This document provides guidance on how to choose a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. It discusses understanding the benefits of CRM, building a business case, forming a project team, identifying key requirements, evaluating potential systems, selecting a system, and implementing the system. The document aims to help organizations make an informed decision about which CRM solution best fits their needs.
USING CRM SOLUTIONS TO INCREASE SALES AND RETAIN VALUABLE CUSTOMERSInsideUp
CRM is an important tool for creating business success. The better your customer relationships, the
easier it is to conduct business and generate revenue. Using available technology to improve
customer relations management simply makes good business sense.
If you need further information, or would like assistance in selecting a CRM provider, go to
http://www.insideup.com/compare/customer_relationship_management
CRM Assessment eBook
CRM is a mixture of people, processes and technology, and if these three areas are not in alignment the CRM tool may not be as effective as it could be, and may not be leveraged by the individuals who could find vast benefits of such a tool. This tool can be used to help you understand who, what, where, when and how improvements to CRM processes, people and technology could be leveraged to improve any business.
CRM for Sales: 5 things yours should be doingRedspire Ltd
Sales run the risk of reduced productivity and efficiency if they don’t embrace the far-reaching potential of CRM.
On paper, the adoption of CRM by Sales should be a ‘no-brainer’. Its toolset is designed to aid sales efficiency, enabling teams to close more deals, increase sales and improve forecast accuracy.
But there is a very real problem.
Ppt top challenges in crm implementationSalesBabuCRM
CRM is specially designed to maintain a healthy relationship with the customers. The sales end is the one that enjoys most of the benefits of CRM software. CRM software acts as a hub to provide benefits to the various departments in a company such as the marketing team, sales team, and customer support teams.
USING CRM SOLUTIONS TO INCREASE SALES AND RETAIN VALUABLE CUSTOMERSInsideUp
CRM is an important tool for creating business success. The better your customer relationships, the
easier it is to conduct business and generate revenue. Using available technology to improve
customer relations management simply makes good business sense.
If you need further information, or would like assistance in selecting a CRM provider, go to
http://www.insideup.com/compare/customer_relationship_management
CRM Assessment eBook
CRM is a mixture of people, processes and technology, and if these three areas are not in alignment the CRM tool may not be as effective as it could be, and may not be leveraged by the individuals who could find vast benefits of such a tool. This tool can be used to help you understand who, what, where, when and how improvements to CRM processes, people and technology could be leveraged to improve any business.
CRM for Sales: 5 things yours should be doingRedspire Ltd
Sales run the risk of reduced productivity and efficiency if they don’t embrace the far-reaching potential of CRM.
On paper, the adoption of CRM by Sales should be a ‘no-brainer’. Its toolset is designed to aid sales efficiency, enabling teams to close more deals, increase sales and improve forecast accuracy.
But there is a very real problem.
Ppt top challenges in crm implementationSalesBabuCRM
CRM is specially designed to maintain a healthy relationship with the customers. The sales end is the one that enjoys most of the benefits of CRM software. CRM software acts as a hub to provide benefits to the various departments in a company such as the marketing team, sales team, and customer support teams.
How to write a CRM scope document - the key to a successful solutionGill Walker
Scoping your CRM project is key if your implementation is to be successful. And yet this phase is often omitted.
This document will step you through the process of capturing your requirements for your CRM solution.
Case study presentation on how to conduct a needs analysis assessment when determining whether a firm is ready to implement a CRM system. Presented at the Legal Marketing Association annual conference.
Inspiring positivity: Managing attitudes towards CRM adoptionRedspire Ltd
Maximise CRM user adoption and make sure employee sentiment about your CRM is as positive as your ambitions for it.
Do you know why some of the best CRM people have experience outside CRM?
It’s because today, CRM providers and partners alike know people matter most. The value of CRM to your business doesn’t stem from just the software, but from how deeply people integrate it into their jobs.
It’s why disciplines like change management, process improvement, and organisation design feature on the CVs of today’s CRM experts. Because when an implementation fails - as, sadly, some still do - it’s usually because the software was rolled out without taking the people along and there has been a lack of CRM user adoption.
This SlideShare outlines how you can inspire positive attitudes towards CRM adoption.
DealerPoint works in the automotive IT business for more than 10 years. The company started as a developer of specialized CRM for the automotive business. Now it is a global automotive IT company that takes a scientific approach to help Cargo and commercial vehicle manufacturers and dealers identify where they should allocate resources in order to improve market share, profitability and customer loyalty in the most effective and efficient manner.
THE SECRET SAUCE FOR ACCELERATING INDIRECT SALESJordan Linford
This eBook is the definitive guide to Partner Relationship Management: What is it, who is it for, do you need it, what are the pitfalls, how to buy it and how to get started.
CRM system specifically designed for travel agencies includes factions that aimed to satisfy specific needs of travel and hospitality agencies and companies. Custom Relationship Management (CRM) system in travel and hospitality industries helps to focus your services, business processes and team on the acquisition and retention of relevant customers by responding to their individual needs and values. With custom CRM solution it’s easy to use financial transactions services, cloud based apps including Google Apps, database, sales tools, analytics and mailing. It can enclose reporting, pricing and customer services. CRM developed for travel industry is a perfect solution to win new customers and better management operations, increase your company’s efficiency.
The 10 Most Important Questions to Ask When Selecting the Right CRM PartnerRedspire Ltd
Selecting the right CRM partner comes down to asking the right questions at the start - find out what you should be asking. A few years ago, it was common knowledge that 63% of CRM initiatives fail. Two years later not much has changed; too many CRM projects are failing for a number of reasons, and yet CRM implementations are growing.
E business - STRATEGIES AND CRITICAL FACTORS IN CRM SELECTION IMPLEMENTATION ...Anil Masal
Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by solidifying customer loyalty. It's a strategy used to learn more about customer’s needs and behaviour in order to develop stronger relationships with them. After all, good customer relationships are at the heart of business success.
Operational CRM lets you oversee processes and streamline operations to its right end. Analytical CRM assimilates data and form insights , which is better
How to write a CRM scope document - the key to a successful solutionGill Walker
Scoping your CRM project is key if your implementation is to be successful. And yet this phase is often omitted.
This document will step you through the process of capturing your requirements for your CRM solution.
Case study presentation on how to conduct a needs analysis assessment when determining whether a firm is ready to implement a CRM system. Presented at the Legal Marketing Association annual conference.
Inspiring positivity: Managing attitudes towards CRM adoptionRedspire Ltd
Maximise CRM user adoption and make sure employee sentiment about your CRM is as positive as your ambitions for it.
Do you know why some of the best CRM people have experience outside CRM?
It’s because today, CRM providers and partners alike know people matter most. The value of CRM to your business doesn’t stem from just the software, but from how deeply people integrate it into their jobs.
It’s why disciplines like change management, process improvement, and organisation design feature on the CVs of today’s CRM experts. Because when an implementation fails - as, sadly, some still do - it’s usually because the software was rolled out without taking the people along and there has been a lack of CRM user adoption.
This SlideShare outlines how you can inspire positive attitudes towards CRM adoption.
DealerPoint works in the automotive IT business for more than 10 years. The company started as a developer of specialized CRM for the automotive business. Now it is a global automotive IT company that takes a scientific approach to help Cargo and commercial vehicle manufacturers and dealers identify where they should allocate resources in order to improve market share, profitability and customer loyalty in the most effective and efficient manner.
THE SECRET SAUCE FOR ACCELERATING INDIRECT SALESJordan Linford
This eBook is the definitive guide to Partner Relationship Management: What is it, who is it for, do you need it, what are the pitfalls, how to buy it and how to get started.
CRM system specifically designed for travel agencies includes factions that aimed to satisfy specific needs of travel and hospitality agencies and companies. Custom Relationship Management (CRM) system in travel and hospitality industries helps to focus your services, business processes and team on the acquisition and retention of relevant customers by responding to their individual needs and values. With custom CRM solution it’s easy to use financial transactions services, cloud based apps including Google Apps, database, sales tools, analytics and mailing. It can enclose reporting, pricing and customer services. CRM developed for travel industry is a perfect solution to win new customers and better management operations, increase your company’s efficiency.
The 10 Most Important Questions to Ask When Selecting the Right CRM PartnerRedspire Ltd
Selecting the right CRM partner comes down to asking the right questions at the start - find out what you should be asking. A few years ago, it was common knowledge that 63% of CRM initiatives fail. Two years later not much has changed; too many CRM projects are failing for a number of reasons, and yet CRM implementations are growing.
E business - STRATEGIES AND CRITICAL FACTORS IN CRM SELECTION IMPLEMENTATION ...Anil Masal
Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by solidifying customer loyalty. It's a strategy used to learn more about customer’s needs and behaviour in order to develop stronger relationships with them. After all, good customer relationships are at the heart of business success.
Operational CRM lets you oversee processes and streamline operations to its right end. Analytical CRM assimilates data and form insights , which is better
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is far more than just a software application. It is a business solution that gives you the ability to connect with and understand real people covering every interaction with valuable customers across your entire business
This presentation provides an insight into the new Customer Relationship Management App, Perfecto CRM App which helps the users to maintain a record of the leads and the opportunities. The dashboard provides all the necessary information about the upcoming events,tasks, successful lead conversions and the amount earned.
Why Should SMEs Use CRM & Workflow Management Systems_.pptxXapsys CRM Software
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can greatly benefit from implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Workflow Management Systems (WMS). CRM helps SMEs organize and manage their interactions with customers and clients, providing a centralized view of customer data and interactions. This allows for better customer service and increased sales opportunities. Workflow System streamlines and automates repetitive tasks, freeing up time and resources for more strategic activities. Both CRM and workflow management system also provide valuable insights into business operations, enabling SMEs to make informed decisions and improve their overall performance. In short, CRM and workflow automation software can help SMEs improve customer relationships, increase efficiency, and drive business growth.
CRM software was originally designed to help businesses build and maintain relationships with new and existing customers. Since then, CRM software has evolved from a simple contact
management system into a robust tool that helps users manage sales, marketing, point-of-sale (POS) transactions, accounting, vendors and other types of operational data all in one easily
accessible solution.
This PowerPoint presentation provides an in-depth overview of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Explore its features, benefits, and implementation strategies for effective customer management and improved business performance.
The Ultimate How-To CRM Guide is the document that you need to make your decision between cloud-computing technology and on-premises. We call it "Ultimate" because it is the Ultimate How-To CRM Guide, the "Must-have" Guide :)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. It helps you stay connected to them, streamline processes and improve your profitability.
More commonly, when people talk about CRM they are usually referring to a CRM system, a tool which helps with contact management, sales management, productivity and more.
Customer Relationship Management enables you to focus on your organization’s relationships with individual people – whether those are customers, service users, colleagues or suppliers. CRM is not just for sales. Some of the biggest gains in productivity can come from moving beyond CRM as a sales and marketing tool and embedding it in your business – from HR to customer services and supply-chain management.
A CRM is a collection of people, processes, software, and internet capabilities that helps an
enterprise manage customer relationship effectively and systematically. The goal of CRM is to
understand and anticipate the needs of current and potential customer to increase customer
retention and loyalty while optimizing the way product and services are sold.
Customer relationship management, often referred to as CRM,is a type of data-driven solution or system that allows companies to manage prospect and customer activities. From lead tracking to sales data management, CRM systems provide a complete solution that supports sales, marketing, and service activities, such as customer service or after-sales service
How to choose a right CRM for your business.pptxDDS4U
DDS4U is the right CRM for businesses to manage your customer requests, staff appointment schedules, workforce task allocation, customer data, billing, invoices, quotations, gift cards, discount coupons and many more with integrations to google address api, language translation api, google maps and navigation api for easy and hazzle-free service delivery.
CRM Best Practices For Optimal Success In 2024.pdfCiente
CRM in 2024 is much more than just managing contacts. Read along to know how it is impacting businesses today and how to best implement it to achieve great success.
How to successfully rollout your new crmSalesBabuCRM
Adopting a new CRM system means changing our old habits, many old employees and traditional process may feel the pitch of new implementation in the initial phases but if the transitions of these rollout methodologies is efficiently implemented then CRM will be one of the most helpful tools that can be used for business process and customer relationship management.
How to successfully rollout your new crmSalesBabuCRM
Once we come up with a final list of selected CRMs, we need to go through the different phases of software implementation before actually rolling out the CRM for the company.
Let’s discuss further on some of the prerequisite of CRM execution.
[Think Next] Gói giải pháp bản địa hóa QAD ERP cho thị trường Việt Nam (VIE)Vinh Nguyen
[Think Next] VAS and Localization Solution QAD ERP for Vietnam Region (VIE)
Gói giải pháp bản địa hóa QAD ERP cho thị trường Việt Nam
Tư vấn Miễn phí sản phẩm và dịch vụ
Công ty TNHH Think Next
Website: www.thinknextco.com | www.thinknext.vn
Fanpage: www.fb.com/thinknext.vn
Email: support@thinknextco.com
Tell: 02866821836
Hotline: 0938484986 | 0938425986
[Think Next] VAS and Localization Solution QAD ERP for Vietnam Region (EN)Vinh Nguyen
[Think Next] VAS and Localization Solution QAD ERP for Vietnam Region (EN)
Gói giải pháp bản địa hóa QAD ERP cho thị trường Việt Nam
Tư vấn Miễn phí sản phẩm và dịch vụ
Công ty TNHH Think Next
Website: www.thinknextco.com | www.thinknext.vn
Fanpage: www.fb.com/thinknext.vn
Email: support@thinknextco.com
Tell: 02866821836
Hotline: 0938484986 | 0938425986
[Think Next] Cẩm nang làm việc từ xa work from home (WFH)Vinh Nguyen
[Think Next] Cẩm nang làm việc từ xa work from home (WFH)
Tư vấn Miễn phí sản phẩm và dịch vụ
Công ty TNHH Think Next
Website: www.thinknextco.com | www.thinknext.vn
Fanpage: www.fb.com/thinknext.vn
Email: support@thinknextco.com
☎️ Tell: 02866821836
Hotline: 0938484986 | 0938425986
Custom Healthcare Software for Managing Chronic Conditions and Remote Patient...Mind IT Systems
Healthcare providers often struggle with the complexities of chronic conditions and remote patient monitoring, as each patient requires personalized care and ongoing monitoring. Off-the-shelf solutions may not meet these diverse needs, leading to inefficiencies and gaps in care. It’s here, custom healthcare software offers a tailored solution, ensuring improved care and effectiveness.
Providing Globus Services to Users of JASMIN for Environmental Data AnalysisGlobus
JASMIN is the UK’s high-performance data analysis platform for environmental science, operated by STFC on behalf of the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). In addition to its role in hosting the CEDA Archive (NERC’s long-term repository for climate, atmospheric science & Earth observation data in the UK), JASMIN provides a collaborative platform to a community of around 2,000 scientists in the UK and beyond, providing nearly 400 environmental science projects with working space, compute resources and tools to facilitate their work. High-performance data transfer into and out of JASMIN has always been a key feature, with many scientists bringing model outputs from supercomputers elsewhere in the UK, to analyse against observational or other model data in the CEDA Archive. A growing number of JASMIN users are now realising the benefits of using the Globus service to provide reliable and efficient data movement and other tasks in this and other contexts. Further use cases involve long-distance (intercontinental) transfers to and from JASMIN, and collecting results from a mobile atmospheric radar system, pushing data to JASMIN via a lightweight Globus deployment. We provide details of how Globus fits into our current infrastructure, our experience of the recent migration to GCSv5.4, and of our interest in developing use of the wider ecosystem of Globus services for the benefit of our user community.
Gamify Your Mind; The Secret Sauce to Delivering Success, Continuously Improv...Shahin Sheidaei
Games are powerful teaching tools, fostering hands-on engagement and fun. But they require careful consideration to succeed. Join me to explore factors in running and selecting games, ensuring they serve as effective teaching tools. Learn to maintain focus on learning objectives while playing, and how to measure the ROI of gaming in education. Discover strategies for pitching gaming to leadership. This session offers insights, tips, and examples for coaches, team leads, and enterprise leaders seeking to teach from simple to complex concepts.
A Comprehensive Look at Generative AI in Retail App Testing.pdfkalichargn70th171
Traditional software testing methods are being challenged in retail, where customer expectations and technological advancements continually shape the landscape. Enter generative AI—a transformative subset of artificial intelligence technologies poised to revolutionize software testing.
We describe the deployment and use of Globus Compute for remote computation. This content is aimed at researchers who wish to compute on remote resources using a unified programming interface, as well as system administrators who will deploy and operate Globus Compute services on their research computing infrastructure.
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSageGlobus
NetSage is an open privacy-aware network measurement, analysis, and visualization service designed to help end-users visualize and reason about large data transfers. NetSage traditionally has used a combination of passive measurements, including SNMP and flow data, as well as active measurements, mainly perfSONAR, to provide longitudinal network performance data visualization. It has been deployed by dozens of networks world wide, and is supported domestically by the Engagement and Performance Operations Center (EPOC), NSF #2328479. We have recently expanded the NetSage data sources to include logs for Globus data transfers, following the same privacy-preserving approach as for Flow data. Using the logs for the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) as an example, this talk will walk through several different example use cases that NetSage can answer, including: Who is using Globus to share data with my institution, and what kind of performance are they able to achieve? How many transfers has Globus supported for us? Which sites are we sharing the most data with, and how is that changing over time? How is my site using Globus to move data internally, and what kind of performance do we see for those transfers? What percentage of data transfers at my institution used Globus, and how did the overall data transfer performance compare to the Globus users?
Experience our free, in-depth three-part Tendenci Platform Corporate Membership Management workshop series! In Session 1 on May 14th, 2024, we began with an Introduction and Setup, mastering the configuration of your Corporate Membership Module settings to establish membership types, applications, and more. Then, on May 16th, 2024, in Session 2, we focused on binding individual members to a Corporate Membership and Corporate Reps, teaching you how to add individual members and assign Corporate Representatives to manage dues, renewals, and associated members. Finally, on May 28th, 2024, in Session 3, we covered questions and concerns, addressing any queries or issues you may have.
For more Tendenci AMS events, check out www.tendenci.com/events
Enterprise Resource Planning System includes various modules that reduce any business's workload. Additionally, it organizes the workflows, which drives towards enhancing productivity. Here are a detailed explanation of the ERP modules. Going through the points will help you understand how the software is changing the work dynamics.
To know more details here: https://blogs.nyggs.com/nyggs/enterprise-resource-planning-erp-system-modules/
Cyaniclab : Software Development Agency Portfolio.pdfCyanic lab
CyanicLab, an offshore custom software development company based in Sweden,India, Finland, is your go-to partner for startup development and innovative web design solutions. Our expert team specializes in crafting cutting-edge software tailored to meet the unique needs of startups and established enterprises alike. From conceptualization to execution, we offer comprehensive services including web and mobile app development, UI/UX design, and ongoing software maintenance. Ready to elevate your business? Contact CyanicLab today and let us propel your vision to success with our top-notch IT solutions.
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdfJay Das
With the advent of artificial intelligence or AI tools, project management processes are undergoing a transformative shift. By using tools like ChatGPT, and Bard organizations can empower their leaders and managers to plan, execute, and monitor projects more effectively.
TROUBLESHOOTING 9 TYPES OF OUTOFMEMORYERRORTier1 app
Even though at surface level ‘java.lang.OutOfMemoryError’ appears as one single error; underlyingly there are 9 types of OutOfMemoryError. Each type of OutOfMemoryError has different causes, diagnosis approaches and solutions. This session equips you with the knowledge, tools, and techniques needed to troubleshoot and conquer OutOfMemoryError in all its forms, ensuring smoother, more efficient Java applications.
Listen to the keynote address and hear about the latest developments from Rachana Ananthakrishnan and Ian Foster who review the updates to the Globus Platform and Service, and the relevance of Globus to the scientific community as an automation platform to accelerate scientific discovery.
OpenFOAM solver for Helmholtz equation, helmholtzFoam / helmholtzBubbleFoamtakuyayamamoto1800
In this slide, we show the simulation example and the way to compile this solver.
In this solver, the Helmholtz equation can be solved by helmholtzFoam. Also, the Helmholtz equation with uniformly dispersed bubbles can be simulated by helmholtzBubbleFoam.
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...Globus
The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is a global network of data servers that archives and distributes the planet’s largest collection of Earth system model output for thousands of climate and environmental scientists worldwide. Many of these petabyte-scale data archives are located in proximity to large high-performance computing (HPC) or cloud computing resources, but the primary workflow for data users consists of transferring data, and applying computations on a different system. As a part of the ESGF 2.0 US project (funded by the United States Department of Energy Office of Science), we developed pre-defined data workflows, which can be run on-demand, capable of applying many data reduction and data analysis to the large ESGF data archives, transferring only the resultant analysis (ex. visualizations, smaller data files). In this talk, we will showcase a few of these workflows, highlighting how Globus Flows can be used for petabyte-scale climate analysis.
Unleash Unlimited Potential with One-Time Purchase
BoxLang is more than just a language; it's a community. By choosing a Visionary License, you're not just investing in your success, you're actively contributing to the ongoing development and support of BoxLang.
First Steps with Globus Compute Multi-User EndpointsGlobus
In this presentation we will share our experiences around getting started with the Globus Compute multi-user endpoint. Working with the Pharmacology group at the University of Auckland, we have previously written an application using Globus Compute that can offload computationally expensive steps in the researcher's workflows, which they wish to manage from their familiar Windows environments, onto the NeSI (New Zealand eScience Infrastructure) cluster. Some of the challenges we have encountered were that each researcher had to set up and manage their own single-user globus compute endpoint and that the workloads had varying resource requirements (CPUs, memory and wall time) between different runs. We hope that the multi-user endpoint will help to address these challenges and share an update on our progress here.
In 2015, I used to write extensions for Joomla, WordPress, phpBB3, etc and I ...Juraj Vysvader
In 2015, I used to write extensions for Joomla, WordPress, phpBB3, etc and I didn't get rich from it but it did have 63K downloads (powered possible tens of thousands of websites).
1. How to Choose a CRM System
When it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) it’s important to understand all the
benefits of an integrated system before beginning your selection process. That’s why we created this
guide – to provide you with the essential information you need to make the best decision possible.
This guide is designed to help you build a business case for a CRM system, form an effective project team, ask the
right questions, identify the challenges involved and much more.
You may be wondering,“Why would a software company like Sage distribute a booklet that doesn’t promote its own
products?” We know how important it is to have good information before making smart decisions. What’s more, we’re
confident that the more you know about CRM systems the more likely your are to seriously consider - and ultimately
choose – Sage’s CRM software solutions. In other words, our software stands up to the most stringent selection
criteria.
We at Sage look forward to helping you succeed in choosing the CRM solution that’s best for your organisation.
2. How to Choose a CRM System
Understanding CRM
CRM is more than just software or a set of processes
– it’s a business culture solidly focused on winning and
keeping the right customers. A good CRM solution
builds value for your business by opening up vital
communication channels and creating a common
client–focused knowledge-base to better serve your
clients.
CRM is about understanding the buying habits and
preferences of your customers and prospects so you
can:
• Build and strengthen customer relationships to keep
them coming back
• Provide value-added services that are difficult for
competitors to duplicate
• Improve your product development and service
delivery processes
• Increase your staff’s awareness of customer needs
• Reduce customer frustration by not asking the same
questions over and over.
By effectively integrating your marketing, sales and
customer service functions, a good CRM system makes
it easier for everyone inside your company to work
together and share critical information.
An effective CRM system empowers your customers
and prospects to do business with you – the way
they choose! Imagine connecting your customers
to your employees and business partners across
any department, through any process and via any
communication device - phone, fax, email, Internet.
CRM can contribute many benefits to
your organisation including:
New sales opportunities
A good CRM system will classify your prospects and help
identify your best customers. With detailed information on
your customers you can accurately project and respond
to their buying needs throughout the sales cycle. A good
CRM system can help you automate routine sales tasks –
allowing you to spend more time focusing
on strategic sales issues.
Improved customer service
The right CRM system allows your team to take
a pro-active approach to customer service. With
up-to-date and complete customer information at their
fingertips, your employees can resolve customer issues
more quickly and successfully create cross or up-sell
opportunities.
Better decision making
CRM systems provide a single view of the customer
across all touch points and channels, as well as
delivering comprehensive reports of customer
behaviours, marketing campaign results and sales
activity. Each of these elements are necessary for smart
decision making and long term strategic planning.
Greater efficiency
With an integrated CRM system, you can gain immediate
access to your organisation’s critical customer
information. A good CRM solution also increases internal
efficiencies by automating workflow processes, reducing
human error, decreasing process time and providing
consistency throughout the entire organisation.
3. How to Choose a CRM System
Getting Started
Most companies require that you justify the need for
a new system before you make a purchase. Building
a case for CRM provides the necessary background
information to help you define the need, justify the
cost and demonstrate the value of the investment.
Elect a core team
Establish a core group of individuals dedicated to driving
the CRM project to completion. Before planning your
strategy and implementation make sure your team
includes a project leader and project managers to
oversee the functional divisions of your organisation –
such as marketing, sales, customer service and technical
departments.
Set your goals
Your team should have a shared understanding of
your CRM goals. To achieve this, the core group
should identify your organisations objectives, focus on
processes that require re-engineering and discuss the
appropriate courses of action.
Examine your current processes
Analyse your existing business processes from many
viewpoints, to find out how they impact both your
organisation and your customers. By evaluating your
processes now, you can identify what’s working and
what’s not and prepare to implement a new CRM system
that emulates the most effective strategies for achieving
success.
Understanding the Core
Components of CRM
CRM helps to increase productivity across your
marketing, sales and support functions. By
understanding the ways CRM can improve your
company’s effectiveness, you can better communicate
those benefits to key decision makers.
Marketing Automation
• Develop, target and implement campaigns
• Manage and analyse marketing budgets
• Maintain lists and track responses
• Analyse campaign results
Sales Force Automation (SFA)
• Perform analysis to ensure time and
energy are spent on the deals most likely to close
• Improve lead distribution and tracking
• Effectively process quotes and orders
• Provide remote sales staff with instant access to
corporate information
Customer Service and Support
• Capture and track every interaction with every
customer regardless of touch-point
• View and measure call turn around time and
understand what is taking longer to resolve and why
• Maintain a complete case history with instant access
to all previous issues and customer interactions
• Automatically escalate cases if not closed within
certain time frame
4. How to Choose a CRM System
Involve the Right People
The decision to choose a specific CRM solution should
be delegated to a core team of individuals to serve and
represent the functional needs of various departments.
This requires full cooperation and collaboration amongst
System Users, System Managers, System Integrators,
System Customers and System Signoffs.
Choose a Consultant
Consultants offer specialised expertise in evaluating
and implementing CRM solutions. These experts can
help your organisation in three important ways.
• Evaluate your needs and suggest the best CRM
solution for your specific situation
• Save your company time and money during system
install and training
• Help you get the most out of your CRM
implementation, based on your organisation’s
requirements
Some of the best CRM consultants are software
resellers. Many resellers offer a range of services,
including strategy development, business process
management, technology implementation and training.
For larger CRM systems resellers often have the
additional consulting support of their software supplier
to help manage the complexities of the implementation.
Narrow the Field
Look for a CRM system that integrates your back
office accounting software and other business
systems so customer information can be updated in
real-time, while being shared and employed effectively
across the entire organisation. Be sure that your
solutions are robust and versatile enough to:
• Be accessed from any location – from headquarters
to remote locations and mobile workers
• Seamlessly integrate with your back office accounting
system
• Integrate with a wide range of third party software or
other internal systems
Increase communication channels
The ideal CRM solution will integrate your multiple
business channels and provide your users with seamless
remote access to up-to-date customer information. Think
about the different interaction points your customers
are currently using – and likely to use in the future to
communicate with your organisation. A good CRM
system will allow you to retrieve real-time information at
any time and from anywhere. Choose one that will fit the
functional needs of your system users.
Keep a global perspective
The ability to support a global reach, even if not
essential now, is a vital investment in your company’s
future. When viewing CRM features find out if:
• The company sells and supports products in the
countries in which you do business
• The software provides multi-currency support
• The software is available concurrently in languages
other than English
5. How to Choose a CRM System
Consider implementation time
The less upfront customisation your system requires
the more quickly the implementation process can
be completed. Ask your reseller how long the
implementation will take and what factors may increase
or decrease the amount of time needed
Select a System That’s Right for You
Now that you’ve evaluated a number of possible
solutions, its time to make a decision. Consider
the following when selecting a software vendor:
Interview the resellers before the demo
Familiarise yourself with the various CRM solutions
available on the market so you can be confident about
your top picks when you short list the best options for
your company. By interviewing as many software resellers
as possible in advance you can avoid time wasted by
sitting through lengthy, irrelevant demonstrations.
Pick the best three systems and ask each
reseller to provide the following information:
• Estimated licence cost for your implementation
• Estimated build-out costs to adapt the system to your
requirements
• Timeframe for implementation
• Annual support and maintenance costs
• Training methodology and training costs
• A plan for integrating your back office-systems as
required
Insist on user friendly software
If your system is not user friendly, your staff wont
be able to maximise the full benefits. Make sure you
select a solution that’s logical and easy to use.
Ask the reseller these questions:
• How easy to use is the software interface?
• Can the interface be modified to more closely match
the needs of my organisation?
• How easy is it to navigate between modules of the
software?
• What type of software documentation and training will
be provided?
Top 10 features to look
for in a CRM system
1. Sales cycle analysis.
2. Integration to your back office accounting system.
3. Open, industry-standard technology.
4. Seamless flow of information between corporate
systems and remote employees.
5. Real-time reporting and analysis.
6. Automated workflow.
7. Contact and campaign management.
8. Multiple language and multi-currency capabilities.
9. Ability to easily customise your solution
to fit your business needs.
10. Scalability to accommodate future business growth.
6. How to Choose a CRM System
Evaluate their technical support
You may need to rely on the software vendor’s
technical support team, here are some questions
to ask regarding the vendors support team:
• How quickly do they take calls from customers?
• What are their hours of operation?
• What options are available for after hours queries?
• What charges or service plans are involved?
Inquire about their customer service department
Look for a company that is dedicated to regularly
providing high qualityservice to customers and has the
resources to deal with product questions, customer
feedback, order tracking and software registration.
Get flexible reporting
Look for a solution that has the capability to produce the
reports your organisation requires. Find out if customised
reports can be created with a minimum of time and
effort. See if the system will allow you to manipulate the
data any way you choose.
Ask about customisability
Does the software allow you to modify all
aspects of the system? Do you have the ability to
create and modify fields, screens, tables, views,
scripts and security settings on the fly?
Ensure options for growth
A good software company invests heavily in engineering
and develops new product features and enhancements
regularly. The opportunity to move to a similar but more
powerful product can give your company flexibility as it
grows.
Does it fit your budget?
If your first choice costs more than you can afford,
reprioritise your list of requirements and compare them
with the features of applications that do fall within your
budget range. Then determine which features or modules
are essential for the success of the project.
Justify the investment
Once you have decided which product you wish to
purchase it may be helpful to create a document or
presentation to explain your choice. This document
needs to clearly detail the features of the system,
the direct fiscal benefits of these features and
the resulting long term benefit to the company.
It should also outline the total cost for initial
implementation, training and ongoing maintenance.
7. How to Choose a CRM System
Implementing Your System
What is the best way to make the implementation
process a smooth and successful one?
Consider the following guidelines:
Create a blueprint
To smooth the implementation process create a
‘blueprint’ of your CRM related business processes with
your consultant or software reseller. This document gives
the team a pre-determined plan and a set of guidelines to
reach your CRM goals.
Prepare for modifications
One of the most common mistakes companies make
is trying too hard to limit modifications to the selected
packaged software. If you need software that can meet
the unique requirements of your business be prepared
to make modifications after installing the “out of the box”
solution.
Provide good training
Good training is essential and provides the information,
practice and involvement needed for your staff to get the
most out of the software.
Test before launch
When it comes to something as valuable as your
customer data, you will want to beta test every system
component and make certain its functioning properly
before taking the system live. Enter mock customer data
and see how well the system receives and processes the
information.
Plan for ongoing evaluation
Keep in mind that your CRM system will always be
evolving. As a result implementation never completely
stops. Ongoing evaluation of your business processes
will help you maximise the benefits CRM can bring to
your organisation.
8 Helpful Hints for Promoting
CRM as a Business Culture
1. Build a case for change. Think about the impact of CRM strategy
on people – the benefits and consequences of changing or not
changing.
2. Hold regular meetings across all departments to communicate
project progress.
3. Keep employees in the loop by providing information and clarity
about what is happening.
4. Encourage employees to speak up about changes and listen to
what they have to say.
5. Give employees time to make the transition and adjust to the new
approach.
6. Support the managers who are leading the CRM march.
7. Understand that effective implementation of CRM is a cultural
process; it will take time for everyone to adjust to new ways of
doing business.
8. Inform customers about the company’s vision for a customer
centric organisation.