What does CRM mean?
CRM, or customer relationship management, can
be defined simply as a strategy that focuses on how you interact with
your customers. But there's much more to it than that. And to put your
CRM strategy into action, you'll need software tools that track the
responses and actions of customers, employees and others involved in
your business relationships.
Good CRM also requires the broader process of monitoring and analyzing
the data that these tracking tools record. By obtaining valuable
feedback on transaction behavior and how customers and employees think
and interact, you can develop relationships and increase repeat
business through greater customer satisfaction. Thus, not only will CRM
save you money through increased staff efficiency, it will also bring
you more money through increased business.
Traditionally, only larger enterprises could think about implementing
CRM. But nowadays, all businesses are realizing the importance of this
technology. With the internet revolution changing the options for
businesses like yours, CRM has become more accessible. You now have
access to Web-based CRM tools and packages that allow you to easily
organize your client data.
Another option available to you is hosted CRM solutions. With these,
the data resides with your service provider and is hosted in a
well-protected environment. In effect, this does away with the need for
IT infrastructure development costs and allows you to save money by
transferring that cost to the provider.
Major names to look out for in the CRM market include Siebel,
Salesforce.com, Microsoft, RightNow Technologies, NetSuite and
open-source player SugarCRM. You'll hear terms like operational CRM,
analytical CRM, collaborative CRM, hosted CRM, on-premises CRM and CRM
on demand. This probably sounds rather overwhelming, which is why we've
created this buy guide to help you make the right choices.
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