “CRM”. Read the entire post at: CRM to the Rescue: CRM End All Be All?